Population Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic

I’m actively engaged in a research agenda focused on modeling and measuring the spread of COVID-19 through human networks and on how information spreads during pandemics (Ford et al., 2022). The first two papers (Thomas et al., 2020, 2022) emphasize the importance of considering variations in micro-geography and social networks to truly understand how COVID-19 spreads. A third paper is a comprehensive review of current strategies for modeling COVID-19, covering both micro and macro-level simulations (Jones, Hazel, & Almquist, 2020). My current work, supported by NSF funding, centers on analyzing data collected longitudinally over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funding

• 2020 - 2023     Jones, J.H. (PI), Kline, M. (Co-PI), Smaldino, P. (Co-PI), Moya, C. (Co-PI), and Almquist, Z.W. (Co-PI). “RAPID: Coupled Contagion, Behavior-Change, and the Dynamics of Pro and Anti-Social Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Grant #BCS-2028160, NSF, Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS), Cultural Anthropology (CA). $233,283.

Peer Reviewed Articles

• Huang, P., Z. W. Almquist, and C. T. Butts (2025). Endogenous Competition and the Underrealized Reproduction of Infectious Diseases. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122(23).
• Yang, J., Z. W. Almquist, and J. H. Jones (2025). Political and Educational Dynamics behind the Evangelicals’ Stance against Mask Mandates during COVID-19 in the U.S. Social Science Research 125.
• Ford, J. D., D. Marengo, M. Olff, C. Armour, J. D. Elhai, Z. W. Almquist, and E. S. Spiro (2022). Temporal Trends in Health Worker Social Media Communication During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Research in Nursing & Health 45(6).
• Thomas, L. J., P. Huang, F. Yin, J. Xu, Z. W. Almquist, J. R. Hipp, and C. T. Butts (2022). Geographical Patterns of Social Cohesion Drive Disparities in Early COVID Infection Hazard. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119(22).
• Thomas, L.J., P. Huang, F. Yin, X.I. Luo, Z.W. Almquist, J.R. Hipp, and C.T. Butts (2020). Spatial Heterogeneity Can Lead to Substantial Local Variations in COVID-19 Timing and Severity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117(39), 24180–24187.
• Jones, J. H., A. Hazel, and Z.W. Almquist (2020). Transmission-Dynamics Models for the SARS Coronavirus-2. American Journal of Human Biology 32(5), 1-14.