Tatiana Loboda Awarded $1M Grant to Create Early Warning Systems for Infectious Diseases in Indonesia

Loboda will use satellite technology to help health officials prepare for, and more effectively manage, outbreaks of malaria and dengue

Professor Tatiana Loboda, chair of the Department of Geographical Sciences, has received a $1,093,841 grant from NASA to support the development of satellite-based systems that would help Indonesian health officials anticipate outbreaks of malaria and dengue, and allocate resources more effectively when outbreaks occur.

“Indonesia is one of the most vulnerable countries to environmental pollution and infectious diseases,” said Loboda. “We are hoping to reduce the burden on public health agencies by providing timely actionable forecasts of potential outbreaks of malaria and dengue using satellite imagery.”

Mosquito-borne disease patterns are shifting with climate change-induced temperature rises and changing rainfall patterns. At the same time, growing parasite drug resistance is making these diseases more difficult to control, increasing the need for preventive action. Geographical scientists like Loboda examine how environmental shifts drive disease patterns, bringing critical insight to where and when outbreaks are likely to occur.

Image via rawpixel: An Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary vector of dengue fever, draws a blood meal from a human host

Published on Fri, Aug 1, 2025 - 11:12AM