CV
Education
- Ph.D in Ecology, Evolution & Behavior, 2018
- B.S. in Biomedical Engineering & B.A. in Spanish, University of Virginia, 2012
Work experience
California Department of Public Health/Heluna Health, Richmond, CA (remote)
Statistician Modeler, COVID Modeling Team (September 2021 – present)
USAID, Office of HIV/AIDS, Systems and Program Sustainability Division, Washington, DC
AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow (September 2020 – August 2021)
National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), Annapolis, MD
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (August 2018 – August 2020)
University of Minnesota St. Paul, MN
Graduate Research Fellow and Teaching Assistant (September 2013 – July 2018)
Publications
2025
León, T.M., White, L.A., Spindler, H., Schwab, J., Petersen, M., Vargo, J., Wheeler, W., Shete, P., Jain, S., Watt, J., Pan, E., Kilpatrick, A.M. (Accepted). Fostering public health and academic partnerships during and beyond a public health emergency: lessons learned from COVID-19. American Journal of Epidemiology.
Ravuri, S. Burnor, E., Routledge, I., Linton, N., Thakur, M., Boehm, A., Wolfe, M., Bischel, H.N., Naughton, C.C., Yu, A.T. White, L.A., & León, T.M. (2025). Estimating effective reproduction numbers using wastewater data from multiple sewersheds for SARS-CoV-2 in California counties. Epidemics; 50, 100803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epidem.2024.100803
2024
Lin, E., Bilinski, A., Collender, P.A., Lee, V., León. T.M., White, L.A., Remais, J.V., Head, J.R. (2024). Evaluating associations between eligibility for elementary school attendance in California and COVID-19 incidence using a regression discontinuity design.JAMA Network Open; 7(11):e2444836. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.44836
Zhu, S., McCullough, K., Pry, J.M., Jain, S., White, L.A. & León. T.M. (2024). Modeling the burden of long COVID in California with quality adjusted life-years (QALYS). Scientific Reports; 14, 22663. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-73160-x
Mathis, S.M., Webber, A.E., León, T.M., White, L.A., et al. (2024). Evaluation of FluSight influenza forecasting in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons with a new target laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalizations. Nature Communications; 15, 6289. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50601-9
Head, J.R., Collender, P.A., León, T.M., White, L.A., Sud, S.R., Camponuri, S.K., Lee, V., Lewnard, J.A., & Remais, J.V. (2024). Population-level impact of COVID-19 vaccines on pediatric incidence and hospitalization in California. JAMA Network Open; 7(4):e247822. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.7822
2023
Van de Waal, D.B., White, L.A., Everett, R., Asik, L., Borer, E.T., Frenken, T. González, A.L., Paseka, R.E., Seabloom, E.W., Strauss, A.T. & Peace, A.L. (2023). Reconciling contrasting effects of nitrogen on host immunity and pathogen transmission using stoichiometric models. Ecology; 104(2), e4170. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4170
White, L.A., Avery, L., Bonanno, L., Knight, C., Irwin, C., Hoeflich, K., Hijazi, M., Kaliel, D., & Raulf-Wang, E.C. (2023). An evaluation of local implementing partner performance during the first 2 years of the USAID/PEPFAR transition. Global Health Sciences and Practice; 11(3):e2200337. https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-22-00337
Kaliel, D., Knight, C., Avery, L., White, L.A., Bonanno, L., Porter, J., Hoeflich, K., Irwin, C., Nikola, C., Paul, A., Hijazi, M., Cavanaugh, C., Raulfs-Wang, E.C. (2023). Midpoint reflections on USAID HIV local partner transition efforts. Global Health Sciences and Practice; 11(3):e2200338. https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-22-00338
Seabloom E.W., Asik, L., Everett R.A., Frenken, T., González, A.L., Paseka, R.E. , Peace, A.L., Strauss, A.T., Van de Waal, D.B., White, L.A. & Borer, E.T. (2023). Dead or alive: Carbon as a currency to integrate disease and ecosystem ecology theory. Oikos, e09880. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.09880
White, L.A., Crow, D., McCorvie, R., Jain, S., Leon, T.M. (2023). Assessing the accuracy of California county-level COVID-19 hospitalization forecasts highlights the importance of location-specific predictions for public policy decision making. BMC Public Health, 23: 782. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15649-0
Michalska-Smith, M., Enns, E.A., White, L.A., Gilbertson, M.L.J., Craft, M.E. (2023). The illusion of personal health decisions for infectious disease management: disease spread in social contact networks. Royal Society Open Science; 10: 22122. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221122
2022
Manlove, K., Wilber, M., White, L.A., Bastille-Rousseau, G., Yang, A., Gilbertson, M. Craft, M., Cross, P., Wittemyer, G. & Pepin, K. (2022). Defining an epidemiological landscape that connects movement ecology to pathogen transmission and pace-of-life. Ecology Letters, 25: 1760– 1782. https://doi.org/10.22541/au.163458112.22651398/v1
Hundt, P., White, L.A., Craft, M.E., & Prezmyslaw, G. (2022). Social associations in common carp (Cyprinus carpio): insights from induced feeding aggregations for targeted management strategies. Ecology & Evolution. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8666
Mistrick J., Gilbertson M.L.J., White, L.A., & Craft M.E.. Constructing animal networks for parasite transmission inference. In: Ezenwa VO, Altizer S, Hall RJ, editors. Animal Behavior and Parasitism. Oxford University Press, 2022. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780192895561.003.0004
Borer, E.T., Paseka, R.E., Peace, A., Asik, L., Everett, R., Frenken, T., González, A.L., Strauss A.T., Van de Waal, D.B., White, L.A., Seabloom, E.W. (2022). Disease-mediated nutrient dynamics: reciprocal relationships link host-pathogen interactions with ecosystem elements and energy. Ecological Monographs, 92(2): e1510. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1510
2021
Frenken, T., Paseka, R., González, A.L., Asik, L., Seabloom E.W., White, L.A., Borer, E.T., Strauss, A.T., Peace, A. Van de Waal, DB. (2021). Changing elemental cycles, stoichiometric mismatches, and consequences for pathogens of primary producers. Oikos, 130: 1046–1055. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.08253
Malmberg, J., White, L.A., Vandewoude, S. (2021). Predator driven spillover: Pathogen bioaccumulation in top predators. Trends in Ecology & Evolution; 36(5), P411-420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.01.008
Shaw, A.K., White, L.A., Michalska-Smith, M., Borer, E.T., Craft, M.E., Seabloom, Snell-Rood, E., and Travisano, M. (2021). Lessons from movement ecology for the return to work: modeling contacts and the spread of COVID-19. PLoS ONE 16(1), e0242955. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242955
Borer, E.T., Asik, L. Everett, R.A., Frenken, T., Gonzalez, A. Paseka, R. Peace, A. Seabloom, E.W. Strauss, A.T., Van de Waal, D.B., and White, L.A. (2021). Elements of disease in a changing world: modelling feedbacks between infectious disease and ecosystems. Ecology Letters, 24: 6-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13617
Lee, N., Christensen-Dalsgaard, J., White, L.A., Schrode, K.M., and Bee, M. (2021). Noise-control lungs help frogs solve a multi-species, cocktail party problem. Current Biology, 31: 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.048
2020
Worsley-Tonks, K.E.L., Escobar, L.E., Biek, R., Castaneda-Guzman, M., Craft, M.E., Streicker, D.G., White, L.A., and Fountain-Jones, N.M. (2020) Using host traits to predict reservoir host species of rabies virus. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 14(12): e0008940. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008940
White, L.A., Siva-Jothy, J.,Craft, M. E., and Vale, P. (2020). Genotype and sex-based host variation in behaviour and susceptibility drives population disease dynamics. Proc. R. Soc. B. 287: 20201653, http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1653
White, L.A., Vandewoude, S. & Craft, M.E. (2020). A mechanistic, stigmergy model of territory formation in an asocial animal: territorial behavior can dampen or drive persistence. PLoS Comput Biol 16(6): e1007457. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007457
Paseka, R., White, L.A., van de Waal, D., Strauss, A., González, A., Everett, R.. Peace, A., Seabloom, E., Frenken T., and Borer, E. (2020). Disease-mediated ecosystem services: Pathogens, plants, and people. Trends in Ecology & Evol 35(8): 731-743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2020.04.003
White, L.A. and Mordechai, L. (2020). Modeling the Justinianic Plague: comparing hypothesized transmission routes. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0231256. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231256
Gilbertson, M., White, L.A., and Craft, M.E. (2020). Trade-offs with telemetry-derived contact networks for infectious disease studies in wildlife. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. doi: 10.1111/2041-210X.13355
2018
White, L.A., Forester, J. D. and Craft, M. E. (2018). Understanding pathogen dynamics as a function of individual movement behavior across a heterogeneous landscape. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1801383115
White, L.A., Forester, J. D. and Craft, M. E. (2018). The role of host heterogeneity in determining epidemic outcomes: Covariation between the physiological and behavioral components of transmission. Oikos, 127(4), 538-552. doi: 1111/oik.04527
White, L.A., Forester, J. D. and Craft, M. E. (2018). REVIEW: Mechanistic, spatial models of parasite transmission in wildlife: their structure, applications, and remaining challenges. J. Anim. Ecol. 87(3), 559-580. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12761
2017
Stadler, R., White, L.A., Hu, K., Helmke, B., and Guilford, W. (2017). Direct measurement of cortical force generation and polarization in a living parasite. Mol. Bio. Cell. 28(14), 1912-1923. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E16-07-0518
White, L.A., Torremorell, M. and Craft, M.E. (2017). Influenza A virus in swine breeding herds: Combination of vaccination and biosecurity practices can reduce likelihood of endemic piglet reservoir. Prev. Vet. Med., 138, 55-69. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.12.013
White, L.A., Forester, J.D. and Craft, M.E. (2017). Using contact networks to explore mechanisms of parasite transmission in wildlife. Biolgical Reviews, 92, 389-409. doi:10.1111/brv.12236
2016 or earlier
Eads, D.A., Bowser, J., Poonamallee, M., Molina, S., Neill, J., and White, L.A. (2016). Black-tailed prairie dogs selectively countermark rabbit urine: The scent of competition between a rodent and a lagomorph? Ethology, Ecology & Evolution, 28(1), 102-109. doi:10.1080/03949370.2014.999828
Ezenwa, V., Archie, E., Craft, M.E., Hawley, D., Martin, L., Moore, J. and White, L.A. (2016). Host behavior-parasite feedback: an essential link between animal behavior and disease ecology. Proceedings B, 283(1828), 20153078. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.3078.
White, L.A., Ortiz, Z., Cuervo, L.G., and Reveiz, L. (2011). Clinical trial regulation in Argentina: Overview and analysis of regulatory framework, use of existing tools, and researchers’ perspectives to identify potential barriers. Rev. Panam. Salud Publica, 30(5), 445–452. doi: 1590/S1020-49892011001100007