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Catching Up On Alumna Alia Bly's Research

Bly continues to gather research and explore her passion for eradicating disease

Alumna Alia Bly ('20) returned to Africa over the summer to gather more research for her studies.

She was awarded a fellowship through the Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She worked as a Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases RISE Graduate Research Fellow.

Bly traveled to Ethiopia for six weeks. Sponsored by the fellowship program, Bly worked with Dr. Jessica Fairley at Emory University's School of Medicine and the Rollins School of Public Health by supporting a multidisciplinary research collaboration with the Armauer Hansen Research Institute’s (AHRI) Mycobacterial Diseases Research Directorate and the All Africa Leprosy, Tuberculosis, and Rehabilitation Training (ALERT) Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Emory’s lab in the United States is partnered with Research institutions in Ethiopia and Brazil. We work with research partners to identify risk factors for leprosy. The team set up a longitudinal study focused on monitoring latently infected individuals for progression to active disease. We also assess risk factors that differ between those who do versus those who do not experience infection progression.

Their research goals include further investigating the epidemiologic and immunologic drivers of clinical leprosy among persons infected with M. leprae, including helminth co-infection and undernutrition. “Leprosy is an interesting space to be involved in,” said Bly. “It is considered a rare disease, but it can be debilitating. I want to dedicate emotional and intellectual attention to it.” 

Her studies continued a pilot study from last summer conducted by Emory, AHRI, and ALERT. Bly analyzed data from the pilot study and discussed the findings from the study, as well as the protocol and findings from this summer.” 

“I always find it interesting to be in international scientific environments and to observe how research is conducted in different cultural contexts,” she said. “The environment can shape the study's progress, and learning to utilize other people’s perspectives is very important.” 

In July, Bly presented a poster and a presentation at the CDC regarding her research. 

Bly is working to complete her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology with Graduate Certificates in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology and will graduate in May 2025. Alia is developing her Master's thesis under guidance from Dr. Fairley and partnered faculty at Emory's Tuberculosis Research Advancement Center."