WASHINGTON – Radiant.Earth, a leader in open Earth imagery for the global development community, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Victoria M. Gammino as Chief Science Officer on March 4, 2018.
Dr. Gammino brings to Radiant.Earth an exceptional career in global health. An epidemiologist with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 15 years, she has applied geospatial analytics and remote-sensing techniques to improve access to health care for hard-to-reach populations such as nomadic pastoralists and those living in conflict zones. Her professional portfolio has included infectious disease research in Africa, Asia, and the Americas to support tuberculosis elimination efforts and, most recently, polio eradication. From piloting the use of geospatial data to track polio vaccinators in northern Nigeria to conducting an outbreak investigation on a remote Pacific atoll, Dr. Gammino’s experience bridges sectors and continents. She has collaborated with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, FAO, USAID, host governments and non-governmental organizations to improve global health operations and strengthen policies through evidence-based practices. In 2013, she received the CDC Director’s Award for Innovation in recognition of her work to design PQS-compliant vaccine cold chain and specimen transport equipment.
In announcing the appointment, Anne Hale Miglarese, Founder and CEO of Radiant.Earth says, “We are delighted to have Dr. Gammino on board. Now a year and a half old, Radiant.Earth is entering a new chapter of growth and stability. As Chief Science Officer, Dr. Gammino will lead our global health research projects, helping to improve access to geospatial data to support operational development challenges in the Global South, and strengthening our public-private technology partnerships amongst the global health community.”
Speaking about her new role, Dr. Gammino looks forward to a new chapter in her career with the aim to help the global development community leverage the Earth imagery and analytic tools found on Radiant.Earth’s platform to accomplish their mission. “We aim to expand geospatial infrastructure to countries and institutions that lack it most, yet require it to fulfill their global health and development missions,” she says. “The burden for procuring quality geospatial data to support health and humanitarian efforts in the Global South are often left to international aid groups, many of whom struggle to find the right data sets to use, or lack the expertise to apply spatial technology. In this vacuum, open-source spatial and analytic tools become more critical for international development. It is one of the reasons I am excited to join Radiant.Earth. Access to free Earth imagery and geospatial data is not only a social good, it is the missing link to deliver sustainable assistance to the Global South.”
Dr. Gammino holds a master’s degree in epidemiology from Tulane University and a Ph.D. in international health from Johns Hopkins University. She recently co-released a compilation of case studies to illustrate how providing access to spatial data can provide answers to an array of global challenges.
About Radiant.Earth
Radiant.Earth is a non-profit organization committed to aggregating the world’s open Earth imagery and providing access and education on its use to the global development community.
