Jill Lebov

Jill Lebov, PhD, MSPH, conducts applied epidemiological research within our biostatistics and epidemiology discipline. In this role, she develops and implements research protocols for diverse global health projects, on topics such as Zika virus and other arboviruses, neurodevelopmental and reproductive health outcomes, HIV prevention, and environmental risk factors for chronic kidney disease. She also contributes to business development and proposal writing for applied public health research initiatives.

As part of RTI’s proactive response to the Zika virus, Dr. Lebov worked with collaborators in Nicaragua to enroll a cohort of children and adults to study neurological sequelae associated with Zika virus infection. Dr. Lebov currently serves as Project Director for the Data Coordinating Center of the NIH-funded, multi-country Zika in Infants and Pregnancy (ZIP) study, which seeks to further evaluate the association between Zika infection during pregnancy and adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. She is also a Principal Investigator for an NIH-funded study of long-term neurological and neurodevelopmental impacts of postnatally acquired Zika virus infection among children in Nicaragua.

Dr. Lebov conducted independent research on diverse global health topics, including environmental and occupational risk factors for chronic kidney disease; social and biological risk factors for human papillomavirus (HPV); school-based sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing interventions; community-level HPV screening uptake; early infant diagnosis of HIV and neurodevelopmental outcomes among HIV-infected infants; and health impacts of in utero exposure to immunosuppressive drugs. She also previously implemented and evaluated a sexual health promotion program for at-risk Latino youth in the United States.

She is a past member of the American Public Health Association and the American Society for Nephrology, and she was previously named a UNC Entrepreneurial Public Service Fellow. Dr. Lebov has professional experience in Malawi, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, and Spain, among other areas. She speaks fluent Spanish.