Health Innovator | Analytics Leader
Aparna Keshaviah is a wastewater-based epidemiology expert who uses advanced analytics and novel data sources to clarify urgent public health questions. Her ability to diagnose problems, identify knowledge gaps, and develop tailored solutions hasimproved emergency preparedness and helped governments implement cost-effective monitoring of population health.
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 advance decarbonization goals. Her high-impact research (h-index 44), published in top-tier journals (including NEJM, Lancet Global Health, Nature Medicine, and JAMA Psychiatry) and featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, and STAT News, has influenced global treatment protocols and health surveillance system design.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Wastewater surveillance
Data linkage for strategy & decision support
Quasi-experimental & clinical trial study design & analysis
Data visualization & dynamic tool design
Monitoring population health in real time
Built and scaled a novel disease surveillance program, generating $5M to advance wastewater monitoring for population health biomarkers. Developed early detection tools used by health agencies to identify disease outbreaks and drug overdoses.
Measuring impacts of complex interventions
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 the definition and measurement of psychiatric disorders. Specialized in longitudinal modeling, adaptive designs, and regulatory reporting.
Designing pathways to improve health
Identified strategies to help organizations improve health and well-being, including ways to expand hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs. Combined qualitative methods and regression modeling to identify opportunities, barriers, and optimal implementation pathways.
Surfacing variation in cultural systems
Conducted field research on the practice of Bharatanatyam dance across India. After randomly sampling and surveying 200+ dance teachers and students, applied regression to examine how pedagogy and cultural context shape variation within a classical form.