Rowland Kao
@rowlandkao.bsky.social
University of Edinburgh, Roslin Institute & School of Physics
& Astronomy. Interested in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Modelling; Complex Networks;
All views expressed here are my own.
& Astronomy. Interested in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Modelling; Complex Networks;
All views expressed here are my own.
As one of the "we" very pleased to be part of this initiative. Thanks to @helcecilia.bsky.social @paulineezanno.bsky.social and @gaelbn.bsky.social for taking the lead on this one.
I'm not very active here but I figured this would probably (hopefully?) interest some of you :
We recently launched an international consortium of modelers in animal health, called ModAH Hub
www.modah-hub.com
🦠💻🐄🐖🐓🦟
We recently launched an international consortium of modelers in animal health, called ModAH Hub
www.modah-hub.com
🦠💻🐄🐖🐓🦟
ModAH Hub
An international network to federate the scientific community working on epidemiological modelling in animal health.
www.modah-hub.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:42 AM
As one of the "we" very pleased to be part of this initiative. Thanks to @helcecilia.bsky.social @paulineezanno.bsky.social and @gaelbn.bsky.social for taking the lead on this one.
rdcu.be/euiRS. Spatial patterns of COVID-19 2nd booster uptake is well predicted from 1st booster patterns via deprivation, age & gender. Spatial patterns deviated w/ later boosters, w/ men under 60 showing markedly lower uptake than predicted. Kudos to Anthony Wood for his excellent analysis.
Long-term spatial patterns in COVID-19 booster vaccine uptake
Communications Medicine - Long-term spatial patterns in COVID-19 booster vaccine uptake
rdcu.be
July 2, 2025 at 10:42 AM
rdcu.be/euiRS. Spatial patterns of COVID-19 2nd booster uptake is well predicted from 1st booster patterns via deprivation, age & gender. Spatial patterns deviated w/ later boosters, w/ men under 60 showing markedly lower uptake than predicted. Kudos to Anthony Wood for his excellent analysis.
Interested in applying data science to practical health problems? At Lancaster University learn a mix of programming, stats, and health economics. For an international flavour there is a summer school on Pemba just beside Zanzibar. www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/postgr...
Health Data Science MSc - Lancaster University
Find out more about studying Health Data Science MSc at Lancaster University
www.lancaster.ac.uk
June 26, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Interested in applying data science to practical health problems? At Lancaster University learn a mix of programming, stats, and health economics. For an international flavour there is a summer school on Pemba just beside Zanzibar. www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/postgr...
Very proud of the links I have with scientists in BioSS - long may it continue
Congratulations to BioSS associate @rowlandkao.bsky.social who was recently recognised with a CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for his work in understanding infectious diseases!
www.bioss.ac.uk/people/rkao
www.bioss.ac.uk/people/rkao
June 25, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Very proud of the links I have with scientists in BioSS - long may it continue
@ewancolman.bsky.social analysed the impact of individual person shedding variability on virus detection in #wastewater-based epidemiology and ability to identify rises and falls in COVID-19 trajectories in Scotland during the pandemic journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... Elegant analysis Ewan!
The impact of signal variability on COVID-19 epidemic growth rate estimation from wastewater surveillance data
Testing samples of wastewater for markers of infectious disease became a widespread method of surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic. While these data generally correlate well with other indicators...
journals.plos.org
May 29, 2025 at 5:36 PM
@ewancolman.bsky.social analysed the impact of individual person shedding variability on virus detection in #wastewater-based epidemiology and ability to identify rises and falls in COVID-19 trajectories in Scotland during the pandemic journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... Elegant analysis Ewan!
Reposted by Rowland Kao
Great PhD opportunity with @edmhill.bsky.social @profbuchan.bsky.social and others, please circulate to anyone interested!
www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgr...
www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgr...
Optimising Vaccination Outreach Through Epidemiological-Behavioural Modelling and AI
Vaccine hesitancy is a complex, time-varying problem leading to suboptimal vaccination coverage for individuals, groups and populations. In turn, this has serious consequences for individuals and popu...
www.liverpool.ac.uk
April 2, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Great PhD opportunity with @edmhill.bsky.social @profbuchan.bsky.social and others, please circulate to anyone interested!
www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgr...
www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgr...
Reposted by Rowland Kao
📰 DEFRA avian influenza update: 28 Mar 2025 #IDSky #IDEpi #OneHealth
2️⃣ premises with HPAI H5N1 confirmed
🐔 Commercial poultry at premises near Wymondham, Norfolk
🐦 Poultry & captive birds at premises near Blaydon, Durham (previously suspected case)
🔗 Avian influenza: latest situation in England👇
2️⃣ premises with HPAI H5N1 confirmed
🐔 Commercial poultry at premises near Wymondham, Norfolk
🐦 Poultry & captive birds at premises near Blaydon, Durham (previously suspected case)
🔗 Avian influenza: latest situation in England👇
Bird flu (avian influenza): latest situation in England
Find out about the latest bird flu situation in England and guidance for bird keepers and the public.
www.gov.uk
March 28, 2025 at 11:50 PM
📰 DEFRA avian influenza update: 28 Mar 2025 #IDSky #IDEpi #OneHealth
2️⃣ premises with HPAI H5N1 confirmed
🐔 Commercial poultry at premises near Wymondham, Norfolk
🐦 Poultry & captive birds at premises near Blaydon, Durham (previously suspected case)
🔗 Avian influenza: latest situation in England👇
2️⃣ premises with HPAI H5N1 confirmed
🐔 Commercial poultry at premises near Wymondham, Norfolk
🐦 Poultry & captive birds at premises near Blaydon, Durham (previously suspected case)
🔗 Avian influenza: latest situation in England👇
With proper development Wastewater surveillance could be used to track epidemics even when driven by asymptomatic infections www-cbc-ca.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cbc....
Amid Canada's largest measles outbreak in more than a decade, experts say this COVID-era tool could help
www-cbc-ca.cdn.ampproject.org
March 29, 2025 at 2:53 PM
With proper development Wastewater surveillance could be used to track epidemics even when driven by asymptomatic infections www-cbc-ca.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cbc....
H5N1 found in sheep for the first time - no obvious immediate risks but another indication of the potential for a well known virus to surprise. No indication yet of whether or not its an isolated case or evidence of onward transmission. www.gov.uk/government/n...
Influenza of avian origin confirmed in a sheep in Yorkshire
Influenza of avian origin (H5N1) has been confirmed in a single sheep in Yorkshire.
www.gov.uk
March 24, 2025 at 9:07 AM
H5N1 found in sheep for the first time - no obvious immediate risks but another indication of the potential for a well known virus to surprise. No indication yet of whether or not its an isolated case or evidence of onward transmission. www.gov.uk/government/n...
Increasingly thinking about my research groups computing energy use. We are generating only a tiny fraction of the consumption of course but it’s just far too easy to let the computers do the work rather than thinking through what really needs to be done www.oneninenine.agency/articles/the....
The Cloud now has a greater carbon footprint than the airline industry
The internet is now responsible for up to 4% of all total carbon emissions. So how can we make The Cloud green with our growing dependence on technology and AI?
www.oneninenine.agency
March 17, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Increasingly thinking about my research groups computing energy use. We are generating only a tiny fraction of the consumption of course but it’s just far too easy to let the computers do the work rather than thinking through what really needs to be done www.oneninenine.agency/articles/the....
It's been coming - but its still the end of an era: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Skype announces it will close in May
The internet chat and phone service, which is owned by Microsoft, made the announcement on X.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 28, 2025 at 5:43 PM
It's been coming - but its still the end of an era: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
if you have to bet on when a randomly occurring event will occur always bet on the 1st day; any other day is conditional on the event having not yet occurred and therefore has lower probability. I.e. the 1st allowable day is the mode of the distribution
dist.is
February 26, 2025 at 4:54 PM
if you have to bet on when a randomly occurring event will occur always bet on the 1st day; any other day is conditional on the event having not yet occurred and therefore has lower probability. I.e. the 1st allowable day is the mode of the distribution
Reposted by Rowland Kao
📰 Recent highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 confirmations in other captive birds in England #IDSky #IDEpi
🐔 25 Feb 2025: Confirmed case at premises near Fownhope, Herefordshire
📊 22 cases of HPAI H5N1 in England in 2025
🔗 Avian influenza: latest situation👇
www.gov.uk/government/n...
🐔 25 Feb 2025: Confirmed case at premises near Fownhope, Herefordshire
📊 22 cases of HPAI H5N1 in England in 2025
🔗 Avian influenza: latest situation👇
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Bird flu (avian influenza): latest situation in England
Find out about the latest bird flu situation in England and guidance for bird keepers and the public.
www.gov.uk
February 25, 2025 at 11:12 PM
📰 Recent highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 confirmations in other captive birds in England #IDSky #IDEpi
🐔 25 Feb 2025: Confirmed case at premises near Fownhope, Herefordshire
📊 22 cases of HPAI H5N1 in England in 2025
🔗 Avian influenza: latest situation👇
www.gov.uk/government/n...
🐔 25 Feb 2025: Confirmed case at premises near Fownhope, Herefordshire
📊 22 cases of HPAI H5N1 in England in 2025
🔗 Avian influenza: latest situation👇
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Reposted by Rowland Kao
PhD position (Glasgow, UK)
Quantifying the contribution of livestock movements to AMR in East Africa
with @researcherJess
at University of Glasgow
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2277
Quantifying the contribution of livestock movements to AMR in East Africa
with @researcherJess
at University of Glasgow
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2277
February 26, 2025 at 2:01 PM
PhD position (Glasgow, UK)
Quantifying the contribution of livestock movements to AMR in East Africa
with @researcherJess
at University of Glasgow
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2277
Quantifying the contribution of livestock movements to AMR in East Africa
with @researcherJess
at University of Glasgow
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2277
Reposted by Rowland Kao
Some answers to my question about what would trigger use of #H5N1 vaccine being purchased by Canada. #NACI, the advisory group that recommends vaccine policy in Canada, has issued preliminary guidance on how/when to use H5 vaccine in a non-pandemic context. www.canada.ca/en/public-he...
February 19, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Some answers to my question about what would trigger use of #H5N1 vaccine being purchased by Canada. #NACI, the advisory group that recommends vaccine policy in Canada, has issued preliminary guidance on how/when to use H5 vaccine in a non-pandemic context. www.canada.ca/en/public-he...
Giving poultry workers bird flu vaccines protects them and reduced the chances for either recombination with seasonal flu or further strain adaptation in humans www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
Ottawa purchases 500,000 doses of bird flu vaccine for people at higher risk of catching virus
The majority of the doses will be handed out to provinces and territories, which will decide when and where to deploy the shots
www.theglobeandmail.com
February 19, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Giving poultry workers bird flu vaccines protects them and reduced the chances for either recombination with seasonal flu or further strain adaptation in humans www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
New spillover of HPAI into cattle. A regular event now ... www.aphis.usda.gov/news/program... - hard to know how much is about looking for it harder, how much is because there is so much circulating HPAI in US birds, and how much is due to the strain of virus itself.
APHIS Identifies Third HPAI Spillover in Dairy Cattle | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
On February 13, 2025, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed by whole genome sequence a detection of highly pathogenic a...
www.aphis.usda.gov
February 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
New spillover of HPAI into cattle. A regular event now ... www.aphis.usda.gov/news/program... - hard to know how much is about looking for it harder, how much is because there is so much circulating HPAI in US birds, and how much is due to the strain of virus itself.
Given his approach to Gaza I’m sure we are in good hands www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Trump says he has spoken to Putin and agreed to negotiate Ukraine ceasefire
US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth says Ukraine would have to cede territory, alarming Kyiv and European allies
www.theguardian.com
February 12, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Given his approach to Gaza I’m sure we are in good hands www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Permanent PDRA position @pirbrightinst.bsky.social working in one of the most important disease systems/challenges we face lnkd.in/eR-27gNY
The Pirbright Institute hiring Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Woking, England, United Kingdom | LinkedIn
Posted 10:37:37 AM. Postdoctoral Scientist – (24P-80)The Pirbright Institute Salary: £38,500 - £40,000 per…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
lnkd.in
February 11, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Permanent PDRA position @pirbrightinst.bsky.social working in one of the most important disease systems/challenges we face lnkd.in/eR-27gNY
Reposted by Rowland Kao
#USDA reported 5 new #H5N1 #birdflu infected herds today, 4 in ... wait for it ... Nevada! & 1 in California. The Nevada herds are the first there since early December. I hope the people who study sequences can find these & figure out if they are all part of the same outbreak or new introductions.
February 3, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Workshop for younger researchers interested in complexity science. There is a nice list of projects here in #complexsystems
February 3, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Workshop for younger researchers interested in complexity science. There is a nice list of projects here in #complexsystems
Reposted by Rowland Kao
Our study on pasteurising influenza viruses in milk is now out! It's a nice simple story: influenza viruses (including H5N1) are killed really effectively by pasteurisation, but in raw milk they stay infectious - obvious public health implications of both points... (1/2)
rdcu.be/d73te
rdcu.be/d73te
January 30, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Our study on pasteurising influenza viruses in milk is now out! It's a nice simple story: influenza viruses (including H5N1) are killed really effectively by pasteurisation, but in raw milk they stay infectious - obvious public health implications of both points... (1/2)
rdcu.be/d73te
rdcu.be/d73te
New EU dashboard for Wastewater surveillance for infectious diseases joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and...
Tracking diseases from the sewer
The EU Wastewater Surveillance Dashboard provides near real-time insights into the spread of pathogens.
joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu
January 30, 2025 at 10:19 PM
New EU dashboard for Wastewater surveillance for infectious diseases joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and...
Further twists in the bird flu saga www.reuters.com/business/hea...
U.S. reported first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu in poultry, WOAH says
The United States reported a first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu on a poultry farm, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Monday.
www.reuters.com
January 29, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Further twists in the bird flu saga www.reuters.com/business/hea...
Reposted by Rowland Kao
1/ 📣 Two funded PhDs available as part of UKRI Research Hub in AI for Collective Intelligence (ai4ci.ac.uk) #PhDSky
🧪 Interdisciplinary work between infectious disease epidemiology & AI (Pandemic Resilience research theme) #IDSky #IDEpi
🏫 Based at University of Bristol & supervised by Leon Danon
🧪 Interdisciplinary work between infectious disease epidemiology & AI (Pandemic Resilience research theme) #IDSky #IDEpi
🏫 Based at University of Bristol & supervised by Leon Danon
Developing Artificial Intelligence methods for infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics (AI for Collective Intelligence – Pandemic Resilience) at University of Bristol on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Developing Artificial Intelligence methods for infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics (AI for Collective Intelligence – Pandemic Resilience) at University of Bristol, listed on...
www.findaphd.com
January 24, 2025 at 3:21 PM
1/ 📣 Two funded PhDs available as part of UKRI Research Hub in AI for Collective Intelligence (ai4ci.ac.uk) #PhDSky
🧪 Interdisciplinary work between infectious disease epidemiology & AI (Pandemic Resilience research theme) #IDSky #IDEpi
🏫 Based at University of Bristol & supervised by Leon Danon
🧪 Interdisciplinary work between infectious disease epidemiology & AI (Pandemic Resilience research theme) #IDSky #IDEpi
🏫 Based at University of Bristol & supervised by Leon Danon