Professor Emanuele Giorgi PhD

Professor Emanuele Giorgi

Department of Applied Health Sciences
Professor of Statistical Science
Recipient of the Dr Nigel Evans 125th Anniversary Chair in AI & Data Science

Contact details

Email
e.giorgi@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
BESTEAM
Department of Applied Health Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Postgraduate supervision

Emanuele welcomes PhD students interested in both the application and methodological development of statistical and geostatistical models for global public health, including those focusing on software implementation. His supervisory areas include spatial and spatio-temporal modelling, serological data analysis, and the integration of environmental and programmatic data to inform disease control strategies.

He has previously supervised and co-supervised doctoral research projects on topics such as geostatistical modelling of neglected tropical diseases, combining data from multiple surveys, geostatistical survey design, and statistical methods for the analysis of malaria serology data. These projects often combine methodological innovation with strong public health relevance, in collaboration with international partners and WHO-led initiatives.

Research

Emanuele's research focuses on developing and applying statistical and geostatistical methods to address global public health challenges, with a particular emphasis on infectious and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). He leads research that bridges statistical methodology development, implementation in open-source software, and application to global public health problems.

Current Research
 At the University of Birmingham, Emanuele is establishing a research programme on Model-based Geostatistics for Global Public Health, integrating methodological advances with data-driven decision support for health policy. Current projects include:

  • Spatio-temporal modelling under climate change scenarios, aimed at linking incorporating climate change models into spatially correlated random effects models for health outcomes.
  • Serological data analysis, developing mixtures models to quantify exposure to multiple pathogens and support integrated sero-surveillance frameworks.
  • Software development, including the open-source R package RiskMap and the accompanying book Model-based Geostatistics for Global Public Health using R.
  • Global collaborations, through the WHO Collaborating Centre for Geostatistical Methods for NTD Research, working in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Task Force for Global Health to strengthen surveillance, mapping, and capacity-building in low-resource settings.

Emanuele's broader research trajectory aims to strengthen the statistical foundations of global health decision-making, combining robust methodology, open-source tools, and capacity-building partnerships across endemic countries.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Giorgi, E, Fronterre, C & Diggle, PJ 2026, 'A decay-adjusted spatio-temporal model to account for the impact of mass drug administration on neglected tropical disease prevalence', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A (Statistics in Society). https://doi.org/10.1093/jrsssa/qnag100

Giorgi, E & Wallin, J 2026, 'A flexible class of latent variable models for the analysis of antibody response data', Biostatistics, vol. 27, no. 1, kxag008. https://doi.org/10.1093/biostatistics/kxag008

Norman, J, Bassabi-Alladjie, ND-M, Boko-Collins, PM, de Souza, DK, Gass, K, Hamill, L, Langa, J, Moore, C, Mucato, N, Nala, R, Sullivan, S & Giorgi, E 2026, 'Assessing diagnostic accuracy of onchocerciasis rapid diagnostic tests using Bayesian latent class models', PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, vol. 20, no. 10, e0013954. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013954

Clark, FN, Solcà, MDS, Mothé, DB, Brodskyn, CI & Giorgi, E 2026, 'Geostatistical modelling of the effect of vegetation on canine visceral leishmaniasis in Camaçari, Bahia State, Northeastern Brazil using remote-sensed data', Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-73205-3

Bun, K, Mode, B, Susapu, M, Salo, J, Bjerum, C, Payne, M, Tisch, D, Sekihara, M, Giorgi, E, Weil, GJ, Fischer, PU, Robinson, L, Laman, M & King, CL 2025, 'Alternative approaches for monitoring and evaluation of lymphatic filariasis following mass drug treatment with ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine and albendazole in East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea', PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, vol. 19, no. 1, e0012128. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012128

Purkiss, J, Pepe, P, Poplawski, NAK, Maurelli, MP, Gualdieri, L, Rinaldi, L & Giorgi, E 2025, 'Combining country indicators and individual variables to predict soil-transmitted helminth infections among migrant populations: A case study from southern Italy', PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, vol. 19, no. 6, e0012577. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012577

Sasanami, M, Almou, I, Diori, AN, Bakhtiari, A, Beidou, N, Bisanzio, D, Boyd, S, Burgert-Brucker, CR, Amza, A, Gass, K, Kadri, B, Kebede, F, Masika, MP, Olobio, NP, Seife, F, Souley, ASY, Tefera, A, Kello, AB, Solomon, AW, Harding-Esch, EM & Giorgi, E 2025, 'Understanding the impact of covariates for trachoma prevalence prediction using geostatistical methods', BMC Global and Public Health, vol. 3, 48. https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-025-00161-x

Khaki, JJ, Minnery, M & Giorgi, E 2025, 'Using ESPEN data for evidence-based control of neglected tropical diseases in sub-Saharan Africa: A comprehensive model-based geostatistical analysis of soil-transmitted helminths', PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, vol. 19, no. 1, e0012782. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012782

Harte, A, Sasanami, M, Burgert-Brucker, CR, Bakhtiari, A, Bisanzio, D, Jimenez, C, Solomon, AW, Kabona, GE, Masika, MP, Ngondi, J, Ante-Testard, PA, Arnold, BF, Baayenda, G, Cuenca, PR, Diggle, PJ, Edirweera, D, Emerson, PM, Fronterre, C, Gass, K, Newbury, L, Hooper, PJ, Kamau, E, Kebede, F, Kyomuhangi, I, Lietman, TM, McCracken, K, Minnery, M, Nash, SD, Nicholls, T, Olobio, N, Palmer, SL, Saeedzai, SA, Somerville, S, Stern, C, Stukel, D, Szwarcwald, CL, Talero, SL, Yevstigneyeva, V, Kello, AB, Harding-Esch, E & Giorgi, E 2025, 'Using Model-Based Geostatistics to Refine Population-Based Estimates of Trachoma Prevalence: Update from a Technical Consultation', American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, vol. 113, no. 4, pp. 930–936. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.25-0023

Vasconcelos, A, King, JD, Nunes-Alves, C, Anderson, R, Argaw, D, Basáñez, MG, Bilal, S, Blok, DJ, Blumberg, S, Borlase, A, Brady, OJ, Browning, R, Chitnis, N, Coffeng, LE, Crowley, EH, Cucunubá, ZM, Cummings, DAT, Davis, CN, Davis, EL, Dixon, M, Dobson, A, Dyson, L, French, M, Fronterre, C, Giorgi, E, Huang, C-I, Jain, S, James, A, Kim, SH, Kura, K, Lucianez, A, Marks, M, Mbabazi, PS, Medley, GF, Michael, E, Montresor, A, Mutono, N, Mwangi, TS, Rock, KS, Saboyá-Díaz, MI, Sasanami, M, Schwehm, M, Spencer, SEF, Srivathsan, A, Stawski, RS, Stolk, WA, Sutherland, SA, Tchuente, LAT, De Vlas, SJ, Walker, M, Brooker, SJ, Hollingsworth, TD, Solomon, AW & Fall, IS 2024, 'Accelerating progress towards the 2030 Neglected Tropical Diseases targets: How can quantitative modeling support programmatic decisions?', Clinical Infectious Diseases, vol. 78, no. Supplement_2, pp. S83-S92. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciae082

Preprint

Khaki, JJ, Acharya, BK, Morita, K, Pandey, BD & Giorgi, E 2025 'A regression based approach to modelling recurrent outbreaks: a case study of dengue fever in Nepal (2006 to 2022)' medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.21.25327909

Clark, FN, Purkiss, J, Khalid, F, Fronterre, C, Okoyo, C, Cantor, E, Kyomuhangi, I, Chirombo, J, Henrion, M, Omitola, OO, Azhari, AN, Chailloux, A, Montressor, A, Njuguna, B, Hanson, C, Lau, C, Ndellejong, CE, Cametti, C, Mupfasoni, D, Sankara, D, Harding-Esch, EM, Mensah, E, Floyd, J, Cano, J, Timothy, J, Velasco, J, Gass, K, Sullivan, KM, Minnery, M, Mort, M, Mutono, N, Mbabazi, P, Poon, P, Diggle, PJ, Pullan, R, Scholte, RC, Ajjampur, SSR, Jacob, SM, Sayianka, S, Somerville, S, Kim, SH, Hernandes Rocha, TA, Mwangi, T, Kumar, VS, Oswald, W & Giorgi, E 2025 'Developing a framework for building geostatistical capacity to support decision making in national disease control programmes: a meeting report' Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.15602920

Cuenca, PR, Souza, FN, do Nascimento, RC, da Silva, AG, Eyre, MT, Santana, JO, de Oliveira, DS, de Souza, EVR, Palma, FAG, de Carvalho Santiago, DC, Dos Santos Ribeiro, P, Khalil, H, Read, JM, Cremonese, C, Costa, F & Giorgi, E 2025 'Using step selection functions to analyse human mobility using telemetry data in infectious disease epidemiology: a case study of leptospirosis' medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.28.25326582

Castro, CM, Giorgi, E, Phillips, N & Robinson, I 2025 'Utilising Random Effects Models to Analyse Multiple Mini-Interviews for Prospective Medical Students – From Theory to Practice' medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.28.25328486

Review article

Mategula, D, Gichuki, J, Barnes, KI, Giorgi, E & Terlouw, DJ 2025, 'Advancing early warning systems for malaria: progress, challenges, and future directions - a scoping review', PLOS Global Public Health, vol. 5, no. 5, e0003751. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003751

View all publications in research portal