About
Aidan Christopher Estes is a PhD student here at QIMR Berghofer and Queensland University of Technology. Originally from North Carolina, USA, he studied at Appalachian State University, obtaining his BS in Public Health and a minor in French and Francophone studies. He graduated with the Summa Cum Laude distinction in May 2023 to then start his master’s in public health (MPH) at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in August 2023. Here, he studied Global Epidemiology with a focus on infectious diseases.
While at Emory, Aidan developed a passion for all aspects of epidemiology and found himself interested in genetics. From there, He joined the Complex Trait Genomics lab at QIMR Berghofer in Brisbane, where he works on his thesis. His research focuses on analyzing large-scare genetic and epidemiological datasets surrounding various neuropsychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety.
While working in academics, Aidan has also worked on numerous community initiatives including one led by AmeriCorps on intervention strategies for mental health in rural Appalachia.
Research Skills
Aidan’s experience primarily lies in his public health background with studies dedicated to improving health at a community level. He has experience working with mental health data but more recently, epidemiological data relating to infectious diseases. He used this experience to help create predictive models and run simulations of outbreaks of diseases as well as surveillance and forecasting of potential outbreaks.
Area of Interest
- Discovering the relationships between anxiety disorder and genetics
- Infectious disease surveillance and predictive modeling
- Understanding how genetics can play a role in future medical research