Research/Areas of Interest:
Infectious disease epidemiology; Host-pathogen ecology; Transmission dynamics of zoonotic pathogens within and between humans and non-human animals; Zoonotic virology; Bayesian phylodynamics of rapidly evolving viruses; Outbreak investigation; Disease surveillance in wildlife, domestic animals, and human populations; One Health- interactions between humans, animals, and the environment and the emergence of infectious diseases; Global health program and research implementation; Mobile health technology; Avian influenza viruses, SARS-CoV-2, and other high-consequence zoonotic pathogens and infections
Education
- PhD, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, United States, 2022
- Master of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, United States, 2007
- Bachelor of Arts, George Washington University, United States, 2005
Biography
Jonathon Gass is an Assistant Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine with a secondary appointment in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Gass is an infectious disease epidemiologist, virus ecologist, and global health practitioner studying how zoonotic viruses emerge from animal reservoirs and spill over into human populations. Dr. Gass is the Deputy Director of the USAID Strategies to Prevent (STOP) Spillover consortium, which develops and evaluates interventions to reduce risks of zoonotic virus spillover in seven countries globally. Dr. Gass has a multi-disciplinary background which includes expertise in both human and animal population health, One Health, molecular virology and phylogenetics, global health research/intervention implementation, and capacity building in human/animal laboratory and public health sectors. He has worked for international humanitarian, non-governmental, and academic organizations to establish operational, investigative, and interventional research studies in multiple settings throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and the Arctic. Throughout the last several years, his research has focused on the inter-continental migration and transmission dynamics of avian influenza viruses among arctic wildlife and SARS-CoV-2 in settings where humans and animals share close contact. In addition, he has extensive experience designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation protocols for large-scale international epidemiological research and development programs. Dr. Gass is a Salzburg Global Fellow.