Departmental Affiliations
Joint
School of Medicine
Joint
School of Nursing
Joint
Alain Labrique, PhD '07, MHS '99, MS, is an infectious disease epidemiologist who leverages digital innovations to solve public health problems in resource-limited settings.
Contact Info
615 N. Wolfe Street, Room W5501
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US
+1-410-510-1055
Research Interests
mHealth;Digital Health;Community Trials;Neonatal and Maternal Mortality;Field research methods;
Integrated Health Systems Technologies;Health seeking behavior;Hepatitis E (HEV);Maternal Morbidity; Pregnancy and Infection; Appropriate Technologies;Public Health Technology;Assessment and Diagnostics;New Media and Public Health;Social Media; Spatial Epidemiology; infectious diseases; COVID-19; coronavirus; pandemic
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Johns Hopkins University
2007
MHS
Johns Hopkins University
1999
MS
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1997
Overview
Dr Alain Labrique is an infectious disease epidemiologist, community trialist and a globally recognized leader in the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to strengthen health systems in resource-limited settings. His research focuses on leveraging mobile and digital technologies to solve public health problems - improving data collection, promoting healthy behaviors, optimizing quality / timeliness of services -- but more importantly, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in Digital Health, redefining public health of the future.
Currently serving on the faculty of the Global Disease Epidemiology and Control Program of the Department of International Health, Labrique holds joint appointments in Epidemiology, Community-Public Health (Nursing), Health Sciences Informatics (Medicine), Bioengineering Innovation and Design (Engineering). Labrique has a Master’s in Molecular Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master’s in Epidemiology and a PhD in Infectious Disease Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his field work as a research fellow at the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh.
One of the most highly cited researchers in the emerging field of mHealth / Digital Health, Labrique received a “Top 11 in 2011” innovator award by the Rockefeller and UN Foundations for his work, and since 2014, has led several global mHealth / Digital Health technical advisory and guideline bodies – including serving as the current chair of the World Health Organization’s Digital Health Guidelines Development Group. In 2018, he received the Excellence in International Public Health Practice award from the Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Johns Hopkins University. Today, over 150 Health projects across every division of Hopkins are linked through the JHU Global mHealth Initiative (jhumhealth.org), which Alain founded in 2012.
Dr. Labrique leads one of JHU's largest field research sites in Bangladesh, heading a team of 850+ field staff to study ways to reduce infant and maternal mortality in Bangladesh. He has nearly 200 peer-reviewed publications and has given over 85 public lectures and invited keynotes on the topic of Digital Health. Labrique is the inventor of a number of appropriate technologies (3 patents pending), including the Portable Field Dark Adaptometer – a novel device currently being validated as a non-invasive method for vitamin A assessment.
Currently serving on the faculty of the Global Disease Epidemiology and Control Program of the Department of International Health, Labrique holds joint appointments in Epidemiology, Community-Public Health (Nursing), Health Sciences Informatics (Medicine), Bioengineering Innovation and Design (Engineering). Labrique has a Master’s in Molecular Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master’s in Epidemiology and a PhD in Infectious Disease Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his field work as a research fellow at the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh.
One of the most highly cited researchers in the emerging field of mHealth / Digital Health, Labrique received a “Top 11 in 2011” innovator award by the Rockefeller and UN Foundations for his work, and since 2014, has led several global mHealth / Digital Health technical advisory and guideline bodies – including serving as the current chair of the World Health Organization’s Digital Health Guidelines Development Group. In 2018, he received the Excellence in International Public Health Practice award from the Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Johns Hopkins University. Today, over 150 Health projects across every division of Hopkins are linked through the JHU Global mHealth Initiative (jhumhealth.org), which Alain founded in 2012.
Dr. Labrique leads one of JHU's largest field research sites in Bangladesh, heading a team of 850+ field staff to study ways to reduce infant and maternal mortality in Bangladesh. He has nearly 200 peer-reviewed publications and has given over 85 public lectures and invited keynotes on the topic of Digital Health. Labrique is the inventor of a number of appropriate technologies (3 patents pending), including the Portable Field Dark Adaptometer – a novel device currently being validated as a non-invasive method for vitamin A assessment.
Honors & Awards
Excellence in International Public Health Practice (2018), JHU Distinguished Alumnus Award (2019),
Fellow, NIH mHealth Summer Institute, La Jolla, CA (2011), Johns Hopkins Faculty Innovation Fund Awardee (2011), President's Award for Excellence in Advising (2011), Inaugural Member, International Consortium for Control and Prevention of Viral Hepatitis E (2010), American College of Epidemiology (Elected Member, 2010) Delta Omega Inductee (2010), Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health Awardee (2008) Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Technology Transfer SEED Awardee (2005-2006) The David and Elinor Bodian Scholarship (JHU SPH) 2001-2002 Ruth Rice Puffer Award for International Students (JHU SPH) 2001 Charlotte Silverman Award for Outstanding Community Service (JHU SPH-Epidemiology) 2001 Delta Omega (Alpha Chapter) Scholarship Recipient 2001
Fellow, NIH mHealth Summer Institute, La Jolla, CA (2011), Johns Hopkins Faculty Innovation Fund Awardee (2011), President's Award for Excellence in Advising (2011), Inaugural Member, International Consortium for Control and Prevention of Viral Hepatitis E (2010), American College of Epidemiology (Elected Member, 2010) Delta Omega Inductee (2010), Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health Awardee (2008) Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Technology Transfer SEED Awardee (2005-2006) The David and Elinor Bodian Scholarship (JHU SPH) 2001-2002 Ruth Rice Puffer Award for International Students (JHU SPH) 2001 Charlotte Silverman Award for Outstanding Community Service (JHU SPH-Epidemiology) 2001 Delta Omega (Alpha Chapter) Scholarship Recipient 2001
Select Publications
Most cited publications
- Mehl G, Labrique AB. Prioritizing integrated mHealth strategies for universal health coverage. Science. 2014 Sep 12;345(6202):1284-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1258926.
- Agarwal S, LeFevre AE, Lee J, L'Engle K, Mehl G, Sinha C, Labrique AB; WHO mHealth Technical Evidence Review Group. Guidelines for reporting of health interventions using mobile phones: mobile health (mHealth) evidence reporting and assessment (mERA) checklist. BMJ. 2016 Mar 17;352:i1174. doi: 10.1136/bmj.i1174. PMID:26988021
- Labrique AB, Vasudevan L, Kochi E, Fabricant R, Mehl G. Articulating mHealth Strategies as Health System Strengthening Tools – Twelve Common Applications and a Visual Framework. Global Health Science and Practice. 2013; 1(2):160-171. First published online August 6, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-13-00031. (Most cited [106+] and accessed article in mHealth field 2013-2017)
- Labrique AB, P Christian, RDW Klemm, M Rashid, AA Shamim, A Massie, K Schulze, A Hackman, KP West, Jr. A Cluster-Randomized Maternal Vitamin A or Beta-Carotene Supplementation Trial in Bangladesh: Design and Methods. Trials, 2011. 12:102
- Jacobson, Laura E. and Labrique, Alain B. "Information Communication Technology and Health." Foundations for Global Health Practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2017.
Projects
MotherNewborNet
The portable field dark adaptometer: Validating a novel device for field-based screening and detection of vitamin A deficiency and night blindness, a debilitating condition associated with high maternal and child mortality
Vitamin A in the Treatment of Neonatal Necrotizing Enterocolitis
Wireless Public Health Technologies to Prevent Drowning
mCare: Enhancing survival of high-risk neonates in rural S. Asia
Incidence and Natural History of Hepatitis E Virus in Pregnant Bangladeshi Women
Prelacteal Feeding Patterns in Rural Bangladesh
Pilot Study of Sterilray Far-UV System to reduce Nosocomial Infections
Field development and validation of a salivary hepatitis E assay in Bangladesh
Non-invasive zoonotic pathogen exposure and outcome biomarkers with follow-up in livestock workers and household members
mHealth Alliance - WHO Internship
mTIKKA - Harnessing a Mobile - Cloud System to Achieve Universal Vaccination
Hepatitis E Landscape Analysis
Etiologies of Viral Hepatitis Substudy
Hepatitis E Immunologic Persistence
mNutrition: mHealth Research Partner
mCare: Mobile Phones for Newborn Survival
Nutrition Goggles: Improving Methods to Assess Vitamin A Deficiency
Improving services for children with hearing loss in Alaska (PCORI)
Text4Father
Arsenic and immune response to influenza vaccination in pregnant women and newborns
Effect of Antenatal Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation on Fetal and Infant Mortality and Maternal Health in Bangladesh (JiVitA-3)
Protein Plus: Improving infant growth through diet and enteric health
Rapid Mortality Mobile Phone Surveys during COVID-19
Evaluation of a Digital Health Job Aid for Improving Maternal and Infant Care at Primary Health Care Facilities in Burkina Faso
Bloomberg Data for Health - Non-Communicable Diseases (D4H-NCD) Surveillance Project