Dina Mistry

Network Scientist, Infectious Disease Modeler

dina.c.mistry@gmail.com

Bio

I am a Network Scientist currently working at Twitter as a Data Scientist in the Cortex Data Science Team working on the intersection of Identity & Profiles. Prior to that, I was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist working on network epidemiology and pandemic response modeling in the Epidemiology team at the Institute for Disease Modeling, a part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. I like studying people and why we do what we do. In particular, I have spent a lot time thinking about how people interact in the physical vs online worlds and how we can measure and model those interactions. My research has focused on characterizing and modeling the heterogeneity of social contact networks and mobility networks that are linked to the spread of infectious diseases and how this changes our understanding of disease dynamics.

My research interests also include behavioural response to disease. Why do some diseases scare us, while others barely elicit a reaction? I think our responses are driven by many factors beyond rational logic. Fear, risk perception, individual and collective memory, social pressure, cost, and access to or lack of resources, all serve in the mental calculations behind our behavior. During my postdoctoral position I worked on different aspects of this by modeling human response to disease awareness as a result of social trust and collective memory in social networks, and showing how under the right conditions lessons learned from past epidemics can prevent future outbreaks.

From early 2020 through to mid 2021, I worked on infectious disease modeling of the COVID-19 pandemic with the rest of the IDM Research team and lead the social contact network modeling to help inform local and global policies to control and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We used a combination of compartmental and agent based model of infectious disease to models how proposed strategies might work in the real world and their tradeoffs. You can take a look at our various work on the IDM Infohub or on my Google Scholar profile.

Before joining IDM, I was a member of the MOBS Lab in the Network Science Institute at Northeastern University and earned my Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Alessandro Vespignani, Director of the Network Science Institute and Sternberg Family Distinguished Professor. I also received my M.Sc. in Physics from Northeastern University and hold an Hon. Specialist degree with High Distinction in Astronomy & Physics, minor in Mathematics from the University of Toronto, Canada.

Publications

Most recent publications on Google Scholar.
‡ indicates equal contribution.

Inferring high-resolution human mixing patterns for disease modeling

Dina Mistry, Maria Litvinova, Ana Pastore y Piontti, Matteo Chinazzi, Laura Fumanelli, Marcelo Gomes, Syed Haque, Quanhui Liu, Kunpeng Mu, Xinyue Xiong, M. Elizabeth Halloran, Ira Longini, Stefano Merler, Marco Ajelli, Alessandro Vespignani

Nature Communications. 2021.

Paper

Controlling SARS-CoV-2 via test-trace-quarantine.

Cliff Kerr, Dina Mistry ‡, Robyn Stuart‡, Katherine Rosenfeld, Gregory Hart, Prashanth Selvaraj, Rafael Nunez, Jamie Cohen, Romesh Abeysuriya, Lauren George, Brittany Hagedorn, Michal Jastrzebski, Meaghan Fagalde, Jeff Duchin, Michael Famulare, Daniel Klein

Nature Communications. 2021.

Paper

Seeding COVID-19 across sub-Saharan Africa: an analysis of reported importation events across 40 countries

Laura Skrip, Prashanth Selvaraj, Brittany Hagedorn, André Lin Ouédraogo, Navideh Noori, Dina Mistry, Jamie Bedson, Laurent Hébert-Dufresne, Samuel Scarpino, Benjamin Althouse

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2021.

Paper

Modelling the impact of relaxing COVID-19 control measures during a period of low viral transmission

Nick Scott, Anna Palmer, Dominic Delport, Romesh Abeysuriya, Robyn Stuart, Cliff C Kerr, Dina Mistry, Daniel J Klein, Rachel Sacks-Davis, Katie Heath, Samuel Hainsworth, Alisa Pedrana, Mark Stoove, David P Wilson, Margaret Hellard

Medical Journal of Australia. 2020.

Paper

Estimating and mitigating the risk of COVID-19 epidemic rebound associated with reopening of international borders in Vietnam: a modelling study

Quang D. Pham, Robyn M. Stuart, Thuong V. Nyugen, Quang C. Luong, Dai Q. Tran, Thai Q. Pham, Lan T. Phan, Tan Q. Dang, Duong N. Tran, Hung T. Do, Dina Mistry, Daniel J. Klein, Romesh G. Abeysuriya, Assaf P. Oron, Cliff C. Kerr

The Lancet Global Health. 2021.

Paper

Maximizing education while minimizing COVID risk: priorities and pitfalls for reopening schools.

Jamie Cohen, Dina Mistry, Cliff Kerr, Daniel Klein

Paper

Schools are not islands: we must mitigate community transmission to reopen schools.

Jamie Cohen, Dina Mistry, Cliff Kerr, Daniel Klein

Paper

Modelling the impact of reducing control measures on the COVID-19 pandemic in a low transmission setting.

Nick Scott, Anna Palmer, Dominic Delport, Romesh Abeysuriya, Robyn Stuart, Cliff Kerr, Dina Mistry, Daniel Klein, Rachel Sacks-Davis, Katie Heath, Samuel Hainsworth, Alisa Pedrana, Mark Stoove, David Wilson, Margaret Hellard

Medical Journal of Australia. 2020.

Paper

Determining the optimal strategy for reopening schools, work and society in the UK: balancing earlier opening and the impact of test and trace strategies with the risk of occurrence of a secondary COVID-19 pandemic wave.

Jasmina Panovska-Griffiths, Cliff Kerr, Robyn Stuart, Dina Mistry, Daniel Klein, Russell Viner, Chris Bonell

Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. 2020.

Paper

Covasim: an agent-based model of COVID-19 dynamics and interventions

Cliff Kerr, Robyn Stuart, Dina Mistry, Romesh, Abeysuriya, Gregory Hart, Katherine Rosenfeld, Prashanth Selvaraj, Rafael Nunez, Brittany Hagedorn, Lauren George, Amanda Izzo, Anna Palmer, Dominic Delport, Carrie Bennette, Bradley Wagner, Stewart Chang, Jamie Cohen, Jasmina Panovska-Griffiths, Michal Jastrzebski, Assaf Oron, Edward Wenger, Michael Famulare, Daniel Klein

PLOS Computational Biology

Paper

COVID-19 intervention effectiveness and epidemic trends for Oregon: a model-based analysis

Cliff Kerr, Brittany Hagedorn, Dina Mistry, Daniel Klein

Paper

Spread of infectious disease and social awareness as parasitic contagions on clustered networks

Laurent Hébert-Dufresne, Dina Mistry, Benjamin Althouse

Physical Review Research. 2020.

Paper

Quantifying the risk of Zika virus local transmission in the continental US during the 2015-2016 ZIKV epidemic

Kaiyuan Sun, Qian Zhang, Ana Pastore y Piontti, Matteo Chinazzi, Dina Mistry, Natalie Dean, Diana Rojas, Stefano Merler, Pietro Poletti, Luca Rossi, M. Elizabeth Halloran, Ira Longini, Alessandro Vespignani

BioMed Central Medicine. 2018.

Paper

Spreading of Zika virus in the Americas

Qian Zhang, Kaiyuan Sun, Matteo Chinazzi, Ana Pastore y Piontti, Natalie Dean, Diana Rojas, Stefano Merler, Dina Mistry, Pietro Poletti, Luca Rossi, Margaret Bray, M. Elizabeth Halloran, Ira Longini, Alessandro Vespignani

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2017.

Paper

Committed activists and the reshaping of status-quo social consensus

Dina Mistry, Qian Zhang, Nicola Perra, Andrea Baronchelli

Physical Review E. 2015.

Paper

Inferring high-resolution human mixing patterns for disease modeling

Dina Mistry, Maria Litvinova, Ana Pastore y Piontti, Matteo Chinazzi, Laura Fumanelli, Marcelo Gomes, Syed Haque, Quanhui Liu, Kunpeng Mu, Xinyue Xiong, M. Elizabeth Halloran, Ira Longini, Stefano Merler, Marco Ajelli, Alessandro Vespignani

Nature Communications. 2021.

Paper

Controlling SARS-CoV-2 via test-trace-quarantine.

Cliff Kerr, Dina Mistry ‡, Robyn Stuart‡, Katherine Rosenfeld, Gregory Hart, Prashanth Selvaraj, Rafael Nunez, Jamie Cohen, Romesh Abeysuriya, Lauren George, Brittany Hagedorn, Michal Jastrzebski, Meaghan Fagalde, Jeff Duchin, Michael Famulare, Daniel Klein

Nature Communications. 2021.

Paper

Seeding COVID-19 across sub-Saharan Africa: an analysis of reported importation events across 40 countries

Laura Skrip, Prashanth Selvaraj, Brittany Hagedorn, André Lin Ouédraogo, Navideh Noori, Dina Mistry, Jamie Bedson, Laurent Hébert-Dufresne, Samuel Scarpino, Benjamin Althouse

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2021.

Paper

Modelling the impact of relaxing COVID-19 control measures during a period of low viral transmission

Nick Scott, Anna Palmer, Dominic Delport, Romesh Abeysuriya, Robyn Stuart, Cliff C Kerr, Dina Mistry, Daniel J Klein, Rachel Sacks-Davis, Katie Heath, Samuel Hainsworth, Alisa Pedrana, Mark Stoove, David P Wilson, Margaret Hellard

Medical Journal of Australia. 2020.

Paper

Estimating and mitigating the risk of COVID-19 epidemic rebound associated with reopening of international borders in Vietnam: a modelling study

Quang D. Pham, Robyn M. Stuart, Thuong V. Nyugen, Quang C. Luong, Dai Q. Tran, Thai Q. Pham, Lan T. Phan, Tan Q. Dang, Duong N. Tran, Hung T. Do, Dina Mistry, Daniel J. Klein, Romesh G. Abeysuriya, Assaf P. Oron, Cliff C. Kerr

The Lancet Global Health. 2021.

Paper

Preventing a cluster from becoming a new wave in settings with zero community COVID-19 cases.

Romesh G. Abeysuriya, Dominic Delport, Robyn M. Stuart, Rachel Sacks-Davis, Cliff C. Kerr, Dina Mistry, Daniel J. Klein, Margaret Hellard, Nick Scott

Paper

Robust test and trace strategies can prevent COVID-19 resurgences: a case study from New South Waves, Australia.

Robyn M. Stuart, Romesh G. Abeysuriya, Cliff C. Kerr, Dina Mistry, Daniel J. Klein, Richard Gray, Margaret Hellard, Nick Scott

Paper

The potential contribution of face coverings to the control of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools and broader society in the UK: a modelling study.

Jasmina Panovska-Griffiths, Cliff C. Kerr, William Waites, Robyn M. Stuart, Dina Mistry, Derek Foster, Daniel J. Klein, Russell M. Viner, Chris Bonell

Paper

The role of masks in reducing the risk of new waves of COVID‐19 in low transmission settings: a modelling study.

Robyn M. Stuart, Romesh G. Abeysuriya, Cliff C. Kerr, Dina Mistry, Daniel J. Klein, Richard Gray, Margaret Hellard, Nick Scott

Paper

Maximizing education while minimizing COVID risk: priorities and pitfalls for reopening schools.

Jamie Cohen, Dina Mistry, Cliff Kerr, Daniel Klein

Paper

Schools are not islands: we must mitigate community transmission to reopen schools.

Jamie Cohen, Dina Mistry, Cliff Kerr, Daniel Klein

Paper

Modeling countermeasures for a balanced reopening in King County, Washington.

Katherine Rosenfeld, Cliff Kerr, Jamie Cohen, Rafael Nunez, Gregory Hart, Dina Mistry, Prashanth Selvaraj, Daniel Klein

Paper

Modelling the impact of reducing control measures on the COVID-19 pandemic in a low transmission setting.

Nick Scott, Anna Palmer, Dominic Delport, Romesh Abeysuriya, Robyn Stuart, Cliff Kerr, Dina Mistry, Daniel Klein, Rachel Sacks-Davis, Katie Heath, Samuel Hainsworth, Alisa Pedrana, Mark Stoove, David Wilson, Margaret Hellard

Medical Journal of Australia. 2020.

Paper

Determining the optimal strategy for reopening schools, work and society in the UK: balancing earlier opening and the impact of test and trace strategies with the risk of occurrence of a secondary COVID-19 pandemic wave.

Jasmina Panovska-Griffiths, Cliff Kerr, Robyn Stuart, Dina Mistry, Daniel Klein, Russell Viner, Chris Bonell

Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. 2020.

Paper

Covasim: an agent-based model of COVID-19 dynamics and interventions

Cliff Kerr, Robyn Stuart, Dina Mistry, Romesh, Abeysuriya, Gregory Hart, Katherine Rosenfeld, Prashanth Selvaraj, Rafael Nunez, Brittany Hagedorn, Lauren George, Amanda Izzo, Anna Palmer, Dominic Delport, Carrie Bennette, Bradley Wagner, Stewart Chang, Jamie Cohen, Jasmina Panovska-Griffiths, Michal Jastrzebski, Assaf Oron, Edward Wenger, Michael Famulare, Daniel Klein

PLOS Computational Biology

Paper

COVID-19 intervention effectiveness and epidemic trends for Oregon: a model-based analysis

Cliff Kerr, Brittany Hagedorn, Dina Mistry, Daniel Klein

Paper

Spread of infectious disease and social awareness as parasitic contagions on clustered networks

Laurent Hébert-Dufresne, Dina Mistry, Benjamin Althouse

Physical Review Research. 2020.

Paper

Quantifying the risk of Zika virus local transmission in the continental US during the 2015-2016 ZIKV epidemic

Kaiyuan Sun, Qian Zhang, Ana Pastore y Piontti, Matteo Chinazzi, Dina Mistry, Natalie Dean, Diana Rojas, Stefano Merler, Pietro Poletti, Luca Rossi, M. Elizabeth Halloran, Ira Longini, Alessandro Vespignani

BioMed Central Medicine. 2018.

Paper

Spreading of Zika virus in the Americas

Qian Zhang, Kaiyuan Sun, Matteo Chinazzi, Ana Pastore y Piontti, Natalie Dean, Diana Rojas, Stefano Merler, Dina Mistry, Pietro Poletti, Luca Rossi, Margaret Bray, M. Elizabeth Halloran, Ira Longini, Alessandro Vespignani

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2017.

Paper

Committed activists and the reshaping of status-quo social consensus

Dina Mistry, Qian Zhang, Nicola Perra, Andrea Baronchelli

Physical Review E. 2015.

Paper

Curriculum Vitæ

Full CV in pdf form.

Projects

Inferring High-Resolution Human Mixing Patterns for Disease Modeling
Generating Synthetic Populations Using Census and Survey Data
SynthPops: A Generative Model of Synthetic Contact Networks
Schools are not islands: we must mitigate community transmission to reopen schools
Controlling SARS-CoV-2 via test-trace-quarantine
Spreading of Zika virus in the Americas
Inferring High-Resolution Human Mixing Patterns for Disease Modeling
Generating Synthetic Populations Using Census and Survey Data
SynthPops: A Generative Model of Synthetic Contact Networks
Schools are not islands: we must mitigate community transmission to reopen schools
Controlling SARS-CoV-2 via test-trace-quarantine
Spreading of Zika virus in the Americas

Leadership & Service

I am involved with a number of initiatives within the network science research commmunity. I am currently Chair of the Society of Young Network Scientists (SYNS) and in 2019 I helped to found Diversify NetSci, a satellite at the flagship Network Science Conference aimed at building a more diverse and inclusive research community.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important to me both as a woman of color and a first generation scientist. I have spent much of my higher education and research years as either the only woman in the room or the only person of color in the room (often times both). Learning and spending time in these environments has been lonely at times and often frustrating, though I am grateful for the wonderful friends and colleagues I have met along the way. I am also part of the first generation in my family to attend university or college. Growing up working class and the child of immigrants has colored the ways in which I view and experience the world. It has meant at times a dearth of opportunities, access, and guidance. With my work on diversity initiatives I am trying to highlight inequities and identify some of the best strategies out there for recruiting and retaining a more diverse science community. I believe we can do better and I am committed to helping build up other young scientists so that they can have more opportunities and success than the generation before them.

Diversify NetSci is currently in it's 2nd year as a satellite, going live (virtually) on Friday September 18th and Saturday September 19th. Come join us and get in contact if you want to get involved with this initiative going forward.

    07/05/2021 - 07/10/2021
    Poster Adjucator, Networks 2021, Virtual
    07/07/2021
    Parallel Session Chair, Networks 2021, Virtual
    08/14/2020
    NetSci 2020 Conference Financial Support Committee Member, Network Science Society, (Virtual) Rome, Italy
    09/18/2020 - 09/19/2020
    2nd Annual Diversify NetSci, Co-Chair, NetSci 2020 Conference, (Virtual) Rome, Italy
    09/16/2020
    The Confusions of a Young Scientist, Co-Organizer, NetSci 2020 Conference, (Virtual) Rome, Italy
    09/17/2020 - 09/24/2020
    Program Committee Member, NetSci 2020 Conference, (Virtual) Rome, Italy
    07/28/2019
    Chair, Society of Young Network Scientists (SYNS), International
    08/24/2019
    Program Committee Member, NetSci-X 2020 Winter Conference, Tokyo, Japan
    05/28/2019
    Inaugural Diversify NetSci, Co-Chair, NetSci 2019 Conference, Burlington, Vermont
    03/05/2018 - 03/08/2018
    Program Committee Member, International Conference on Complex Networks, Boston, Massachusetts
    03/06/2018
    Art of Networks Local Organizer, International Conference on Complex Networks, Boston, Massachusetts
    03/04/2018
    Paper Unwind Co-Organizer, Society of Young Network Scientists (SYNS), Boston, Massachusetts
    08/17/2018
    Women's Summer Retreat Organizer, Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (GWISE), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
    02/04/2018
    Senior Grad Panel, Graduate School & Research, Department of Physics, Northeastern University
    10/17/2017
    Panel Member, Diversity and Inclusion Town Hall, Northeastern University
    03/08/2017, 03/22/2017, 04/05/2017
    Professional Development Workshop Organizer, Department of Physics, Northeastern University
    2016-2018
    Graduate Student Union Dept. Leader, Department of Physics, Northeastern University
    2014-2016
    Graduate Student Representative, Department of Physics, Northeastern University
    2011-2012
    Vice President of Academic Affairs, Physics & Astronomy Student Union, University of Toronto

Personal

I have been playing the steel pan (native to the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago) since the age of 10, and performing publicly since the age of 14. From 14 through 18, I was a member of 3 performance bands, including 2 steel pan bands and a Jazz/Motown Ensemble. Most recently, I have joined the Seattle Steel Pan Project. My main instruments are the Double Tenor and Tenor Pans, though I am also known to play the Double Seconds, 6 Bass, Treble Bass, and Cello Pans. In the summer, we perform at festivals and concerts throughout Seattle and the surrounding areas. If you're a Pacific North West local, you may recognize some of these events.

    12/12/2021
    Holiday Music in Westlake Park, Seatle, WA
    07/10/2021
    Seattle Waterfront Festival, Seatle, WA
    09/22/2019
    Seattle University, Seattle, WA
    09/07/2019
    Jackson Street Jazz Walk, Seattle, WA
    08/24/2019
    Belltown Crush, Seattle, WA
    08/11/2019
    Othello Park International Festival, Othello, WA
    07/28/2019
    Seattle Caribbean Festival, Seattle, WA
    06/22/2019
    Fremont Solstice Parade, Fremont, WA
    05/23/2019
    Highline College, Des Moines, WA
    03/30/2019
    Powered By Women, Langston Hughes, Seattle, WA

Acknowledgements

This website uses the website design and template by Martin Saveski, and modifications from Paul J Wright.

Dina Mistry
dina.c.mistry@gmail.com