Faculty

Ricardo Castillo, PhD DVM MSPH

faculty photo
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Department: Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Graduate Group Affiliations
Contact information
Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics
3600 Civic Center Boulevard
4th Floor, Suite 214A
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 2157467333
Email: cricardo@upenn.edu
Publications

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Education:
BSc (Veterinary Medicine)
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 2006.
 DVM (Veterinary Medicine)
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 2007.
 MSPH (International Health)
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2014.
 PhD (Epidemiology)
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2014.
Links
Search PubMed for articles
 Center for Global Health at University of Pennsylvania
Departement of Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Informatics
Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics
Public Health Certificate Program
Permanent link
 
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Description of Research Expertise

I study the eco-epidemiology of tropical diseases. My current research uses canine rabies as a model system to understand how the social and spatial features of urban areas influence the emergence and persistence of infectious diseases.

My most recent line of research focuses on urban vaccine-preventable outbreaks. I conduct cluster randomized trials to test optimized mass vaccination strategies. My methodological interests include spatial analysis, optimization of interventions to control infectious disease, and design of community-based studies.

I am a scholar of infectious disease epidemiology with a strong background in quantitative methods, zoonotic disease ecology, and the study of complex systems. I am committed to teaching and research in public health, infectious disease, and epidemiological methods. I am well-versed in designing and conducting observational and experimental community-based studies, as well as laboratory-based research. I have strong data management and analysis skills; and experience with a variety of data sources.

Selected Publications

Castillo-Neyra R, **Xie S, *Diaz EW, **Cañari J, Condori-Luna GF, Bellotti B, Paz-Soldan V, Rieders M, Bhattacharya B, Levy MZ.: Precision One Health: A Randomized Trial to Optimize Urban Rabies Elimination. Poster Presentation, World One Health Congress, Lisboa, Portugal. Sep 2026 Notes: *Student/predoctoral mentee; **Postdoctoral mentee.

 Brunkerr K, *Davila-Barclay A, *Diaz EW, Kasaragod S, Durrant R, Zegarra E, Monroy Y, Castillo-Neyra, R.: Beyond surveillance: viral genomics to uncover local transmission and inform strategies for urban rabies elimination. Student Oral Presentation, World One Health Congress, Lisboa, Portugal Sep 2026 Notes: *Student/predoctoral mentee.

 *Condori-Luna GF, Castillo Neyra R, Vega-Oliveros D.: Mining urban epidemiological networks: Risk-aware KG-GNN embeddings for vaccination site optimization. Soc Netw Anal Min. Aug 2026 Notes: Accepted for publication; *Student/predoctoral mentee.

 Castillo-Neyra R, Julien D, Ford R, Belsare AV.: Canine Rabies. In History of Rabies in the Americas, Volume IV. Springer Cham. Charles E. Rupprecht (eds.). Aug 2026 Notes: https://link.springer.com/book/9783032228000#overview; DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-22801-7.

 Levy MZ, *Tamayo LD, Condori-Pino CE, Arevalo-Nieto C, Castillo-Neyra R, Paz-Soldan VA.: An Immune System for the City: A Cluster-Randomized Trial of a New Paradigm for Surveillance and Control of Disease Vectors. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. Jun 2026 Notes: *Student/predoctoral mentee; doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0014464.

 Castillo-Neyra R, *Ortiz-Cam L, *Diaz EW, **Cañari-Casaño JL, Recuenco SE, Paz-Soldan VA.: The return of human rabies: A foretold case in Latin America Through the Lens of One Health. MedRxiv. Jan 2026 Notes: *Student/predoctoral mentee; **Postdoctoral mentee.

 *Condori-Luna GF, Vega-Oliveros D, Castillo Neyra R.: Knowledge-infused temporal GNNs for proactive rabies hotspot detection in data-sparse regions. IEEE Xplore. Jan 2026 Notes: *Student/predoctoral mentee; DOI: 10.1109/ISCMI67495.2025.11358592.

 *De la Puente-León M, *Díaz EW, Bellotti BR, Porras G, Borrini-Mayorí K, Chuquista-Alcarraz O, Paz-Soldán VA, Levy MZ, Castillo-Neyra R.: Changes in feral dog populations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Arequipa, Peru. Front Vet Sci. 12: 1666645, Jan 2026 Notes: *Student/predoctoral mentee; **Postdoctoral mentee; doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1666645.

 Castillo-Neyra R, Gutierrez Zarate W, *Requena-Herrera MP, *Ortiz-Cam L, *Porras G, Manturano Lopez JM, Macedo Milla JF, **Cañari-Casano JL, Bustos JA.: Hidden Burden of Cystic Echinococcosis in Arequipa, Peru: An Unrecognized Population at Risk. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2026 Notes: Accepted for publication; *Student/predoctoral mentee; **Postdoctoral mentee.

 Recuenco Cabrera SE, Palacios CA, Castillo-Neyra R.: Neglected zoonoses and the One Health approach: linking academia and implementation at the Rabies in the Americas Conference RITA 2025. An Fac Med. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Facultad de Medicina San Fernando Lima, Perú 86(4): 411-413, Dec 2025.
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Last updated: 07/01/2026
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