A/Prof James Trauer is a respiratory, sleep, general and public health physician - and head of the Epidemiological Modelling Unit for the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. Since 2020, his work has focused primarily on COVID-19, including working in close partnership with the World Health Organization Western Pacific and South East Asia Regions. Through this work, James’ team has developed a modular platform to support WHO member states from these regions in epidemiological modelling for pandemic control. These have included the Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan. During Victoria’s second COVID-19 wave in 2020 and 2021 Delta outbreak, the team also provided modelling support to the Victorian Department of Health.
James was a 2021 Victorian Tall Poppy awardee and the team’s work was recognised through a WHO Western Pacific Innovation Challenge award. James and his team employ methodological approaches areas that include deterministic and stochastic modelling, agent-based simulations, applied mathematics, Bayesian inference, statistics, epidemiology, health economics, software engineering and data visualisation.
Prior to 2020, his work focused primarily on tuberculosis (TB) epidemiology and modelling, and was supported by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and the Victorian TB Program. These projects have supported countries including the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Bhutan and Mongolia. During 2016 to 2017, James was appointed to Steering Committee of the TB Modelling and Analysis Consortium (the global body for the coordination of TB epidemiology and modelling).
James also works as a clinician for the Victorian Cystic Fibrosis Service at the Alfred Hospital, and as an epidemiologist for the Victorian TB Program. He has clinical research interests in cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, influenza, non-tuberculous mycobacterial diseases and behavioural sleep disorders.