Nita Bharti

Huck Early Career Professor; Assistant Professor of Biology

Nita Bharti

Research Summary

The Bharti lab investigates the underlying links between humans, pathogens, and the environment. We work to identify the mechanisms that give rise to heterogeneities in host disease burden and risk across scales, across spatial and temporal scales. We study the dynamics of host-environment interactions that drive movement and contact patterns as they relate to to pathogen transmission and access to health care.

Huck Affiliations

Links

Publication Tags

Climate Change Niger Satellite Imagery Population Measles Resources Case Studies Drought Woman Resource History Rain Fire Season Fluctuations Bushfire Pteropus Poliocephalus Nigeria Immunization Vegetation Demography Vaccines Imagery Vaccination Ecology Immunity

Most Recent Papers

Transient disease dynamics across ecological scales

Yun Tao, Jessica L. Hite, Kevin D. Lafferty, David J.D. Earn, Nita Bharti, 2021, Theoretical Ecology on p. 625-640

Passive surveillance assesses compliance with COVID-19 behavioural restrictions in a rural US county

Christina L. Faust, Brian Lambert, Cale Kochenour, Anthony C. Robinson, Nita Bharti, 2021, Journal of Hygiene on p. 157-160

Opportunities and constraints in women's resource security amid climate change

Ashley Hazel, Gillian Meeks, Nita Bharti, John Jakurama, Justy Matundu, James Holland Jones, 2021, American Journal of Human Biology

Quantifying the impacts of Australian bushfires on native forests and gray-headed flying foxes

K. Baranowski, C. L. Faust, P. Eby, N. Bharti, 2021, Global Ecology and Conservation

The influence of vector-borne disease on human history

Tejas S. Athni, Marta S. Shocket, Lisa I. Couper, Nicole Nova, Iain R. Caldwell, Jamie M. Caldwell, Jasmine N. Childress, Marissa L. Childs, Giulio A. De Leo, Devin G. Kirk, Andrew J. MacDonald, Kathryn Olivarius, David G. Pickel, Steven O. Roberts, Olivia C. Winokur, Hillary S. Young, Julian Cheng, Elizabeth A. Grant, Patrick M. Kurzner, Saw Kyaw, Bradford J. Lin, Ricardo C. Lopez, Diba S. Massihpour, Erica C. Olsen, Maggie Roache, Angie Ruiz, Emily A. Schultz, Muskan Shafat, Rebecca L. Spencer, Nita Bharti, Erin A. Mordecai, 2021, Ecology Letters on p. 829-846

Linking human behaviors and infectious diseases

Nita Bharti, 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Application of reflectance ratios on high-resolution satellite imagery to remotely identify eucalypt vegetation

Kelsee Baranowski, Teairah Taylor, Brian Lambert, Nita Bharti, 2020, Remote Sensing on p. 1-18

Investigating persistent measles dynamics in Niger and associations with rainfall

Alexandre Blake, Ali Djibo, Ousmane Guindo, Nita Bharti, 2020, Journal of the Royal Society Interface

Controlling the coronavirus narrative

Nita Bharti, 2020, Science on p. 780

How to maintain physical and mental health during coronavirus

Nita Bharti, 2020, The Conversation

Most-Cited Papers

Approaching the limit of predictability in human mobility

Xin Lu, Erik Wetter, Nita Bharti, Andrew J. Tatem, Linus Bengtsson, 2013, Scientific Reports

Mapping populations at risk

Andrew J. Tatem, Susana Adamo, Nita Bharti, Clara R. Burgert, Marcia Castro, Audrey Dorelien, Gunter Fink, Catherine Linard, Mendelsohn John, Livia Montana, Mark R. Montgomery, Andrew Nelson, Abdisalan M. Noor, Deepa Pindolia, Greg Yetman, Deborah Balk, 2012, Population Health Metrics

Ebola: Mobility data

M. Elizabeth Halloran, Alessandro Vespignani, Nita Bharti, Leora R. Feldstein, K. A. Alexander, Matthew Ferrari, Jeffrey Shaman, John M. Drake, Travis Porco, Joseph N.S. Eisenberg, Sara Y. Del Valle, Eric Lofgren, Samuel V. Scarpino, Marisa C. Eisenberg, Daozhou Gao, James M. Hyman, Stephen Eubank, Ira M. Longini, 2014, Science on p. 433

Remotely measuring populations during a crisis by overlaying two data sources

Nita Bharti, Xin Lu, Linus Bengtsson, Erik Wetter, Andrew J. Tatem, 2015, International Health on p. 90-98

Measuring populations to improve vaccination coverage

Nita Bharti, Ali Djibo, Andrew J. Tatem, Bryan T. Grenfell, Matthew J. Ferrari, 2016, Scientific Reports

Spatial dynamics of meningococcal meningitis in Niger: Observed patterns in comparison with measles

N. Bharti, H. Broutin, R. F. Grais, M. J. Ferrari, A. Djibo, A. J. Tatem, B. T. Grenfell, 2012, Journal of Hygiene on p. 1356-1365

Fluctuations in anthropogenic nighttime lights from satellite imagery for five cities in Niger and Nigeria

Nita Bharti, Andrew J. Tatem, 2018, Scientific data

Opportunities and constraints in women's resource security amid climate change

Ashley Hazel, Gillian Meeks, Nita Bharti, John Jakurama, Justy Matundu, James Holland Jones, 2021, American Journal of Human Biology

Quantifying the impacts of Australian bushfires on native forests and gray-headed flying foxes

K. Baranowski, C. L. Faust, P. Eby, N. Bharti, 2021, Global Ecology and Conservation

Transient disease dynamics across ecological scales

Yun Tao, Jessica L. Hite, Kevin D. Lafferty, David J.D. Earn, Nita Bharti, 2021, Theoretical Ecology on p. 625-640

News Articles Featuring Nita Bharti

Jan 11, 2022

Researchers use satellites to monitor bat habitat and study virus spillover

Over the last year and a half, the word "remote" has come to dominate a large portion of our collective consciousness. We’ve had to work remotely, learn remotely, and even socialize remotely. But before the pandemic, because of the nature of their research, remote was already a part of the daily lexicon of some Penn State researchers.

Full Article

Oct 25, 2021

Traffic and mobile phone data predict COVID case counts in rural Pennsylvania

How much people moved around town predicted COVID-19 cases in a rural Pennsylvania county in 2020, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State.

Full Article

Jul 15, 2021

Australian megafires burn critical habitat of 'Vulnerable' virus-harboring bats

The severe megafires that occurred in eastern Australia during 2019-20 were much larger and more concentrated across the landscape than in previous years, according to a study by researchers at Penn State and the University of New South Wales. The unprecedented fires included the burning of 34% of the foraging habitat of grey-headed flying foxes, which are known to transmit deadly Lyssa and Hendra viruses.

Full Article

Jun 23, 2021

Behavior limits COVID-19 spread between University and community

When universities across the U.S. opted to return students to campus for in-person learning during the coronavirus pandemic in the fall of 2020, surrounding communities were understandably concerned that COVID-19 infections rates would significantly increase. In response, several Penn State researchers formed the Centre County COVID-19 Data 4 Action Project (D4A) to conduct anonymous surveys and biological testing for nonstudent residents and Penn State students to document the social and economic impacts of the pandemic in one community.

Full Article

Feb 02, 2021

Vector-borne diseases shaped human history and reveal race disparities

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs), such as plague, malaria and yellow fever, have significantly shaped society and culture, according to an international team of researchers. In a study published in Ecology Letters on Jan. 27, the team used historical evidence interpreted through an ecological lens to illustrate how VBDs have influenced human history, with particular attention to how VBDs have reinforced and exacerbated racism.

Full Article

Jan 29, 2021

Take Note: Epidemiologist Dr. Nita Bharti On Safety And Effectiveness Of New COVID-19 Vaccines

The COVID-19 vaccine is slowly rolling out across the country. Some people still have concerns about these new vaccines and their safety.

Full Article

Dec 21, 2020

Can the NBA win its rematch with COVID-19?

As the pandemic wreaks havoc on the NCAA and NFL, the 2020-21 NBA season offers new hopes and fears

Full Article

Oct 30, 2020

Football is back in Happy Valley. The Coronavirus never left.

Not quite a mile form Beaver Stadium, there's an off-the-grid building encircled by a tall metal fence. Surrounded by fields, unmarked on maps, it looks like a tiny jail north of the Penn State campus. The gate is locked.

Full Article

Oct 16, 2020

Heading down to the Linc Sunday for the Ravens-Eagles game? Here’s what you need to know

So you’re an Eagles season ticket holder who opted in for 2020, instead of deferring for a year, and then you secured a “pod” of two to six tickets to Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens — the first game this season in which fans will be allowed at Lincoln Financial Field. What can you expect?

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Sep 09, 2020

The NFL expects to play a full season despite coronavirus concerns

Training camp amid the pandemic went better than even some of the most optimistic NFL observers would have predicted, with the league’s COVID-19 reserve list dwindling steadily from 66 players at the end of July to fewer than half a dozen as the week of the season openers arrived.

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