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Area of Specialization

Qualitative Research & Social and Behavioral Sciences

Background

Elizabeth Thomas, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences, earned her Ph.D. in Social and Behavioral Interventions from the Department of Internation Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she also recently completed a Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute Fellowship.  Professor Thomas’ research focuses on designing and evaluating community-level sanitation and hygiene interventions to reduce infection risks and improve child health in vulnerable populations.  Her teaching assignments will include introduction to public health and environmental public health.

Education & Experience

• Post-doctoral Fellow, Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute Fellowship, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – Baltimore, MD, International Health, Social and Behavioral Interventions, 2023 - 2026
• Research Scientist, Caribbean Centre for Child Neurodevelopment, Windward Islands Research & Education Foundation – Grenada, West Indies, 2022 - 2026
• Doctor of Philosophy, International Health, Social and Behavioral Interventions, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – Baltimore, MD, 2021
• Master of Science in Public Health, International Health, Social and Behavioral Interventions, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – Baltimore, MD, 2014
• Bachelor of Arts, Government, The College of William and Mary – Williamsburg, VA, 2009

Courses Taught

• Introduction to Public Health (PBHL 101/KINE 280)
• Environmental Public Health (PBHL 325/KINE 325)

Select Peer-Reviewed Publications

ǂ Indicates author mentorship for publication

• Thomas, E.D. et al. (Submitted) Formative research for a One Health, animal-inclusive approachto Community-led Total Sanitation in rural Mali.
• Dione, M.ǂ, Sow, A., Thomas, E.D., et al. (Submitted) Development and implementation of an animal-inclusive Community-led Total Sanitation program for rural Mali.
• Eyre, M. & Thomas, E.D., et al. (Under review). Breaking down silos: priorities for integrating hygiene and One Health in research, policy and practice.
• Kwong, L.H., Sultana, J., Thomas, E.D., et al. (Under review). A pilot pre-post trial with and without subsidy to promote improved backyard poultry-raising practices to prevent exposure to poultry and poultry feces in rural Bangladesh. Pre-print available at: MedRxiv.
• Kamal, A.ǂ et al. (Under review). Determinants of street food hygiene practices and the effectiveness of interventions for vendors and consumers in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review protocol.
• Thomas, E.D. et al. (2025). Who has sheds? Exploring practices and determinants of overnight housing for backyard poultry in rural Bangladesh to inform an intervention to limit exposure to poultry and poultry feces. PLOS Global Public Health.
• Zohura, F.ǂ, Parvin, T.ǂ, Endres, K., Thomas, E.D., et al. (2025). Formative research for adapting the Cholera-Hospital-Based Intervention-for-7-Days (CHoBI7) Water Treatment and Hygiene Mobile Health Program for scalable delivery in rural Bangladesh. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
• George, C.M. et al. (2024). Effect of an arsenic mitigation program on arsenic exposure in American Indian communities: a cluster randomized controlled trial of the community-led Strong Heart Water Study program. Environmental Health Perspectives.
• Endres, K., Mwishingo, A., Thomas, E.D., et al. (2023). A quantitative and qualitative program evaluation of a Case-Area Targeted Intervention to reduce cholera in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
• Landon, B., Thomas, E.D., et al. (2023). Spare the rod, spoil the child: measurement and learning from an intervention to shift corporal punishment attitudes and behaviors in Grenada, West Indies. Frontiers in Public Health.
• Endres, K. et al. (2023). Behavioral determinants of arsenic-safe water use among Great Plains Indian Nation private well users: results from the community-led Strong Heart Water Study Arsenic Mitigation Program. Environmental Health.
• Uddin, I.M. et al. (2023). Food hygiene and fecal contamination on the household compound are associated with increased pediatric diarrhea in urban Bangladesh (CHoBI7 Program). The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
• Anderson, D. M. et al. (2023). Implementing a community-led arsenic mitigation intervention for private well users in American Indian communities: a qualitative evaluation of the Strong Heart Water Study Program. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
• George, C.M. et al. (2023). Akkermansia muciniphila associated with improved linear growth among young children, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Emerging Infectious Diseases.
• Zacher, T. et al. (2023). Evaluation of water arsenic filter treatment in a participatory intervention to reduce arsenic exposure in American Indian communities: The Strong Heart Water Study. Science of the Total Environment.
• Zohura, F.ǂ, Thomas, E.D., et al. (2022). Formative research for the development of the CHoBI7 Cholera Rapid Response Program for Cholera Hotspots in Bangladesh. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
• Bisimwa, L.ǂ et al. (2022). Formative research for the development of evidence-based targeted water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions to reduce cholera in hotspots in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Preventative Intervention for Cholera for 7 Days (PICHA7) Program. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
• Bisimwa, L. et al. (2022). Diarrheal disease awareness is associated with caregiver handwashing with soap in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (REDUCE Program). The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
• Endres, K. et al. (2022). Water, sanitation, and hygiene and nutritional risk factors for acute respiratory illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: REDUCE Prospective Cohort Study. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
• George, C.M. et al. (2022). Fecal contamination in child play spaces and on child hands are associated with subsequent adverse child developmental outcomes in rural Democratic Republic of the Congo: REDUCE Prospective Cohort Study. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
• George, C.M. et al. (2022). Low dietary diversity is associated with linear growth faltering and subsequent adverse child developmental outcomes in rural Democratic Republic of the Congo (REDUCE program). Maternal & Child Nutrition.
• Monira, S. et al. (2022). Fecal sampling of soil, food, hand, and surface samples from households in urban slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh: an evidence-based development of baby water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
• Parvin, T.ǂ, Thomas, E.D., et al. (2022). Household bird ownership is associated with respiratory illness among young children in urban Bangladesh (CHoBI7 Program). The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
• George, C.M. et al. (2022). Effects of a water, sanitation and hygiene mobile health program on respiratory illness in Bangladesh: a cluster-randomized controlled trial of the CHoBI7 Mobile Health Program. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.