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Related Research Units

Computational Health Informatics Program Research

Research Overview

Dr. Maimuna (Maia) Majumder is a computational epidemiologist specializing in emerging epidemics and a recent graduate of the Engineering Systems program at MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS). In between her graduate studies and her current position at CHIP, Maia spent a year at the Health Policy Data Science lab at Harvard Medical School’s Health Care Policy department as a postdoctoral fellow. During her masters and doctoral studies at MIT, she was funded through a graduate fellowship at HealthMap. Prior to Maia’s arrival at MIT, she earned a Bachelors of Science in Engineering Science (with a concentration in Civil and Environmental Engineering) and a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Tufts University. While at Tufts, Maia was a field researcher with the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), where she worked with clinic patients (and their data) to learn how to better tell their stories. Her current research interests involve probabilistic modeling, artificial intelligence, and “systems epidemiology” in the context of public health, with a focus on causal inference for infectious disease surveillance using digital disease data (e.g. search trends; news and social media). She also enjoys exploring novel techniques for data procurement, writing about data for the general public, and creating meaningful data visualizations. As of January 2019, Maia has been engaged in pandemic response efforts and is a leading expert in COVID-19 epidemiology. [WIKI]

Publications

  1. EpiCurveBench: Evaluating epidemic curve digitization. medRxiv. 2025 Dec 04. View Abstract
  2. Validation of VaxEstim, a Bayesian model for rapid estimation of measles-mumps-rubella vaccination coverage at outbreak onset: a cross-sectional study. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2025 Nov; 51:101253. View Abstract
  3. Measles Vaccination Coverage After a Postelimination Outbreak. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Sep 02; 8(9):e2533732. View Abstract
  4. On the importance of communication, advocacy, and information accuracy in destigmatizing mpox disease. Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 25; 15(1):27064. View Abstract
  5. When data disappear: public health pays as US policy strays. Lancet Digit Health. 2025 Jul; 7(7):100874. View Abstract
  6. Underimmunisation during the 2025 Texas measles outbreak. Lancet Infect Dis. 2025 Jun; 25(6):607-609. View Abstract
  7. A Consistent Lack of Consistency: Definitions, Evidentiary Expectations and Potential Use of Meaningful Change Data in Clinical Outcome Assessments Across Stakeholders. Results from a DIA Working Group Literature Review and Survey. Ther Innov Regul Sci. 2025 Mar; 59(2):337-348. View Abstract
  8. Search interest in alleged COVID-19 treatments over the pandemic period: the impact of mass news media. medRxiv. 2024 Nov 22. View Abstract
  9. What we should learn from pandemic publishing. Nat Hum Behav. 2024 Sep; 8(9):1631-1634. View Abstract
  10. Estimating time-varying cholera transmission and oral cholera vaccine effectiveness in Haiti and Cameroon, 2021-2023. medRxiv. 2024 Aug 16. View Abstract
  11. Epidemiologic Analysis of a Postelimination Measles Outbreak in Central Ohio, 2022-2023. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 08 01; 7(8):e2429696. View Abstract
  12. SRBench++ : principled benchmarking of symbolic regression with domain-expert interpretation. IEEE Trans Evol Comput. 2025 Aug; 29(4):1127-1134. View Abstract
  13. "What's in a name?": Using mpox as a case study to understand the importance of communication, advocacy, and information accuracy in disease nomenclature. medRxiv. 2024 Jun 25. View Abstract
  14. Association between social vulnerability and place of death during the first 2 years of COVID-19 in Massachusetts. Age Ageing. 2024 02 01; 53(2). View Abstract
  15. Corrigendum to "Modeling vaccination coverage during the 2022 central Ohio measles outbreak: a cross-sectional study" [The Lancet Regional Health-Americas 2023; 23: 100533]. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2024 Feb; 30:100677. View Abstract
  16. An Epidemic Model for Multi-Intervention Outbreaks. medRxiv. 2023 Jun 29. View Abstract
  17. Modeling vaccination coverage during the 2022 central Ohio measles outbreak: a cross-sectional study. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2023 Jul; 23:100533. View Abstract
  18. A mixed-methods assessment of off-duty police shootings in a media-curated database. Health Serv Res. 2023 08; 58 Suppl 2:207-217. View Abstract
  19. US COVID-19 clinical trial leadership gender disparities. Lancet Digit Health. 2023 03; 5(3):e109-e111. View Abstract
  20. Measuring concordance of data sources used for infectious disease research in the USA: a retrospective data analysis. BMJ Open. 2023 02 28; 13(2):e065751. View Abstract
  21. Evolving Face Mask Guidance During a Pandemic and Potential Harm to Public Perception: Infodemiology Study of Sentiment and Emotion on Twitter. J Med Internet Res. 2023 02 27; 25:e40706. View Abstract
  22. The impact of state paid sick leave policies on weekday workplace mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Health. 2023 Feb; 215:118-123. View Abstract
  23. Evaluating criminal justice reform during COVID-19: The need for a novel sentiment analysis package. PLOS Digit Health. 2022 Jul; 1(7):e0000063. View Abstract
  24. Early human judgment forecasts of human monkeypox, May 2022. Lancet Digit Health. 2022 08; 4(8):e569-e571. View Abstract
  25. Evaluation of Suicides Among US Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Pediatr. 2022 07 01; 176(7):724-726. View Abstract
  26. Data Source Concordance for Infectious Disease Epidemiology. medRxiv. 2022 Jun 03. View Abstract
  27. Risk factors for increased COVID-19 case-fatality in the United States: A county-level analysis during the first wave. PLoS One. 2021; 16(10):e0258308. View Abstract
  28. A generalizable data assembly algorithm for infectious disease outbreaks. JAMIA Open. 2021 Jul; 4(3):ooab058. View Abstract
  29. Risk factors for increased COVID-19 case-fatality in the United States: A county-level analysis during the first wave. medRxiv. 2021 Feb 26. View Abstract
  30. Analyzing Digital Evidence From a Telemental Health Platform to Assess Complex Psychological Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Content Analysis of Text Messages. JMIR Form Res. 2021 Feb 09; 5(2):e26190. View Abstract
  31. Tracking COVID-19 using online search. NPJ Digit Med. 2021 Feb 08; 4(1):17. View Abstract
  32. Gender disparities in coronavirus disease 2019 clinical trial leadership. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2021 Jul; 27(7):1007-1010. View Abstract
  33. What Is Herd Immunity? JAMA. 2020 11 24; 324(20):2113. View Abstract
  34. The UK needs a sustainable strategy for COVID-19. Lancet. 2020 12 05; 396(10265):1800-1801. View Abstract
  35. The role of environmental factors on transmission rates of the COVID-19 outbreak: an initial assessment in two spatial scales. Sci Rep. 2020 10 12; 10(1):17002. View Abstract
  36. Evaluating interest in off-label use of disinfectants for COVID-19. Lancet Digit Health. 2020 11; 2(11):e564-e566. View Abstract
  37. Modeling between-population variation in COVID-19 dynamics in Hubei, Lombardy, and New York City. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 10 13; 117(41):25904-25910. View Abstract
  38. Machine Learning Maps Research Needs in COVID-19 Literature. Patterns (N Y). 2020 Dec 11; 1(9):100123. View Abstract
  39. Real-time estimation of disease activity in emerging outbreaks using internet search information. PLoS Comput Biol. 2020 08; 16(8):e1008117. View Abstract
  40. Tuberculosis and foreign-born populations in the United States: A mixed methods pilot study of media reporting and political identification. PLoS One. 2020; 15(4):e0230967. View Abstract
  41. Modelling the pandemic. BMJ. 2020 04 21; 369:m1567. View Abstract
  42. Democracy and Mobility: A preliminary analysis of global adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19. SSRN. 2020 Apr 07; 3570206. View Abstract
  43. Early in the epidemic: impact of preprints on global discourse about COVID-19 transmissibility. Lancet Glob Health. 2020 05; 8(5):e627-e630. View Abstract
  44. The Role of Environmental Factors on Transmission Rates of the COVID-19 Outbreak: An Initial Assessment in Two Spatial Scales. SSRN. 2020 Mar 12; 3552677. View Abstract
  45. Early in the Epidemic: Impact of preprints on global discourse of 2019-nCoV transmissibility. SSRN. 2020 Feb 12; 3536663. View Abstract
  46. Early transmissibility assessment of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. SSRN. 2020 Jan 24; 3524675. View Abstract
  47. Science Should Drive Vaccine Policy. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 08 02; 2(8):e1910170. View Abstract
  48. Estimation of Pneumonic Plague Transmission in Madagascar, August-November 2017. PLoS Curr. 2018 Nov 01; 10. View Abstract
  49. Seasonality of birth defects in West Africa: could congenital Zika syndrome be to blame? F1000Res. 2018; 7:159. View Abstract
  50. County-level assessment of United States kindergarten vaccination rates for measles mumps rubella (MMR) for the 2014-2015 school year. Vaccine. 2017 11 07; 35(47):6444-6450. View Abstract
  51. Nosocomial amplification of MERS-coronavirus in South Korea, 2015. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2017 06 01; 111(6):261-269. View Abstract
  52. Vaccine compliance and the 2016 Arkansas mumps outbreak. Lancet Infect Dis. 2017 04; 17(4):361-362. View Abstract
  53. Case characteristics among Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak and non-outbreak cases in Saudi Arabia from 2012 to 2015. BMJ Open. 2017 01 12; 7(1):e011865. View Abstract
  54. A Platform for Monitoring Regional Antimicrobial Resistance, Using Online Data Sources: ResistanceOpen. J Infect Dis. 2016 12 01; 214(suppl_4):S393-S398. View Abstract
  55. Risks of Death and Severe Disease in Patients With Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, 2012-2015. Am J Epidemiol. 2016 09 15; 184(6):460-4. View Abstract
  56. Yellow fever vaccination coverage heterogeneities in Luanda province, Angola. Lancet Infect Dis. 2016 09; 16(9):993-995. View Abstract
  57. Utilizing Nontraditional Data Sources for Near Real-Time Estimation of Transmission Dynamics During the 2015-2016 Colombian Zika Virus Disease Outbreak. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2016 Jun 01; 2(1):e30. View Abstract
  58. Mortality Risk Factors for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Outbreak, South Korea, 2015. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015 Nov; 21(11):2088-90. View Abstract
  59. The velocity of Ebola spread in parts of west Africa. Lancet Infect Dis. 2015 Sep; 15(9):1005-1007. View Abstract
  60. Vaccination Compliance and the US Measles Epidemic--Reply. JAMA Pediatr. 2015 Sep; 169(9):877-8. View Abstract
  61. Substandard vaccination compliance and the 2015 measles outbreak. JAMA Pediatr. 2015 May; 169(5):494-5. View Abstract
  62. 2014 ebola outbreak: media events track changes in observed reproductive number. PLoS Curr. 2015 Apr 28; 7. View Abstract
  63. New digital technologies for the surveillance of infectious diseases at mass gathering events. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2015 Feb; 21(2):134-40. View Abstract
  64. Estimation of MERS-Coronavirus Reproductive Number and Case Fatality Rate for the Spring 2014 Saudi Arabia Outbreak: Insights from Publicly Available Data. PLoS Curr. 2014 Dec 18; 6. View Abstract

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