Lisa Sattenspiel

Lisa Sattenspiel
Professor
sattenspiell@missouri.edu
Personal Website
Biological Anthropology
Research

My primary research focus is the ecology and transmission of infectious diseases and their effects on human populations. I am particularly interested in the geographic spread of human infectious diseases in both historical and modern populations and the ways that human social behaviors promote or limit that spread. I am also interested in the demography of living and past populations.

Present research projects focus on a) a comparison of the spread of the 1918-19 influenza epidemic and other epidemics in Labrador and Alaska, and b) the spread of multiple acute pathogens (especially influenza and measles) within a context of chronic tuberculosis and malnutrition in Newfoundland and Labrador during the first half of the 20th century. In addition to collecting archival data of relevance to my projects, I specialize in developing and analyzing results from mathematical and computer modeling of the spread of infectious diseases, with a present emphasis on the development of agent-based computer simulation models.

I am no longer accepting graduate students. If you are a student or researcher working in an area related to what I study, feel free to contact me with questions and comments about my or your own work.

Select Publications

Book

Sattenspiel, Lisa (with contributions from Alun Lloyd) (2009) The Geographic Spread of Infectious Diseases: Models and Applications. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 298 pages.

 

Selected journal articles (since 2011)

  1. Sattenspiel, Lisa, Taylor P van Doren, and Jessica Dimka (2024) The impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic on the demography of Newfoundland and Labrador in the first half of the 20th century. Newfoundland and Labrador Studies 38(1). https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/NFLDS/article/view/34158.
  2. Dahal, Sushma, Iris Delgado, Lisa Sattenspiel, Svenn-Erik Mamelund, and Gerardo Chowell 2024) Comparative analysis of COVID-19 diagnoses and mortality among Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in Chile, 2020-2021. BMC Public Health 24:2337. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19756-4.
  3. Sattenspiel, Lisa, Svenn-Erik Mamelund, Sushma Dahal, Amanda Wissler, Gerardo Chowell, and Emma Tinker-Fortel (2024) Death on the permafrost: Revisiting the 1918-20 influenza pandemic in Alaska using death certificates. American Journal of Epidemiology doi: 10.1093/aje/kwae173.
  4. Sattenspiel, Lisa, Carolyn Orbann, Aaron Bogan, Hailey Ramirez, Sean Pirrone, Sushma Dahal, Jane A McElroy, and Christopher K Wikle (2023) Associations between rurality and regional differences in sociodemographic factors and the 1918-20 influenza and 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemics in Missouri counties: An ecological study. PLoS ONE 18(8): e0290294. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290294.
  5. Nygaard, Ingrid Hellem, Svenn-Erik Mamelund, Sushma Dahal, Gerardo Chowell, and Lisa Sattenspiel (2023) Age-specific mortality and the role of living remotely: The 1918-20 influenza pandemic in Kautokeino and Karasjok, Norway. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 82:2179452. https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2179452 
  6. Dahal, Sushma, Svenn-Erik Mamelund, Ruiyan Luo, Lisa Sattenspiel, Shannon Self-Brown, and Gerardo Chowell (2022) Investigating COVID-19 transmission and mortality differences among Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in Mexico. International Journal of Infectious Diseases 122:910-920.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2022.07.052
  7. Alves, Daniele Evelin, Svenn-Erik Mamelund, Jessica Dimka, Lone Simonsen, Mathias Mølbak, Søren Ørskov, Lisa Sattenspiel, Lianne Tripp, Andrew Noymer, Gerardo Chowell-Puente, Sushama Dahal, Taylor van Doren, Amanda Wissler, Courtney Heffernan, Kirsty Renfree Short, Heather Battles, and Michael Baker. (2022) Indigenous peoples and pandemics. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 50:662-667. doi:10.1177/14034948221087095.
  8. Dimka, Jessica and Lisa Sattenspiel (2021) “We didn’t get much schooling because we were fishing all the time”: Potential impacts of irregular school attendance on the spread of epidemics. American Journal of Human Biology https://doi.org10.1002/ajhb.23578.
  9. Buckee, Caroline, Abdisalan Noor, and Lisa Sattenspiel (2021) Modeling social aspects of infectious disease transmission. Nature 595:205-213. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03694-x
  10. van Doren, Taylor P and Lisa Sattenspiel (2021) The 1918 influenza pandemic did not accelerate tuberculosis mortality decline in early-twentieth century Newfoundland: investigating historical and social explanations. American Journal of Physical Anthropology  176(2):179-191. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24332
  11. Sattenspiel, Lisa, Dimka, Jessica, and Carolyn Orbann (2019) Using cultural, historical, and epidemiological data to inform, calibrate, and verify model structures in agent-based simulations. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering 16(4):3071-3093. DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2019152
  12. Paskoff, Taylor and Lisa Sattenspiel (2019) Sex- and age-based differences in mortality during the 1918 influenza pandemic on the island of Newfoundland. American Journal of Human Biology 31(1):e23198.DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23198
  13. Schmidt, Dana M and Lisa Sattenspiel (2017) Timing of the second epidemiological transition in Newfoundland. American Journal of Human Biology 29(5):e22997. doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.e22997
  14. Orbann, Carolyn, Lisa Sattenspiel, Jessica Dimka, and Erin Miller (2016) Defining epidemics in computer simulation models: how do definitions influence conclusions? Epidemics 19:24-32. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.epidem.2016.12.001
  15. Swedlund, Alan C, Lisa Sattenspiel, Amy Warren, Richard S Meindl, and George J Gumerman III (2016) Explorations in paleodemography: an overview of the Artificial Long House Valley agent-based modeling project, with new observations on demographic estimation. In New Directions in Biocultural Anthropology, Molly K Zuckerman and Debra Martin (eds.), New York: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 403-426.
  16. Sattenspiel, Lisa, Erin Miller, Jessica Dimka, Carolyn Orbann, and Amy Warren (2016) Epidemic models with and without mortality: when does it matter? In Mathematical and Statistical Modeling for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, Gerardo Chowell and James M Hyman (eds.), Switzerland: Springer International, pp. 313-327. dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40413_2.
  17. Walker, Robert S, Lisa Sattenspiel, and Kim R Hill (2015) Mortality from contact-related epidemics among indigenous populations in Greater Amazonia. Scientific Reports 5:14032. DOI:10.1038/srep14032.
  18. Swedlund, Alan, Lisa Sattenspiel, Amy Warren, and George Gumerman (2015) Modelling archaeology: 20 years after Artificial Anasazi. In Agent-based Modeling and Archaeology, Gabriel Wurzer, Kerstin Kowarik, and Hans Reschreiter (eds.), Berlin: Springer, pp. 37-50.
  19. Dimka, Jessica, Carolyn Orbann, and Lisa Sattenspiel (2014) Applications of agent-based modeling techniques to studies of historical epidemics: the 1918 flu in Newfoundland and Labrador. Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, New Series 25(2):265-296.
  20. Orbann, Carolyn, Lisa Sattenspiel, Jessica Dimka, and Erin Miller (2014) Agent-based modeling and the second epidemiological transition. In Modern Environments and Human Health: Revisiting the Second Epidemiologic Transition, Molly K Zuckerman (ed.), Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 105-122.
  21. Sattenspiel, Lisa and Rebecca S Lander (2014) The timing of the second epidemiological transition in small US towns and cities: evidence from local cemeteries. In Modern Environments and Human Health: Revisiting the Second Epidemiologic Transition, Molly K Zuckerman (ed.), Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 163-177.
  22. Mamelund, Svenn-Erik, Lisa Sattenspiel, and Jessica Dimka (2013) Influenza associated mortality during the 1918-19 influenza pandemic in Alaska and Labrador: a comparison. Social Science History 37(2):177-229.
  23. Sattenspiel, Lisa and Svenn-Erik Mamelund (2012) Co-circulating epidemics, chronic health problems, and social conditions in early 20th century Labrador and Alaska. Annals of Anthropological Practice 36(2):402-421.
  24. Sattenspiel, Lisa (2011) Regional patterns of mortality during the 1918 influenza pandemic in Newfoundland. Vaccine 29S:B33-B37.