Alia R. Bly, BA

Alia Bly is a second-year Emory University Master of Public Health candidate in Epidemiology with Graduate Certificates in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Human Health with a concentration in Epidemiology at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH). She is a Graduate Research Assistant under Dr. Jessica Fairley at the Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine (EUSOM), the Department of Epidemiology (RSPH), and the Hubert Department of Global Health (RSPH). Through the Ferguson RISE Fellowship program, she is continuing her research under Dr. Fairley through a partnership with the Armauer Hansen Research Institute’s Mycobacterial Diseases Research Directorate and the All-Africa Leprosy, Tuberculosis, Rehabilitation, and Training Center (ALERT Hospital) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Her project centers immuno-epidemiologic investigation of risk factors, such as helminth co-infection and undernutrition, for progression from latent to clinically evident leprosy.

Under the guidance of faculty in EUSOM, RSPH, and the Tuberculosis Research Advancement Center’s Bioinformatics and Integrated Systems Biology core, Ms. Bly’s upcoming thesis research will focus on leveraging high-resolution plasma metabolomics to investigate differential micronutrient concentrations, specifically vitamins D3 and A1, associated with leprosy symptom onset. She is also an incoming Graduate Research Assistant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, with a strong interest in vaccine advancements for vector-borne diseases.

While in her undergraduate program, Ms. Bly was the Outstanding Scholar for the Center for the Study of Human Health’s. She is a current member of the Rollins School of Public Health’s Student Outbreak Response Team (SORT) and a prior contributor to an outbreak preparedness partnership between SORT and CDC’s One Health Office.

Ms. Bly’s academic and professional interests include exploring methodologies in molecular epidemiology to enhance surveillance for and early detection of emerging zoonotic and vector-borne pathogens, especially those classified as neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organization. She is also interested in host-pathogen interactions, with a focus on the dynamic interplay of tropical co-infections. From a humanistic perspective, Ms. Bly is passionate about health education and community engagement as stigma reduction tools for potentially disabling infectious diseases like leprosy. She values knowledge co-production and hopes to contribute to a more equitable research landscape for international collaborations in global health.

After graduation, Ms. Bly aims to pursue a doctoral degree in Epidemiology. She plans to enter the field of academic research and continue to explore the nuances of emerging infectious diseases while also sharing her joy for discovery with the next generation of health scientists.