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Goals and objectives of the CIPHER center:

In our work at the center, Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER), we focus on genomics and computing technologies as applied to microbiology, biological and human diversity, and health. We have domestic and international partners for joint research and training in academia, medicine, industry, and government. Our projects focus on infectious diseases including emergent viruses and durable problems such as: malaria, the global spread of antibiotic resistance, food safety, and failing ecosystem health. We apply computing and empirical technologies synergistically.

CIPHER is a university-wide center with constituents from the College of Computing and Informatics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Health and Human Services, and the College of Education. Our goals are to coalesce expertise in computer science, bioinformatics, software and information systems, biological sciences, math, geography, public health, data science, education, and communications. We are always open to new collaborations within and extramural to the University.


Tickborne Illnesses

Dr. Vieira visits Chapel Hill to give a talk at UNC’s Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases

Rafael Felipe Da Costa Vieira, PhD, is an assistant professor of One Health in the Department of Public Health Sciences and CIPHER at UNC Charlotte. Dr. Vieira’s research focuses on the ecoepidemiology of ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBD), genetic diversity of TBD pathogens, tick microbiome, pathogen discovery, and One Health. Over the last 12 years, his research has focused on zoonotic diseases, with an emphasis on the epidemiology of vector-borne and transboundary infectious diseases, and genetic diversity of TBD pathogens.


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