Meet our new faculty: Charlie Whittaker
- Discipline: Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology
- Research interests: I study how infectious diseases spread and how we can spot and stop them faster—especially those with the potential to spark the next pandemic. My work uses computational models to turn complex data into practical guidance for public-health agencies so communities can detect outbreaks early, respond equitably, and keep people safe. Ultimately, I’m focused on building the tools and policies that help the world prepare for—and prevent—the next pandemic.
- Current city: I’m currently based in the occasionally foggy and overcast San Francisco, having just moved here from the perennially overcast city of London, in the United Kingdom.
- Hobbies: I love sports and being outdoors: swimming, skiing, hiking, climbing, surfing, you name it.
Where did you live and work previously?
I was the Sir Henry Wellcome Research Fellow at the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, based out of Imperial College London. Other than this move to San Francisco and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health (and a brief stint away during college), I’ve lived and worked in London my entire life!
What drew you to work and teach at UC Berkeley?
The sense that UC Berkeley, and the School of Public Health in particular, are really walking the walk when it comes to equity and ensuring that all individuals, regardless of the geographical or material happenstance of their birth, are able to live and realise happy, healthy lives. That’s been a major through line of my work to date, and it was inspiring to see that so clearly driving things at a school (and university) level. That and the students. A consistent refrain from every faculty member I spoke to was about how talented and brilliant the students are; the opportunity to work with them will be a real privilege.
What are you currently working on?
Our group, the Pandemic & Epidemic Threat Analysis Lab (PETAL), is working on ensuring the next pandemic doesn’t happen. We do this by using advanced analytical approaches spanning epidemiological modelling, viral phylodynamics and machine learning to uncover new insights into how pathogens spread through populations; and then use those insights to enhance preparedness and response strategies for public-health emergencies. The group works on a broad range of topics related to pandemic preparedness, but current research projects include projects on novel pathogen surveillance, the drivers of zoonotic spillover, and next-generation medical countermeasures such as broad-spectrum vaccines.
