Faculty

Ricardo Castillo, PhD DVM MSPH

Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Department: Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Graduate Group Affiliations

Graduate Group in Epidemiology and Biostatistics

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.
PhD (Epidemiology)
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2014.
MSPH (International Health)
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2014.

Links
Search PubMed for articles
Center for Global Health at University of Pennsylvania
Public Health Certificate Program
Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics
Departement of Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Informatics

Permanent link

> Perelman School of Medicine > Faculty > Details

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

Porras G, *Diaz EW, Leopardi V, **Xie S, De la Puente-León M, *Ortiz-Cam L, Zegarra E, Monroy Y, Salazar R, Castillo-Neyra R.: Operational feasibility and adoption of the foramen magnum sampling method for canine rabies surveillance in Peru. Prev Vet Med Reg Stud Rep. 1(3), Dec 2026 Notes: *Student/predoctoral mentee; **Postdoctoral mentee; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pvmrsr.2026.100041.

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.

Brunker K, *Dávila-Barclay A, *Díaz EW, Kasaragod S, Durrant R, Hampson K, Zegarra E, Monroy Y, Castillo-Neyra R.: One Health genomic surveillance reveals structured urban rabies transmission and major surveillance gaps. BioRxiv. Jul 2026 Notes: *Student/predoctoral mentee; doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.07.736726.

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. Page: tpmd260046, Jul 2026 Notes: *Student/predoctoral mentee; **Postdoctoral mentee; doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.26-0046. Epub ahead of print.

Castillo-Neyra R, *Ortiz-Cam L, *Díaz EW, **Cañari-Casaño JL, Recuenco SE, Paz-Soldán VA.: A One Health analysis of the reemergence of dog-mediated human rabies in Peru. Sci Rep. July 2026 Notes: *Student/predoctoral mentee; **Postdoctoral mentee; doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-65032-3.

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. 20(6): e0014464, 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; doi: 10.64898/2025.12.31.25343275.