Publications

Peer-reviewed publications and preprints. A complete list is also available on Google Scholar and via ORCID. A full CV is available as a PDF.

* Joint authorship  ·  § Corresponding  ·  Student author

Selected Publications

A small set of recent papers that capture the questions I care about most — chosen for methodological or public-health impact rather than prominence of venue.

  1. Promise and peril: doxycycline prophylaxis and the spread of resistance among diverse populations
    DeWitt ME§, Wenner JJ, Bellotti BR, Manuel JA¶, Toler C, Palavecino E, et al.
    The Lancet Microbe, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.lanmic.2025.101222
    Shows how doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis may accelerate antimicrobial resistance in populations where it is being scaled up.
  2. A Rapid Risk Assessment for Measles Outbreaks in North Carolina
    DeWitt ME§, Bellotti BR, Kortessis N, Shetty AK, Green J, Neelakanta A, et al.
    North Carolina Medical Journal, 2025 (accepted). doi:10.1101/2025.09.10.25335511
    A fast, reusable framework for estimating county-level measles outbreak risk to guide state and local public-health response.
  3. Lyme Disease Under-Ascertainment During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: Retrospective Study
    Jones BS*¶, DeWitt ME*§, Wenner JJ, Sanders JW
    JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 2024. doi:10.2196/56571
    Quantifies how COVID-era disruptions to care-seeking led to substantial under-ascertainment of Lyme disease, with implications for surveillance interpretation.
  4. Time is of the Essence: Effectiveness of Dairy Farm Control of H5N1 is Limited by Fast Spread
    DeWitt ME§, Bellotti BR, Kortessis N
    medRxiv, 2024 (preprint). doi:10.1101/2024.11.15.623774
    Shows that containment of H5N1 in dairy herds is rate-limited by the speed of within-herd spread, motivating faster detection windows.
  5. Global Monkeypox Case Hospitalisation Rates: A Rapid Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
    DeWitt ME§, Polk C, Williamson J, Shetty AK, Passaretti CL, McNeil CJ, et al.
    EClinicalMedicine, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101710
    First rapid meta-analysis of monkeypox hospitalisation rates during the 2022 global outbreak, widely cited in early response planning.

Peer-reviewed Publications

  1. Molecular identification of Rickettsia conorii subsp. israelensis and other tick-borne pathogens in dog ticks from the Upper East region of Ghana Kaba E, Addo SO, Captain-Esoah M, Salley SN, DeWitt ME, et al.. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 2026. doi:10.1111/mve.70067.
  2. Non-myeloablative conditioning regimens: Fludarabine/busulfan or fludarabine/cyclophosphamide/total body irradiation for allogeneic stem cell transplant Sawiris M, Patel A, Anders B, Wofford A, DeWitt ME, Kennedy L. Leukemia Research, 2026. doi:10.1016/j.leukres.2026.108253.
  3. Trusted Sources of COVID-19 Vaccine Information by County Characteristics in North Carolina Staley BT, DeWitt ME, Wenner JJ, Sanders JW, Wierzba TF, Poehling K. Vaccines, 2026. doi:10.3390/vaccines14010096.
  4. Occurrence of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Rhipicephalus sanguineus Sensu Lato From Domestic Dogs in Kumasi, Ghana Kwarteng SA, Mensah JO, Obuam PK, Odenteh EA, Foriwaah PD, Mbelede AI, Dziwornu E, Duker EO, Boakye JD, Agbotse GD, Yanney JN, Aba Aude Koffi MC, DeWitt ME, Addo SO. Veterinary Medicine International, 2026. doi:10.1155/vmi/8881048.
  5. Promise and peril: doxycycline prophylaxis and the spread of resistance among diverse populations DeWitt ME§, Wenner JJ, Bellotti BR, Manuel JA¶, Toler C, Palavecino E, et al.. The Lancet Microbe, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.lanmic.2025.101222.
  6. A Rapid Risk Assessment for Measles Outbreaks in North Carolina DeWitt ME§, Bellotti BR, Kortessis N, Shetty AK, Green J, Neelakanta A, et al.. North Carolina Medical Journal, 2025 (accepted). doi:10.1101/2025.09.10.25335511.
  7. Comparison of Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) as Measured by Etests and Agar Dilution in Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates Tested from 2018-2024 Manuel JA¶, Wenner JJ, DeWitt ME, Bellotti BR, Toler C, Palavecino E, et al.. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2025 (accepted). doi:10.1101/2025.07.27.25332272.
  8. Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Abattoir Workers in Kumasi towards Ticks and Tick-borne Pathogens Addo SE, Addo M, DeWitt ME, Tawiah-Mensah CNL, Amoah S, Unicorn NM, Kyeremateng ET, Desewu G, Larbi JA. Public Health Challenges, 2025. doi:10.1002/puh2.70167.
  9. Key Factors Predicting Teen Pregnancy in South Africa Hasan MA, Gill K, DeWitt ME, McNeil CJ. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2025. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.25-0271.
  10. Evaluation of the Microbiology and Clinical Outcomes of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis (SBP) within a US Academic Health System Parish PC, Taylor AD, Stone TJ, Luther VP, Ohl CA, DeWitt ME, Beardsley JR. Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology, 2025. doi:10.1017/ash.2025.10203.
  11. Attack of the Bots: Lessons from a Compromised Online MSM Survey Madola A¶, DeWitt M, Wenner J, McNeil CJ. Epidemiology and Infection, 2025. doi:10.1017/S095026882510040X.
  12. Molecular Detection of Rickettsia africae and Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii in Cattle Ticks from Cameroon Mbafor FL, Osei-Mensah J, Kwarteng SA, Addo SO, Kingsley MT, DeWitt ME, et al.. Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Journal, 2025. doi:10.21776/ub.VetBioClinJ.2025.007.01.4.
  13. Hepatitis B Infection in Outpatients and Pregnant Women Visiting a Mission Hospital in Ghana Addo M, Apaame S, Ghanney MA, Adu HK, DeWitt ME, Addo SO. Public Health Challenges, 2025. doi:10.1002/puh2.70071.
  14. At-Home Testing to Characterize SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence Among Children and Adolescents Ahmed A, DeWitt ME, Dantuluri KL, Buahin A, Castri P, Friedman-Klabanoff D, et al.. COVID, 2025. doi:10.3390/covid5050068.
  15. Exploring Social Vulnerability in National Health Safety Network (NHSN) Surgical Site Infections DeWitt ME, Reinke CE, Inman M, Bischoff W, Kester S, Neelanka A, Sampson M, Passaretti CA. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2025. doi:10.1017/ice.2025.52.
  16. Lyme Disease Under-Ascertainment During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: Retrospective Study Jones BS*¶, DeWitt ME*§, Wenner JJ, Sanders JW. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 2024. doi:10.2196/56571.
  17. Exploring Socioeconomic Disparities in Surgical Site Infections DeWitt ME, Reinke C, Inman M, Bischoff W, Kester S, Sampson M, et al.. Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology, 2024. doi:10.1017/ash.2024.99.
  18. Tropical Diseases in the United States: Beyond Poverty — Advancing an Ecological Framework in Tropical Medicine DeWitt ME, Sanders JW. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2024. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.24-0251.
  19. Expansion of Lateral Flow Assays to Adolescents and High-Risk Populations DeWitt ME§, Wenner J, McNeil CJ. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2024. doi:10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001977.
  20. Association of Social Vulnerability Index and Masking Adherence among Children Enrolled in COVID-19 Community Research Partnership Study Dantuluri KL, Buahin A, Uschner D, DeWitt ME, Rossman W, Dunn CO, et al.. BMC Public Health, 2024. doi:10.1186/s12889-024-17931-1.
  21. STI Self-Testing: Ensuring Representation and Outreach to Teens and Adolescents in Expanded Approaches DeWitt ME§, Pabon V, Vasquez A, Wenner JJ, McNeil CJ. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2024. doi:10.1136/sextrans-2023-056017.
  22. Assessing Barriers to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination in At-Risk Rural Communities of Western North Carolina, United States McNeil CJ, Barr B, Munawar I, DeWitt ME, Myers JS, Shetty AK. Vaccines, 2023. doi:10.3390/vaccines11121785.
  23. Characterization of Infection-Induced SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence Amongst Children and Adolescents in North Carolina Ahmed A*, DeWitt ME*§, Dantuluri KL, Castri P, Buahin A, LaGarde WH, Weintraub WS, Rossman W, Santos RP, Gibbs M, Uschner D. Epidemiology & Infection, 2023. doi:10.1017/S0950268823000481.
  24. Automatic Case Cluster Detection Using Hospital Electronic Health Record Data DeWitt M§, Wierzba TF. Biology Methods and Protocols, 2023. doi:10.1093/biomethods/bpad004.
  25. Analysis of Infections Among Patients with Historical Culture Positive for Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL)-Producing Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae: Is ESBL-Targeted Therapy Always Needed? Stone TJ, DeWitt M, Johnson JW, Beardsley JR, Munawar I, Palavecino E, Luther VP, Ohl CA, Williamson JC. Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology, 2023. doi:10.1017/ash.2022.363.
  26. Evaluation of a Health System's Implementation of a Monkeypox Care Model under the RE-AIM Framework Polk C, Sampson M, Fairman RT, DeWitt ME, Leonard M, Neelakanta A, Davidson L, Roshdy D, Branner C, McCurdy L, Ludden T, Tapp H, Passaretti C. Therapeutic Advances in Infectious Disease, 2023. doi:10.1177/20499361231158463.
  27. Venous or Arterial Thrombosis in COVID-19 Cases in the North Carolina COVID-19 Community Research Partnership (NC-CCRP) DeWitt ME§, Herrington DM, Sanders JW. Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 2023. doi:10.1016/j.rpth.2023.100080.
  28. COVID-19 Symptoms by Variant Period in the North Carolina COVID-19 Community Research Partnership, North Carolina, USA DeWitt ME§, Tjaden AH, Herrington D, et al.. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2023. doi:10.3201/eid2901.221111.
  29. Frailty Impacts Immune Responses to Moderna COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine in Older Adults Semelka CT, DeWitt ME, Blevins MW, Holbrook BC, Sanders JW, Alexander-Miller MA. Immunity & Ageing, 2023. doi:10.1186/s12979-023-00327-x.
  30. Global Monkeypox Case Hospitalisation Rates: A Rapid Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis DeWitt ME§, Polk C, Williamson J, Shetty AK, Passaretti CL, McNeil CJ, et al.. EClinicalMedicine, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101710.
  31. Monkeypox Testing Delays: The Need for Drastic Expansion of Education and Testing for Monkeypox Virus Sampson MM, Polk CM, Fairman RT, DeWitt ME, Leonard MK, Davidson L, et al.. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2022. doi:10.1017/ice.2022.237.
  32. Frailty and COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Antibody Response in the COVID-19 Community Research Partnership Semelka CT, DeWitt ME, Callahan KE, Herrington DM, Alexander-Miller MA, Yukich JO, Munawar I, McCurdy LH, Gibbs MA, Weintraub WS, Sanders JW. Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 2022. doi:10.1093/gerona/glac095.
  33. Deriving Analytic Insights During a Novel Pandemic DeWitt ME, Scheib C, Jones M, Cowin P. North Carolina Medical Journal, 2021. doi:10.18043/ncm.82.4.284.
  34. tidyqwi: A Tidy Approach to Accessing The US Census Bureau's Quarterly Workforce Indicators DeWitt M, Ahmadiani M, Hyde A. Journal of Open Source Software, 2019. doi:10.21105/joss.01462.
  35. Analysis of the Winston-Salem Public Transit System Summers P, DeWitt M. Virginia Policy Review, 2018.

Preprints & Working Papers

  1. Core Group Dynamics of Gonorrhea Infection in a North Carolina County from 2018 to 2023 Bellotti BR, Wenner J, Toler C, Pabon V, DeWitt ME*, McNeil CJ*. medRxiv, 2025. doi:10.1101/2025.04.14.25325476.
  2. Time is of the Essence: Effectiveness of Dairy Farm Control of H5N1 is Limited by Fast Spread DeWitt ME§, Bellotti BR, Kortessis N. medRxiv, 2024. doi:10.1101/2024.11.15.623774.
  3. Challenges and Lessons Learned from Preliminary Modeling of Within-Herd Transmission of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in Dairy Cattle Bellotti BR*, DeWitt ME*, Wenner JJ, Lombard JE, McCluskey BJ, Kortessis N. medRxiv, 2024. doi:10.1101/2024.08.06.606397.
  4. The Challenges of Surveying Heavy-Tail Distributions for Use in Infectious Disease Dynamics DeWitt ME§, Kortessis N, Sanders JW, McNeil CJ. medRxiv, 2023. doi:10.1101/2023.07.05.23292248.
  5. Estimated Monkeypox Susceptible MSM Population in North Carolina DeWitt ME§, Sampson MM, Fairman RT, et al.. medRxiv, 2022. doi:10.1101/2022.07.21.22277860.
  6. Rapid Impact Analysis of B.1.1.7 Variant on the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 in North Carolina DeWitt ME§. medRxiv, 2021. doi:10.1101/2021.02.07.21251291.