#  Humanitarian Geoanalytics 

 



       ![satellite image](/sites/g/files/omnuum6866/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/humanitarianinitiative/files/humanitariangeoanalytics-hero.jpg?itok=LhM4_V--) 

 

 



 

 



 

**Founded**: 2018  
**Faculty Leads:** P. Gregg Greenough, MD, MPH, MS, and Erica Nelson, MD, PhM, MAS  
**Status:** Active Program  
**Research Themes:** public health, disaster medicine, international emergency medicine, global health, climate change, land use and urban planning, ecological and human security, natural disasters, migration, conflict, gender and vulnerable populations

### Description

The HHI Humanitarian Geoanalytics Research and Education (HumGeo) Program leverages [geospatial data and analytics to transform humanitarian research](https://conflictandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13031-019-0234-9), programming, and education through the practical, effective, and ethical application of spatial analytics. Using a broad range of geostatistical techniques and [technologies](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comments?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0227808), HumGeo conducts rigorous research to create standardized methodologies designed to address a range of inter-disciplinary domains including climate sciences, [migration](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0244185), [conflict studies](https://ij-healthgeographics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12942-020-00215-3), public health, land use and urban planning, and critical geography—while the primary focus lies in population-based, epidemiological study. The program supports organizations without in-house capacity for spatial analytics and simultaneously is committed to fostering a new generation of humanitarians and researcher that value, understand, and employ geoanalytical methodologies in humanitarian and global health spheres.

### Current Program Activities

1. Exploring migration and climate in the East and Horn of Africa: A spatio-temporal analysis in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration
2. Strengthening Health Systems in Protracted Conflicts and Fragile States: The unexplored potential of spatial analytics
3. A spatio-temporal characterization of the association between COVID-19 prevalence and Emergency Medical Services utilization in Massachusetts
4. The Environmental Impact of Refugee Influx: A spatial analysis of satellite imagery of Kutupalong Refugee 3 Settlement, 2016-2018
5. Supporting Early Warning/Early Action: The role of spatial analytics in Atrocity Prevention decision-support
6. Supporting the development of an agent-based model capturing the spread of Ebola in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo



 

##  Team 

 



  [### Erica Nelson, MD, PhM, MAS

 ](/people/erica-nelson)Co-Director, Humanitarian Geoanalytics Research and Education Programs

Faculty, Emergency Health Systems Program 

 

 

 Erica L Nelson, MD, PhM, MAS is an Emergency Medicine physician who conducts research on the use of geospatial methods for public health and humanitarian response. After graduating from Trinity College Dublin with an PhM in International Peace Studies and... 

 

 

      ![erica nelson headshot ](/sites/g/files/omnuum6866/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-02/Faculty%20EricaNelson.jpg?itok=Wj3swQJR) 

 

 

 

   [### Gillian Elliott, MA

 ](/people/gillian-elliott-ma)Project Coordinator, Signal Program

 

 

 Gillian Elliott is a GIS analyst, environmentalist, and human rights advocate. After completing her bachelor’s degree with a double major in anthropology and environmental sciences from the University of Virginia, she went on to gain two years of hands-on... 

 

 

      ![Gillian-headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum6866/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-02/Staff%20GillianElliott.jpg?itok=Sxw8O--P) 

 

 

 

   [### P. Gregg Greenough, MD, MPH, MS

 ](/people/p-gregg-greenough)Co-Director, Humanitarian Geoanalytics Research and Education Programs

 

 

 Dr. Greenough is an emergency physician and spatial epidemiologist who studies public health in conflict- and disaster-affected populations. After graduating from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (1989), he completed Emergency Medicine... 

 

 

      ![Greenough](/sites/g/files/omnuum6866/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/humanitarianinitiative/files/gregg_greenough.jpg?itok=qi-24O-u)