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Sylvia Becker-Dreps, MD, MPH | Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases

Sylvia Becker-Dreps, MD, MPH

Director, Office of Global Health Education

Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Epidemiology

Sylvia- Becker-Dreps-study-links-giardia-infection-to-slower-growth-in-children

Contact Information

Address

Office :
590 Manning Drive
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599

Resources

Sylvia Becker-Dreps, MD, MPH

Director, Office of Global Health Education

Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Epidemiology

Areas of Interest

Childhood diarrhea; enteric viruses (norovirus, sapovirus, rotavirus); childhood nutrition; vaccine-preventable infections

About

Dr. Becker-Dreps is a primary care physician-scientist who has performed research studies on infectious diseases in Central America since 2007. A hallmark of her approach is the connection of robust field epidemiology in high-burden settings with cutting-edge laboratory methods. She has collaborated with Central American and UNC investigators to study the epidemiology and prevention of viral gastroenteritis, vaccine-preventable infections, and emerging viruses (Zika, SARS-CoV-2). Her logistically-complicated studies have included population-based cohorts of pregnant women and birth cohorts. Dr. Becker-Dreps has served as a PI on a variety of grants to study the impact of rotavirus vaccines and factors contributing to lower rotavirus vaccine effectiveness in LMIC settings, the new spectrum of viral, bacterial, and parasitic diarrhea etiologies in children following rotavirus vaccine introduction. She is now working in rural Guatemala to understand the development of immunity to norovirus and sapovirus in naïve children, to guide future vaccine development. In collaboration with Nicaraguan, Costa Rican, and UNC colleagues, she has worked to build capacity in infectious disease research in Central America.

Memberships

American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

In the news

  • LesterG-LutherB-Giardia

    Study Links Early Childhood Giardia Infections to Stunted Growth in Nicaraguan Children 

    Researchers with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases have identified persistent Giardia infections as a significant risk factor for impaired linear growth, independent of intestinal inflammation.  CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A study led by PhD candidate Lester Gutiérrez, MS, with Luther Bartelt, MD, DTM&H, and Sylvia Becker-Dreps, MD, MPH, senior authors with … Read more

  • World's-Health-Our-Health

    How Global Health Impacts Health Care in North Carolina

    Global health issues may seem geographically distant, but they directly impact our local community through travel, immigration, emerging infectious diseases, and interconnected global economies. The ‘global’ in global health refers to the scope of problems, not just their location, which can be infectious diseases with pandemic potention. UNC’s global and local engagements with resource-limited settings, … Read more

  • IDEEL-Lab

    IAMIGHID: The Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Ecology Lab (IDEEL)

    Researchers in the Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Ecology Lab (IDEEL) at UNC are process driven investigators with a unique comradery, working in 20+ countries to improve basic understandings of pathogens. The applied nature of their work has a direct impact on the health and well-being of millions of individuals around the globe, while also having … Read more

  • URW-logo-color

    ‘Climate Change and Global Health’ During University Research Week

    Climate change has been described as the single biggest health threat facing humanity. Physician-researchers through the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID), UNC’s engine for global health research, are actively engaged in a variety of efforts to prepare and protect the health of the most vulnerable populations. Some may go where outbreaks occur, … Read more

Education

  • Undergraduate

    Cornell University

  • Medical School

    Duke University

  • Residency

    Swedish-Providence Family Medicine Residency

  • Fellowship

    UNC Primary Care Research Fellowship

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