Xueting Qiu is a research associate under the mentorship of Drs. Marc Lipsitch and Bill Hanage in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research at CCDD focuses on understanding the molecular evolution of Streptococcus Pneumoniae and identifying critical genes/loci under selection that shape the pathogen populations. This work can provide a better understanding of evolutionary trajectories of different genes and population dynamics of Streptococcus Pneumoniae and have the potential to optimize vaccine design. Xueting has actively conducted studies during the pandemic to understand the role of persistently infected individuals in SARS-CoV-2 evolution. Before joining CCDD, Xueting obtained her Medical Degree from School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China) during 2008-2013. She received her Master of Science in Epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2015 and her Ph.D. in Infectious Diseases from the University of Georgia in 2019. Her dissertation work focused on applied phylodynamic modeling of respiratory viruses to enhance the understanding of viral evolution and diffusion dynamics in different populations.

Alicia is senior research officer with the Asia Pacific Health Group at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia and PhD student through the Centre of International Child Health, University of Melbourne. Alicia is also a paediatrician currently practicing in Melbourne, Australia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery through the University of Melbourne in 2003 and received her Fellowship in Paediatrics through the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2014. Alicia completed a Master of Public Health (international health stream) through Monash University in 2013. She has a special interest in child health equity and advocacy for vulnerable populations locally and globally. Her current research is exploring trends in equity in Universal Health Coverage for children in low-and-middle-income countries. She was part of the Pneumonia Review team at the Melbourne Children's Campus in 2020/2021, providing evidence synthesis on acute respiratory infection and pneumonia in children to the World Health Organization's Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing in their preparation for review and update of pneumonia guidelines.