Christina Harden
PhD candidate investigating rodent-borne zoonotic disease in West Africa
Research
I'm an epidemiologist and ecologist interested in the ways human livelihood activities affect rodent reservoirs of zoonotic disease.My dissertation uses a participatory, mixed methods approach to explore how agricultural activities and settlement patterns in southern Nigeria mediate contact between humans and multimammate rats (Mastomys spp.), the putative reservoirs of the Lassa virus.My research aims to improve our understanding of Lassa fever risk in endemic areas and ultimately develop effective, ecologically sound intervention strategies that align with community priorities.
Publications
Harden C, Eziechina S, Ifebueme NM, Simons D, Moses L et al. (in press). Local knowledge of land use effects on human-rodent interfaces in Lassa-endemic Nigeria. EcoHealth.
Simons D, Harden C, Imirzian N., Thompson KT, Ifebueme NM, et al. 2026. Local heterogeneity in Lassa fever serology in rural Nigeria: implications for vaccine trial site selection. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Friant S, Simons D, Bjornstad O, Gibb R, Harden C, et al. 2026. Scaling Lassa Virus Dynamics within Anthropogenic Ecosystems (SCAPES) study: a mixed-methods observational cohort study of humans, rodents, and landscapes in Nigeria. Wellcome Open Research.
Friant S, Mistrick J, Luis A, Harden C, Simons D, et al. 2025. Reducing the threats of rodent-borne zoonoses requires an understanding and leveraging of three key pillars: disease ecology, synanthropy, and rodentation. Lancet Planetary Health.
Sayegh H, Harden C, Khan H, Pai M, Eichbaum QG, Ibingira C, Goba G. 2022. Global health education in high income countries: confronting coloniality and power asymmetry. BMJ Global Health 7:e008501.
Vogels CBF, Watkins AE, Harden CA, Brackney DE, Shafer J, Wang J, Cesar C, Kalinich CC, Ott IM, Fauver JR et al. 2021. SalivaDirect: A simplified and flexible platform to enhance SARS-CoV-2 testing capacity. Med 2(3):263-280.
SCAPES Project
My dissertation work is part of Scaling Lassa Virus Dynamics within Anthropogenic Ecosystems (SCAPES): a mixed-methods observational cohort study of humans, rodents, and landscapes in Nigeria. This project is funded by a five-year NSF EEID grant (NPM2J7MSCF61) directed by Sagan Friant at Pennsylvania State University in collaboration with Lina Moses, Dave Redding, Ottar Bjornstad, and others.
About
Reformed ski bum; enjoys gardening, television, post-punk, and new wave
