Philip Eckhoff

Philip Eckhoff

Hertz Foundation Fellow | Senior Director of Research, Institute for Disease Modeling

Philip Eckhoff is the principal investigator of the disease modeling team at Intellectual Ventures in Bellevue, Washington. This group develops computer simulations of malaria, polio, and other disease transmission dynamics to assist public health professionals and other scientists in planning eradication of different diseases. These simulations have resolution of individuals but cover large geographic areas and are focused on studying all phases of a global eradication campaign. Beyond modeling disease eradication, his research interests include technologies for improved public health in the developing world and other global development issues, such as vaccine delivery and sanitation.

Philip completed his undergraduate studies at The University of Texas at Austin (UT) receiving degrees in pure mathematics and aerospace engineering. At UT, he participated on the winning design team for FASTRAC, a student designed and built satellite for the Nanosat-3 competition. Philip began his graduate studies at Princeton University in applied and computational mathematics, receiving his PhD in 2009. At Princeton, his work focused on computational neuroscience and biophysics-motivated models of decision making. While at Princeton, he began work on malaria and mathematical models of disease transmission, having had malaria frequently while growing up in Haiti.

Philip received a Special Achievement Award by a Hertz Fellow in 2009 for his work on Malaria Modeling. He enjoys hiking and kayaking in the Pacific Northwest and attending Seattle Symphony performances.

 

3 min
1.5 million children die each year from preventable diseases arising from poor sanitation systems. That's why some of the world's top scientists are working to make a 21st-century toilet without links to water, energy, or sewer lines, and which costs users under $0.05 a day.
5 min
Despite decades of research, there is no reliable vaccine for malaria. Dr. Philip Eckhoff lays out the strategies and collaborations required to eradicate this disease and the half a million lives it takes each year.