The Michael Lab is generally interested in investigating the spread and control of important tropical infectious diseases. Currently, the specific objectives are to address the next generation of critical questions regarding the population ecology, epidemiology, and control of neglected tropical and vector-borne diseases, including lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, malaria and dengue.  A common theme running across these research programs is the development and implementation of novel analytical approaches for providing a deeper understanding of the determinants, pathways and dynamics of disease transmission in endemic communities and using the insights gained for identifying and analyzing sustainable approaches to disease control.  Insights are based on the integrated application of emerging tools and approaches particularly in the fields of systems modeling, community ecology, socio-ecology, spatio-temporal analysis, parasite population genetics, biostatistics, computer science, machine learning, governance, economics, and health policy. The laboratory also studies the influence of global climate change on vector- and environmentally-mediated infectious disease transmission, as well as the increasingly important public health topic of the epidemiology of chronic and infectious disease co-occurrence and morbidity in developing populations, focusing in particular on the implications of the growing incidence of diabetes mellitus in these communities for the transmission and control of infectious diseases such as TB, HIV and melioidosis.