Infectious disease epidemiology
Research on malaria, vaccine-preventable diseases, COVID-19 and related public health questions.
Infectious disease epidemiologist
Manuela Runge, PhD
Infectious Disease Epidemiologist | Researcher | Analyst
I work at the intersection of epidemiology, infectious diseases, evidence synthesis, modelling and analytical reasoning. My research identity is grounded in careful methods, critical thinking and transparent scientific communication.
Research interests and methods
Evidence, methods and infectious disease research
My work connects field-informed epidemiology with quantitative tools, structured evidence and close reading of assumptions. AI may be used thoughtfully where appropriate, but human judgement, quality assurance and methodological scrutiny remain essential.
Modelling and inference
Simulation models, statistical analysis and model-informed exploration of intervention impact.
Evidence and methods
Evidence review, synthesis and methodological scrutiny for transparent scientific reasoning.
Scientific communication
Publications, peer review, conference reporting, figures and writing for research audiences.
International experience
DE Germany CH Switzerland TZ Tanzania US United States
Selected work, publications and peer review
Research outputs and analytical contributions
COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Studies against Symptomatic and Severe Outcomes during the Omicron Period in Four Countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies conducted between June 2021 and August 2023 in Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, and Jordan assessed the real-world performance of COVID…
Subnational tailoring of malaria interventions to prioritize the malaria response in Guinea
Guinea’s national malaria program employed a subnational tailoring (SNT) approach to optimize its 2024-2026 operational plan by using local data to prioritize m…
Application of mathematical modelling to inform national malaria intervention planning in Nigeria
An agent-based model of Plasmodium falciparum transmission was used to simulate malaria morbidity and mortality in Nigeria’s 774 LGAs under four possible inter…
Perennial malaria chemoprevention with and without malaria vaccination to reduce malaria burden in young children: a modelling analysis
Using an individual-based mathematical model, allowed to address uncertainties about scheduling PMC alone or in combination with malaria vaccines like RTS,S to …
Design of effective outpatient sentinel surveillance for COVID-19 decision-making: a modeling study
We used a stochastic, compartmental transmission model to evaluate the performance of various surveillance indicators at reliably triggering an alarm in respons…
Modeling robust COVID-19 intensive care unit occupancy thresholds for imposing mitigation to prevent exceeding capacities
Systematic methods for identifying relatively under-tested geographic regions and demographic groups may enable policymakers to regularly monitor and evaluate t…
Research trajectory
Selected projects and fields of work
COVID-19 modelling in Illinois
Development of transmission model for COVID-19 for each region in Illinois <br/><img src='/images/SEIR_base_model_structure.png'>
School Malaria Parasitaemia Survey
During my master studies I spent 6 months in Tanzania to support data collection and analysis of the school survey, conducted by the National Malaria Control Programme. <br/><img src='/images/20150521_125337.jpg'>
Modelling larviciding deployment strategies
Objectives of this project were to simulate varying larviciding deployment strategies and to determine coverage thresholds for targeting larvae vs adult mosquitoes.<br/><img src='/images/IMAG5631.jpg'>
Writing, speaking and professional contributions
Scientific exchange beyond the paper
Talks and posters
All talksComparative Analysis of Individual-Based Malaria Models: Characterizing model behavior for enhanced confidence in model-informed decision making
MultiMalModPy - A novel programmatic framework for running three individual-based malaria tranmission models
Moxidectin development and business case scenarios
Using modeling to assess the operational effectiveness of implementing pragmatic Perennial Malaria Chemoprevention in Osun State, Southern Nigeria
Combined impact of Perennial Malaria Chemopreven on and RTS,S to reduce malaria in young children: a modeling analysis
Simulated impact of perennial malaria chemoprevention and vaccination to reduce malaria during early childhood
Professional practice pathway
RIDA — Runge Infectious Disease Analytics
RIDA is my independent professional practice for epidemiological research, analysis, evidence review and scientific communication.
Explore RIDAContact and research connections
Open to thoughtful scientific collaboration.
I value careful questions, transparent methods and research relationships that make public health evidence stronger.