Please note that this website is not an official website of Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health or Wake Forest University School of Medicine. This site was created to inform others about the research activities and work conducted in the Section on Infectious Diseases as part of our wider social media presence.
Michael DeWitt is an applied statistician, infectious disease epidemiologist, and data scientist working in infectious disease research as a member of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases. He leads the Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Applied Statistics (IDEAS) group. He is interested in using data science and mathematical models to understand how and why certain pathogens emerge and persist in new host population. He is also interested in designing surveillance and control strategies to mitigate the impact of infectious diseases on human and animal health through understanding these infectious disease dynamics. In addition to his research at Wake Forest University, he is a co-director of the International Field Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine course in Peru and the secretary of the North Carolina Infectious Diseases Society. He keeps an active website at michaeldewittjr.com where he shares his research and thoughts on infectious diseases and data science.
Prior to infectious disease research, Michael has over ten years of experience in manufacturing, higher education analytics, and health care analytics. His specialties are Bayesian inference, hierarchical modeling, survey design and analysis, simulation and optimization, network analysis, and applied predictive modeling.
Recent publications
Promise and peril: doxycycline prophylaxis and the spread of resistance among diverse populations.
DeWitt ME, Wenner JJ, Bellotti BR, Manuel JA, Toler C, Palavecino E, McNeil CJ
Journal: The Lancet. Microbe · Publish Date: 2026 Jan · DOI: 10.1016/j.lanmic.2025.101222 · PMID: 40854317
Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Abattoir Workers in Kumasi Towards Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens.
Addo SO, Addo M, DeWitt ME, Tawiah-Mensah CNL, Amoah S, Obuam PK, Unicorn NM, Kyeremateng ET, Desewu G, Larbi JA
Journal: Public health challenges · Publish Date: 2025 Dec · DOI: 10.1002/puh2.70167 · PMID: 41244624
Comparison of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) as Measured by Etests and Agar Dilution in Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates Tested from 2018-2024.
Manuel JA, Wenner JJ, DeWitt ME, Bellotti BR, Toler C, Palavecino E, McNeil CJ
Association of social vulnerability index and masking adherence among children enrolled in COVID-19 community research partnership study.
Dantuluri KL, Buahin A, Uschner D, DeWitt ME, Rossman W, Dunn CO, Hetherington TC, Priem J, Castri P, Lagarde WH, Gibbs M, Ahmed A, COVID-19 Community Research Partnership
Journal: BMC public health · Publish Date: 2024 Feb 8 · DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-17931-1 · PMID: 38331791
Assessing Barriers to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination in At-Risk Rural Communities of Western North Carolina, United States.
McNeil CJ, Barr B, Munawar I, DeWitt ME, Myers JS, Shetty AK
Characterisation of infection-induced SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence amongst children and adolescents in North Carolina.
Ahmed A, DeWitt ME, Dantuluri KL, Castri P, Buahin A, LaGarde WH, Weintraub WS, Rossman W, Santos RP, Gibbs M, Uschner D, COVID-19 Community Research Partnership
Journal: Immunity & ageing : I & A · Publish Date: 2023 Jan 17 · DOI: 10.1186/s12979-023-00327-x · PMID: 36650551
Analysis of infections among patients with historical culture positive for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae: Is ESBL-targeted therapy always needed?
Stone TJ, DeWitt M, Johnson JW, Beardsley JR, Munawar I, Palavecino E, Luther VP, Ohl CA, Williamson JC
Journal: The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · Publish Date: 2022 Jul 5 · DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glac095 · PMID: 35446945
