Health Innovator | Analytics Leader
Aparna Keshaviah is an expert in wastewater-based epidemiology, using advanced analytics and novel data sources to clarify urgent public health questions. Her ability to diagnose problems and create tailored solutions has improved emergency preparedness and helped governments implement cost-effective health monitoring approaches.
Highlights of her work include serving as a technical and strategic thought partner for The Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute and helping the Town of Waynesville achieve its first solar-plus-storage microgrid to improve climate resilience. Her high-impact research (h-index 44) has been published in top-tier journals (including NEJM, Lancet Global Health, Nature Medicine, and JAMA Psychiatry) and media outlets (The New York Times, CNN, STAT News, and Scripps TV), and influenced global treatment protocols and health surveillance system design.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Wastewater surveillance
Strategy & decision support
Quasi-experimental & clinical trial study design & analysis
Data integration, visualization & dynamic tool design
Monitoring population health
Founding director of a novel disease surveillance program, generating $5M to advance wastewater monitoring for population health biomarkers. Developed real-time tools for infectious disease and drug overdose outbreak detection used by health agencies.
Measuring intervention impacts
Directed research teams to estimate health and economic outcomes of a COVID-19 response program in CA and marijuana legalization in MA, using quasi-experimental methods, synthetic controls, geospatial analysis, and simulation.
Translating data into actionable signals
Designed interactive tools translating multi-source data into clear risk signals, including ClimaWATCH, which integrates weather, health, and socioeconomic data to help officials target resources to where they are needed most.
Shaping global medical practice
Led statistical design and analysis of Phase I–III clinical trials, informing breast cancer treatment protocols and psychiatric disorder definitions. Specialized in survival analysis, adaptive designs, and regulatory compliance.
Designing pathways to improve health
Developed strategies to help organizations improve health and well-being. Combined qualitative and quantitative methods to identify opportunities, barriers, and optimal pathways to expand hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs.
Surfacing variation in cultural systems
Conducted field research across India on the practice of Bharatanatyam dance, randomly sampling and surveying 200+ dance teachers and students. Used regression to examine how pedagogy and cultural context shape variation within a classical form.