Dianna Hergott

Dianna Hergott holds an PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Washington and a MHS in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology from Johns Hopkins. Dianna joined the START Center in 2017 after spending 5 years abroad working on public health projects in Equatorial Guinea and Central America. In Equatorial Guinea, Dianna worked with Medical Care Development International (MCDI) on their malaria control projects on Bioko Island. At MCDI, she worked with the M&E team to manage and analyze data from the National Health Information System, annual Malaria Indicator Surveys, and various malaria control strategies and investigative studies. In addition, Dianna worked with Sanaria, Inc. and Ifakara Health Institute to set-up the first ever clinical trial in the Equatorial Guinea using Sanaria’s PfSPZ Vaccine. In Guatemala, Dianna was a contractor for CDC-Central America Region’s influenza division. Her main focus was on evaluating and improving the influenza surveillance systems throughout Central America. Dianna’s research interests include immunoepidemiology, vaccines, and infectious disease.

Dianna worked on 9 projects during her two and a half year research assistantship with the START Center, serving as project manager on 6 of the projects. Learn more about some of these projects below:

• Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Nigeria State Profiles – The team performed data extraction and calculation of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) indicators from Nigerian national health surveys, and conducted a literature review on demand and utilization of MNCH services as they relate to vulnerabilities, social constraints, and differences in the public and private health sectors.
• HPV Immunogenicity Data Review – The project team performed a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to evaluate the immunogenicity of alternative (i.e. non-standard) dosing schedules for the HPV vaccine.
• Birth Asphyxia Burden Assessment and Landscaping – The team performed a targeted literature search to assess current interventions for neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), specifically those that show promise in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• Birthing Suite of the Future – This project team researched birthing suites and practices in Sweden, Sri Lanka, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They produced a case report for each country that allowed readers to compare and contrast the processes in each of the three countries.
• Enteric Pathogen-Associated Case Fatality Risks in Hospitals and Communities – The START team conducted a systematic review to identify pathogen-specific CFRs, with particular attention paid to the context of disease (hospital vs. community).

Dianna currently works as a Research Scientist for the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation.