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Holly Gaff, PhD

Assistant Professor, VMASC-Affiliated Faculty Member

Research Interests

Mathematical modeling and simulation of infectious diseases; spatial heterogeneity; GIS; tick-borne diseases; nosocomial infections; ecology of infectious diseases.

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Mathematics with a Concentration in Mathematical Ecology, 1999
  • B.S. Taylor University, Mathematics/Environmental Science, 1993

Professional Experience

  • Assistant Professor, School of Community and Environmental Health and Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center, Old Dominion University, August 2007-present
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, August 2004-July 2007
  • Research Scientist, Dynamics Technology, Inc., Arlington, Virginia, April 2003-July 2004
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Institute for Environmental Modeling, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, February 2002-April 2003
  • Application Consultant, Onward, Inc., Mountain View, California, April 2001-January 2002
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Ecosystem Sciences, ESPM, University of California, Berkeley, March 2000-March 2001
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, August 1999-March 2000

Selected Publications

  1. Gaff, H.  and L. J. Gross, Analysis of a tick-borne disease model with varying population sizes in various habitats, Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, (2007) 69:265-288.
  2. Gaff, H., H. R., Joshi, and S. Lenhart, Optimal harvesting during an invasion of a sublethal plant pathogen, Environment and Development Economics, (2007) 12: 673-686.
  3. Gaff, H., D. Hartley and N. Leahy, An epidemiological model for Rift Valley fever virus, Electronic Journal of Differential Equations, (2007) Vol 2007(115):1-12.
  4. Joshi, H. R., S. Lenhart, H. Lou, and H. Gaff, Harvesting Control in an integrodifference population model with concave growth term, Nonlinear Analysis: Hybrid Systems, (2007) 1: 417-429.
  5. Furuno JP, Harris AD, Wright MO, Hartley DM, McGregor, JC, Gaff HD, Hebden JN,  Standiford HC, Perencevich EN; Utility of active surveillance culturing for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus upon intensive care unit discharge. Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, (2007) 28:666-670.
  6. Joshi, H. R., S. Lenhart, and H. Gaff, Optimal Harvesting in an Integro-difference Population Model, Optimal Control Applications and Methods (2006) 27:61-75.

Current and Past Research Grants

  1. Principal Investigator, NIH K25 Award KAI067791A, Spatially-explicit mathematical model of human monocytic ehrlichiosis, 06/01/07 - 03/31/10
  2. Co-Investigator, Johns Hopkins University/CDC, T. Perl (PI), Bring Value Through BioSense - a Performance Based Approach, 10/01/06-09/30/09
  3. Co-Investigator, Georgetown University Argus Project, D. M. Hartley (PI), $100,000, 09/01/06-05/31/07
  4. Co-Investigator, CDC, A. Harris (PI),  New Nosocomial Interventions to Decrease Antimicrobial Resistance $573,446, 9/30/06 - 05/31/07
  5. Co-Investigator, Office of Homeland Security, D. M. Hartley (PI), Modeling of Rift Valley Fever for Agricultural Bioterrorism Defense, $390,010, 05/01/04-04/30/07

Contact information

Holly Gaff
Assistant Professor
Community and Environmental Health, College of Health Sciences
Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center
Old Dominion University
3133A Health Sciences Building
Norfolk, VA 23529
757-683-6903
hgaff@odu.edu
http://www.odu.edu/~hgaff