Leila C. Sahni, Phd, Mph Email and Phone Number

I am an infectious disease epidemiologist with research interests and demonstrated expertise in disease-based surveillance, pediatric infectious diseases, vaccine effectiveness, and vaccine hesitancy. Much of my work has focused on the epidemiology of respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses in young children, the role of these viruses in pediatric emergency department use and hospitalization, and assessments of rotavirus, influenza, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine effectiveness. My primary research focus is symptom-based surveillance for pediatric medical conditions; I have 15 years of experience developing, implementing, and managing hospital-based surveillance methodology to maximize ascertainment of children with specific medical conditions and symptoms through Texas Children’s Hospital’s and Baylor College of Medicine’s participation in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) New Vaccine Surveillance Network (NVSN) and participation in CDC’s Overcoming COVID-19 research network. This experience includes studies of pediatric gastroenteritis, respiratory illness, neurologic conditions, and arboviruses, as well as assessments of influenza burden and epidemiology in pregnant women. I oversee all aspects of case ascertainment, data collection, and data management for thousands of patients each year (>16,000 patients have been enrolled locally through Texas Children's Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine’s participation in NVSN) and directly supervise a team of more than a dozen employees to ensure patient enrollment, specimen collection, and data collection are conducted following study protocols. I have strong skills in database creation and structure and data management.