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Summary

Analytical epidemiologist with 8+ years of experience in mechanistic modeling and leveraging complex clinical, genomic, and epidemiological data to inform infectious disease control and policy. Proficient in R and C++, with a strong track record of translating quantitative insights into actionable strategies for diverse scientific and public health stakeholders.

Education

Ph.D., Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Feb 2017 – Feb 2022
Thesis: Contagions under control: Mathematical models to inform infectious disease prevention and control

M.Sc., Epidemiology Postgraduate
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Sept 2017 – Feb 2022
Dutch final grade: 8.1 (GPA ≈ 3.7)

M.Sc., Mathematics
RWTH Aachen, Germany
Sept 2013 – June 2016
German final grade: 1.1 (GPA ≈ 3.9)
Thesis: Algebraic Statistics for Ordinal Log-Linear Models

B.Sc., Mathematics
RWTH Aachen, Germany
Oct 2010 – Mar 2013
Thesis: Algebraic attacks on stream ciphers

Work Experience

Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Sept 2025 – present
Advisor: Katharine Walter

• Quantifying the relationship between ambient air pollution and Mtb incidence in Brazil
• Developing models to estimate the size of the transmission bottleneck in Mtb

Postdoctoral Fellow/Research Associate
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Mar 2022 – Aug 2025
Advisors: Prof. Marc Lipsitch, Prof. Yonatan Grad

• Analyzed clinical and genomic datasets from Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (N ≈ 1 million) and Calgary Health Region (N ≈ 25,000) to define trends in infection incidence and antimicrobial resistance
• Developed statistical models to assess the relationship between antibiotic use and resistance
• Integrated epidemiological and genomic data for SARS-CoV-2 real-time outbreak analysis to distinguish importations from transmissions using data from the National Basketball Association; in collaboration with Yale and University of Nebraska

Infectious Disease Modeler
Ministry of Education in the Netherlands
Mar 2021 – Oct 2021
Advisor: Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen

• Developed an agent-based model to assess re-opening strategies for limiting SARS-CoV-2 transmission in secondary schools in the Netherlands

Visiting Researcher
University of Oxford, UK
Feb 2020 – Aug 2020
Advisor: Prof. Ben Cooper

• Developed statistical models to estimate the burden of nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK; part of the Hospital Onset COVID-19 Working group (subgroup of SAGE)
• Developed statistical model to estimate the impact of hand hygiene interventions on the spread of respiratory tract infections

Visiting Researcher
RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Oct 2014 – Feb 2016

• Research and implementation of randomization methods for rare diseases (IDeAl project)

Data Analyst Intern
uniquedigital, Hamburg, Germany
May 2013 – Aug 2013

• Conceptual design, quality assurance and implementation of customer journey and cross-channel analysis

Selected Publications

Pham TM, Zhang Y, Nevers M, Li H, Khader K, Grad YH, Lipsitch M, Samore M (2024). Trends in infection incidence and antimicrobial resistance in the US Veterans Affairs Healthcare System: a nationwide retrospective cohort study (2007–22). The Lancet Infectious Diseases. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00416-X

Knight GM, Pham TM, Stimson J, et al. (2022). The contribution of hospital-acquired infections to the COVID-19 epidemic in England in the first half of 2020. BMC Infect Dis 22, 556. DOI: 10.1186/s12879-022-07490-4

Pham TM, Büchler AC, Voor in ‘t holt AF, et al. (2022). Routes of transmission of VIM-positive Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the adult intensive care unit—analysis of 9 years of surveillance at a university hospital using a mathematical model. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 11, 55. DOI: 10.1186/s13756-022-01095-x

Pham TM, Tahir H, van de Wijgert JHHM, et al. (2021). Interventions to control nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2: a modelling study. BMC Med 19, 211. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-021-02060-y

Teslya A*, Pham TM*, Godijk NG*, Kretzschmar ME, Bootsma MCJ, Rozhnova G (2020). Impact of self-imposed prevention measures and short-term government-imposed social distancing on mitigating and delaying a COVID-19 epidemic: A modelling study. PLoS Med 17(7): e1003166. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003166
*Co-first authors

Pham TM, Kretzschmar M, Bertrand X, Bootsma M, on behalf of COMBACTE-MAGNET Consortium (2019). Tracking Pseudomonas aeruginosa transmissions due to environmental contamination after discharge in ICUs using mathematical models. PLOS Computational Biology 15(8): e1006697. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006697

Ongoing Projects

Pham TM, et al. (2025). Antimicrobial selection for resistance in four major pathogens in the US Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, 2007-2021. DOI: 10.1101/2025.03.12.25323875 [Manuscript under review]

Pham TM, et al. (2025). Trends in incidence and resistance for five major causes of bacteremia in a Canadian metropolitan area, 2006-22: a genomic and antibiotic use cohort study. [Manuscript in preparation]

Pham TM, et al. (2025). Transmission or Importation? Using SARS-CoV-2 Genomics to Guide Infection Control protocols in the NBA. [Manuscript in preparation]

Awards and Grants

Skills

Languages: German (native), English (professional working proficiency), Vietnamese (limited working proficiency), French (limited working proficiency), Dutch (limited working proficiency)

Programming: R, C++, Python, Matlab

Databases: SQL, MonetDB

Version control: git

Media Coverage

• Kahn K. In-Hospital Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance Declined Over 13 Years. MedPage Today. August 15, 2024.

• Emerson L. New Study Warns About Increased Antibiotic Resistance Against Third-Generation Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics in VA Facilities. U.S. Medicine. October 14, 2024.

• Dall C. Study finds significant pre-COVID declines in antibiotic-resistant infections at VA hospitals. CIDRAP. August 14, 2024.