The LaBeaud lab is an infectious disease research lab at Stanford University School of Medicine. Our area of research is arboviral epidemiology, the study of arthropod- (or mosquito-) borne viruses. In particular, Dr. LaBeaud investigates dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, Zika, Rift Valley fever viruses and other emerging pathogens in Kenya, Brazil and Grenada and other regions. Our long-term goals are to contribute to a deeper understanding of the environmental and socio-structural determinants of arboviral infections and their long-term health consequences to optimize community-centered control strategies that prevent these emerging infections.
LaBeaud Lab Values and Guiding Principles
We believe in better health for all children in the world and in health equity and social justice for all. We believe that all people should have the right to be informed and educated about their risk for disease and empowered to minimize those risks and to be diagnosed and treated effectively. Furthermore, we firmly believe in innovation, excellence, and advancement in science, in establishing meaningful connections with the communities we impact, and to give back to those communities to the extent of our abilities. Finally, we believe in mentorship and inspirational training of young investigators and eager learners of all backgrounds and ages both locally and abroad to ensure our work continues for generations to come.
Mission
We approach our research activities with passion and humility through an environmental sustainability and social justice lens. Our work centers on long term relationships with collaborators and communities in research sites so that we can bring better diagnostics, technologies, care, and treatment to all people regardless of wealth. From a One Health approach*, we partner with the best experienced and aspiring scientists in our field, to bring innovative solutions to complex global health problems. We embrace challenges, critically evaluate our approaches, and embrace uncertainty at all steps.
* the belief that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment.
Vision
We will: 1) Decrease disease risk and improve diagnoses and health outcomes of populations in our research sites by conducting solutions and community based research and interventions on under-measured determinants of disease, 2) Empower communities to make informed health decisions by more direct communication of research findings in meaningful and understandable messages, 3) Partner with policy makers, community stakeholders and the media to challenge the status quo, direct change in systems of care, and facilitate people’s understanding of complex health phenomena, 4) Share our knowledge of arboviral diseases and their associations with the environment and climate change in open access highly visible peer reviewed journals, and 5) Catalyze movement toward more environmentally sustainable choices in medical research and practice.
Our Work Ethics
Individually or when working together, we consider the following principles essential for our success. We expect all members of our team to share or to adopt these work ethics principles:
- Appreciation of others and what they do
- Being reliable
- Commitment to justice
- Consideration
- Diversity and the growth and challenges it brings
- Empathy
- Hard work
- Honesty
- Humility
- Open and clear communication
- Punctuality
- Readiness to learn from others
- Respect for people and our planet
- Teamwork and collaboration
LaBeaud Lab 