Yonatan Grad is a Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and Director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

His research focuses on how to prepare for and respond effectively to infectious disease threats through understanding interacting processes from microbial evolution through human ecology. He uses interdisciplinary methods, including microbial genetics, population genomics, and mathematical modeling to move across these scales, with goals of advancing clinical and public health practices.

He regularly collaborates with public health institutions and served on the Massachusetts COVID-19 Task Force and as an advisor to the National Basketball Association, translating data from their occupational health program into detailed understanding of the kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Much of his work focuses on gonorrhea, caused by the bacterial pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae, both for addressing this urgent public health threat and as a roadmap for addressing antimicrobial resistance in other pathogens. His work has included other bacterial pathogens, such as Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, and viral pathogens, such as influenza and mumps virus.

Professor Grad's expertise aligns strongly with the University of Bath's research strengths in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), infectious disease epidemiology, microbial genomics and public health. His work on sexually transmitted infections will support comparative research between the UK and US on transmission dynamics, health-seeking behaviours, screening, and the impact of interventions such as vaccination.

Professor Yonatan Grad will be hosted by Professor Edward Feil, Professor of Microbial Evolution in the Department of Life Sciences, Deputy Director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology (CMB) and Co-Director of the Centre of Excellence in Water-Based Early-Warning Systems for Health Protection (CWBE), alongside Professor Zamin Iqbal, Professor of Computational Genomics in the Department of Life Sciences and Dr Ruth Bowness, Reader in Mathematical Sciences, MRC Research Fellow and Director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology.

Speaking on Professor Grad's appointment as Global Chair, Professor Feil said:

We are thrilled at the prospect of welcoming Prof Grad to Bath as a Global Chair. This is an amazing opportunity for knowledge exchange and the establishment of collaborative research with one of the world’s leading experts in the epidemiology of antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Proposed Activities at Bath

• Collaborative research on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), sexually transmitted infections, and infectious disease epidemiology in the UK and US.
• Support the development of joint publications and international funding applications.
• Host mentoring and Q&A sessions for doctoral students and early career researchers.
• Deliver a public lecture on infectious disease epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance.
• Convene a symposium bringing together Bath researchers and leading UK collaborators to foster new partnerships and research opportunities.