Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Christine Marie George, PhD, is an infectious disease epidemiologist who designs infectious disease control programs to promote health equity and prevent infections globally.
Contact Info
Research Interests
Keywords: diarrheal disease; water; sanitation; hygiene; interventions; cholera; shigellosis; arsenic; uranium; environmental surveillance; community capacity building; mobile health; COVID; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19
Experiences & Accomplishments
Dr. George is an infectious disease epidemiologist and environmental engineer. Her career focuses on implementing interdisciplinary approaches that promote health equity to solve complex environmental health challenges in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and other resource constrained settings globally. Dr. George has 20 years of experience conducting water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) studies domestically and internationally, including directing nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of community and health facility-based WASH interventions. Her interdisciplinary research portfolio spans infectious disease and environmental epidemiology, genomics to investigate disease outbreaks, WASH RCTs, environmental engineering to evaluate water filtration technologies, and formative research driven by health behavior theory for the design and implementation of WASH behavioral interventions. Through employing these methods, Dr. George has partnered with communities to design effective WASH interventions to reduce diarrheal diseases and improve child growth in Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and reduce arsenic exposure in Bangladesh and in partnership with American Indian communities (https://washmobile.org/). Dr. George’s current research activities include directing seven WASH RCTs, and three cohort studies conducted in Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and in partnership with American Indian Nations.
Dr. George serves as a DrPH Concentration Director for Health Equity and Social Justice which currently has 144 doctoral students.
REGIONAL EXPERIENCE
North America: Navajo Nation and Strong Heart Study Communities in North and South Dakota; West Africa: Ghana, Guinea, Liberia; Central Africa: Democratic Republic of the Congo; East Africa: Tanzania; South Asia: Bangladesh; Latin America: Bolivia, Peru, Mexico
Honors & Awards
2021: Excellence in Teaching Award;
2017: Johns Hopkins Catalyst Award;
2014: Delta Omega Society of Public Health, Alpha Chapter;
2012: Award for Excellence in Global Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health;
2009-2011: Fulbright Fellowship;
2007-2009: Environmental Protection Agency Star Fellowship;
Select Publications
Dr. George has made significant contributions to public health practice through the development of effective water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions scaled to millions globally. Please visit the WASHmobile website to learn more about her research https://washmobile.org/.
George CM, Sanvura P, Bisimwa JC, Endres K, Namunesha A, Felicien W, Banywesize BM, Williams C, Perin J, Sack DA, Boroto R, Nsimire G, Rugusha F, Endeleya F, Kitumaini P, Lunyelunye C, Buhendwa E, Bujiriri PK, Tumusifu J, Munyerenkana B, Caulfield LE, Bengehya J, Maheshe G, Cikomola C, Mwishingo A, Bisimwa L. Effects of a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Program on Diarrhea, Cholera, and Child Growth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of the Preventative Intervention for Cholera for 7 Days (PICHA7 WASHmobile) Mobile Health Program. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2025 Nov 6;81(4):785-796. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaf417. PMID: 41206550
George CM, Namunesha A, Endres K, Felicien W, Sanvura P, Bisimwa JC, Perin J, Bengehya J, Maheshe G, Cikomola C, Bisimwa L, Mwishingo A, Sack DA, Domman D. Epidemiologic and Genomic Surveillance of Vibrio cholerae and Effectiveness of Single-Dose Oral Cholera Vaccine, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2025 Feb;31(2):288-297. PMID: 39983698
George CM, Zacher T, Endres K, Richards F, Bear Robe L, Harvey D, Best LG, Red Cloud R, Black Bear A, Skinner L, Cuny C, Rule A, Schwab KJ, Gittelsohn J, Glabonjat R, Schilling K, O'Leary M, Thomas ED, Umans J, Zhu J, Moulton L, Navas-Acien A. Effect of an Arsenic Mitigation Program on Arsenic Exposure in American Indian Communities: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of the Community-Led Strong Heart Water Study Program. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2024 Mar;132(3):37007. PMID: 38534131
George CM, Monira S, Zohura F, Thomas ED, Hasan TM, Parvin T, Hasan K, Rashid M, Papri N, Islam A, Rahman Z, Rafique R, Bhuyian SI, Saxton R, Labrique A, Alland K, Barman I, Jubyda FT, Afroze F, Johura F, Khan MAH, Tahmina S, Munmun F, Sack DA, Perin J, Alam M. Effects of a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Mobile Health Program on Diarrhea and Child Growth in Bangladesh: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of the WASHmobile CHoBI7 Mobile Health Program. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2021 Nov 2;73(9):e2560-e2568. PMID: 32761174
George CM, Monira S, Sack DA, Rashid MU, Saif-Ur-Rahman KM, Mahmud T, Rahman Z, Mustafiz M, Bhuyian SI, Winch PJ, Leontsini E, Perin J, Begum F, Zohura F, Biswas S, Parvin T, Zhang X, Jung D, Sack RB, Alam M. Randomized Controlled Trial of Hospital-Based Hygiene and Water Treatment Intervention (CHoBI7) to Reduce Cholera. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2016 Feb;22(2):233-41. doi: 10.3201/eid2202.151175. PMID: 26811968