Song Liang

Song Liang,

Associate Professor

Department: Department of Environmental and Global Health
Business Phone: (352) 273-9203
Business Email: songliang@ufl.edu

About Song Liang

Dr. Song Liang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Global Health, and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida. He received a B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Zoology from Southwest University in 1989 and 1992 in China, and went on to study at the University of California at Berkeley where he received a M.S. in Environmental Health Sciences in 1999 and his PhD in 2003.

Dr. Liang’s research interests include epidemiology, ecology, risk assessment of environmentally-mediated infectious diseases, and human health impact of environmental and climate change. Over the past 15 years, he has been studying socio-environmental determinants and control of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) related neglected tropical diseases (e.g. schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis) through both empirical and mechanistic approaches. More recently, his work has expanded to understand human exposure to water/foodborne pathogens (e.g. Campylobacter spp.) and associated infection and disease risks in the settings of low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Dr. Liang has received funding from NIH, NSF, USAID, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) etc. to conduct research work on these areas. He has authored and co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles in journals including the Lancet, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of USA (PNAS), Bulletin of World Health Organization (BWHO), PLoS Medicine/NTDs, and Nature Climate Change. Dr. Liang currently serves as an adviser to the World Health Organization’s Guidelines Development Group (GDG) on control and elimination of schistosomiasis.

Accomplishments

URSP Faculty Mentor Research Award
2020 · University of Florida
University of Florida Faculty Enhancement Opportunity (FEO) Award
2019 · University of Florida
Adviser to the World Health Organization’s Guidelines Development Group (GDG)
2018 · The World Health Organization
Department of Environmental & Global Health Best Mentor Award
2018 · Department of Environmental & Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions
University of Florida Term Professor
2017-2020 · University of Florida
The 2nd Place Award of Science and Technology Progress
2010 · Sichuan Provincial Government, Sichuan, P.R. China

Teaching Profile

Courses Taught
2020
HSC4913 Supervised Research Experience
2014-2023
PHC7979 Advanced Research
2013-2020,2022-2024
PHC6520 Foodborne Diseases
2015-2023
PHC7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation
2013,2018-2020,2020-2021
PHC6937 Special Topics in Public Health
2017,2020-2023,2023
PHC6947 Environmental and Global Health Capstone Experience
2014-2016,2018-2022,2022
PHC6601 Seminar in Contemporary Public Health Issues
2014-2016,2018-2022
PHC6946 Public Health Internship
2019,2021-2023,2023-2024
PHC7307 Quantitative Assessment of Environmental Health Impacts
2016,2018-2022,2022
PHC6945 Public Health Practicum
2013-2016,2018-2023,2022-2023
PHC6722 Environmental and Global Health Research Methods Rotation
2017
PHC6313 Environmental Health Concepts in Public Health
2013-2014,2016-2017
PHC6346 Occupational and Environmental Health Among Agriculture Workers
2016
PHC6905 Independent Study
2015
PHC6912 Special Project: Independent Research
2013-2014,2021-2022
HSC4970 Public Health and Health Professions Senior Honors Thesis
2021-2023
PHC6941 MPH Applied Practice Experience
2021-2023
PHC6326 Environmental and One Health

Research Profile

Dr. Liang’s areas of expertise include epidemiology and risk assessment of environmentally-mediated infectious diseases, and human health impact of environmental and climate change. His research has spanned a broad range of areas, from understanding socio-environmental determinants and control of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) related neglected tropical diseases, to exposure assessment and infection/disease risks associated with water/food-borne pathogens in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), and to surveillance of environmentally-mediated diseases.

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

0000-0002-6406-3700

Publications

2023
A multistate assessment of population normalization factors for wastewater-based epidemiology of COVID-19.
PloS one. 18(4) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0284370. [PMID] 37043469.
2022
Assessment of a mass balance equation for estimating community-level prevalence of COVID-19 using wastewater-based epidemiology in a mid-sized city.
Scientific reports. 12(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s41598-022-21354-6. [PMID] 36352013.
2022
Diagnosis of Schistosoma infection in non-human animal hosts: A systematic review and meta-analysis
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 16(5) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010389. [PMID] 35522699.
2021
Afforestation suppresses Oncomelania hupensis snail density through influencing algae in beaches of the Dongting Lake
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 15(2) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009100. [PMID] 33539386.
2021
Biogeographical characteristics of Schistosoma mansoni endemic areas in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta analysis.
Infectious diseases of poverty. 10(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s40249-021-00864-x. [PMID] 34099066.
2021
Environmental Drivers and Potential Distribution of Schistosoma mansoni Endemic Areas in Ethiopia.
Microorganisms. 9(10) [DOI] 10.3390/microorganisms9102144. [PMID] 34683465.
2021
Mapping ticks and tick-borne pathogens in China
Nature Communications. 12(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s41467-021-21375-1. [PMID] 33597544.
2020
Early Evidence of Inactivated Enterovirus 71 Vaccine Impact Against Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease in a Major Center of Ongoing Transmission in China, 2011-2018: A Longitudinal Surveillance Study.
Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 71(12):3088-3095 [DOI] 10.1093/cid/ciz1188. [PMID] 31879754.
2020
Prenatal and early-life exposure to the Great Chinese Famine increased the risk of tuberculosis in adulthood across two generations.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 117(44):27549-27555 [DOI] 10.1073/pnas.2008336117. [PMID] 33077583.
2020
The DIOS framework for optimizing infectious disease surveillance: Numerical methods for simulation and multi-objective optimization of surveillance network architectures.
PLoS computational biology. 16(12) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008477. [PMID] 33275606.
2019
Assessing the nonhuman primate reservoir of Schistosoma mansoni in Africa: a systematic review
Infectious Diseases of Poverty. 8(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s40249-019-0543-7. [PMID] 31077256.
2019
Hydroclimatic drivers of highly seasonal leptospirosis incidence suggest prominent soil reservoir of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in rural western China.
PLoS neglected tropical diseases. 13(12) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007968. [PMID] 31877134.
2019
The microbiome and antibiotic resistance in integrated fishfarm water: Implications of environmental public health.
The Science of the total environment. 649:1491-1501 [DOI] 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.288. [PMID] 30308917.
2019
Transmission of Schistosoma mansoni in Yachi areas, southwestern Ethiopia: new foci.
Infectious diseases of poverty. 8(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s40249-018-0513-5. [PMID] 30626428.
2018
Schistosoma mansoni and other intestinal parasitic infections in schoolchildren and vervet monkeys in Lake Ziway area, Ethiopia.
BMC research notes. 11(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s13104-018-3248-2. [PMID] 29463304.
2017
Cultural influences behind cholera transmission in the Far North Region, Republic of Cameroon: a field experience and implications for operational level planning of interventions.
The Pan African medical journal. 28 [DOI] 10.11604/pamj.2017.28.311.13860. [PMID] 29721141.
2017
Environmental and socio-demographic individual, family and neighborhood factors associated with children intestinal parasitoses at Iguazú, in the subtropical northern border of Argentina.
PLoS neglected tropical diseases. 11(11) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006098. [PMID] 29155829.
2017
Epidemiology of intestinal helminthiasis among school children with emphasis on Schistosoma mansoni infection in Wolaita zone, Southern Ethiopia.
BMC public health. 17(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s12889-017-4499-x. [PMID] 28633651.
2017
Low Transmission to Elimination: Rural Development as a Key Determinant of the End-Game Dynamics of Schistosoma japonicum in China.
Tropical medicine and infectious disease. 2(3) [DOI] 10.3390/tropicalmed2030035. [PMID] 30270892.
2017
Porcine diazepam-binding inhibitor and bovine diazepam-binding inhibitor affect morphine antinociception via different receptors.
Protein & cell. 8(2):140-143 [DOI] 10.1007/s13238-016-0355-5. [PMID] 28032250.
2016
Characterization of environmental Vibrio cholerae serogroups O1 and O139 in the Pearl River Estuary, China.
Canadian journal of microbiology. 62(2):139-47 [DOI] 10.1139/cjm-2015-0443. [PMID] 26674584.
2016
Dissecting characteristics and dynamics of differentially expressed proteins during multistage carcinogenesis of human colorectal cancer.
World journal of gastroenterology. 22(18):4515-28 [DOI] 10.3748/wjg.v22.i18.4515. [PMID] 27182161.
2016
Genetic Studies of Vibrio cholerae in South West Cameroon-A Phylogenetic Analysis of Isolates from the 2010-2011 Epidemic.
PLoS currents. 8 [DOI] 10.1371/currents.outbreaks.13b4e5e36a5c0831a1663fbdb5713fe9. [PMID] 27617169.
2016
Hydrogen peroxide-induced secondary necrosis in conidia of Aspergillus fumigatus.
Canadian journal of microbiology. 62(2):95-101 [DOI] 10.1139/cjm-2015-0561. [PMID] 26639790.
2015
A controlled, before-and-after trial of an urban sanitation intervention to reduce enteric infections in children: research protocol for the Maputo Sanitation (MapSan) study, Mozambique.
BMJ open. 5(6) [DOI] 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008215. [PMID] 26088809.
2015
An efficient strategy for heterologous expression and purification of active peptide hainantoxin-IV.
PloS one. 10(2) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0117099. [PMID] 25647561.
2015
Geographical variations in risk factors associated with HIV infection among drug users in a prefecture in Southwest China.
Infectious diseases of poverty. 4 [DOI] 10.1186/s40249-015-0073-x. [PMID] 26329887.
2015
Risk Distribution of Human Infections with Avian Influenza H7N9 and H5N1 virus in China.
Scientific reports. 5 [DOI] 10.1038/srep18610. [PMID] 26691585.
2015
Structural and Functional Diversity of Peptide Toxins from Tarantula Haplopelma hainanum (Ornithoctonus hainana) Venom Revealed by Transcriptomic, Peptidomic, and Patch Clamp Approaches.
The Journal of biological chemistry. 290(22):14192-207 [DOI] 10.1074/jbc.M114.635458. [PMID] 25770214.
2015
The association between hantavirus infection and selenium deficiency in mainland China.
Viruses. 7(1):333-51 [DOI] 10.3390/v7010333. [PMID] 25609306.
2014
Delays reducing waterborne and water-related infectious diseases in China under climate change.
Nature climate change. 4:1109-1115 [PMID] 25530812.
2014
HIV-, HCV-, and co-infections and associated risk factors among drug users in southwestern China: a township-level ecological study incorporating spatial regression.
PloS one. 9(3) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0093157. [PMID] 24687006.
2014
Study of the Variation of Schistosomiasis Risk in Lake Poyang in the People’s Republic of China Using Multiple Space-Borne Sensors for Monitoring and Modelling
Geospatial Health. 8(2):353-364
2013
Epidemiological features and risk factors associated with the spatial and temporal distribution of human brucellosis in China.
BMC infectious diseases. 13 [DOI] 10.1186/1471-2334-13-547. [PMID] 24238301.
2013
Mapping spread and risk of avian influenza A (H7N9) in China.
Scientific reports. 3 [DOI] 10.1038/srep02722. [PMID] 24072008.
2013
Spatial-temporal variations of Schistosoma japonicum distribution after an integrated national control strategy: a cohort in a marshland area of China.
BMC public health. 13 [DOI] 10.1186/1471-2458-13-297. [PMID] 23556428.
2013
Toxin-producing cyanobacteria in freshwater: a review of the problems, impact on drinking water safety, and efforts for protecting public health.
Journal of microbiology (Seoul, Korea). 51(1):1-10 [DOI] 10.1007/s12275-013-2549-3. [PMID] 23456705.
2012
Cautioning the Use of Degree-Day Models for Climate Change Projections in the Presence of Parametric Uncertainty
Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America. 22:2237-2247
2012
Change in rainfall drives malaria re-emergence in Anhui Province, China.
PloS one. 7(8) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0043686. [PMID] 22928015.
2012
Factors impacting on progress towards elimination of transmission of schistosomiasis japonica in China.
Parasites & vectors. 5 [DOI] 10.1186/1756-3305-5-275. [PMID] 23206326.
2012
Isotopic Niche Differentiation Among Mammals From a Rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia
Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 60:233-239
2012
On the Dependence of Population Size Upon Random Dispersal Rate
Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems-Series B. 17(8):2771-2788 [DOI] 10.3934/dcdsb.2012.17.2771.
2012
Regional disparities in the burden of disease attributable to unsafe water and poor sanitation in China.
Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 90(8):578-87 [DOI] 10.2471/BLT.11.098343. [PMID] 22893741.
2010
[Inhibition of Jingzhaotoxin-V on Kv4.3 channel].
Sheng li xue bao : [Acta physiologica Sinica]. 62(3):255-60 [PMID] 20571743.
2008
ATDB: a uni-database platform for animal toxins.
Nucleic acids research. 36(Database issue):D293-7 [PMID] 17933766.
2008
Blue-light-independent activity of Arabidopsis cryptochromes in the regulation of steady-state levels of protein and mRNA expression.
Molecular plant. 1(1):167-77 [DOI] 10.1093/mp/ssm018. [PMID] 20031923.
2008
Discovery of a distinct superfamily of Kunitz-type toxin (KTT) from tarantulas.
PloS one. 3(10) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0003414. [PMID] 18923708.
2006
G8: a novel domain associated with polycystic kidney disease and non-syndromic hearing loss.
Bioinformatics (Oxford, England). 22(18):2189-91 [PMID] 16632497.
1997
Preliminary Study on the Primary Structure of Dragline Fibroin from the Spider Araneus ventrocosus.
Sheng wu hua xue yu sheng wu wu li xue bao Acta biochimica et biophysica Sinica. 29(5):469-474 [PMID] 12215786.

Grants

Sep 2022 – Sep 2023
Building mathematical modeling workforce capacity to support infectious disease and healthcare research
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding: CTRS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Oct 2017 – Dec 2017
Systematic review of diagnosis of schistosomiasis infections in non-human animals
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: WORLD HLTH ORGANIZATION
Feb 2017 – Jan 2023
Spatio-temporal data integration methods for infectious disease surveillance
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: UNIV OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY via NATL INST OF HLTH NIAID
Oct 2016 – Apr 2017
Translating Research into Action
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MED via US AGCY INTL DEV
Jan 2016 – Jun 2019
Analytical methods for estimating the joint climatological-social drivers of water quality and supply in contrasting tropical zones
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: UNIV OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY via NATL SCIENCE FOU
Nov 2015 – Apr 2016
Florida Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence
Role: Project Manager
Funding: FL DEPT OF HLTH via CTRS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Feb 2015 – Feb 2020
Understanding antibiotic resistance occurence and development of mitigation strategies in cattle
Role: Project Manager
Funding: US DEPT OF AG NATL INST OF FOOD AND AG
Jul 2012 – Mar 2018
Livestock movements and disease epidemiology in the Chad Basin: modeling risks for animals and humans
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: OHIO STATE UNIV via NATL SCIENCE FOU
Jun 2012 – May 2016
Ensuring safe drinking water in Lake Erie: quantifying extreme weather impacts on cyanotoxins and DBPs
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: OHIO STATE UNIV via US ENVIRONMENTAL PRO AGCY

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Health Sciences
2003 · University of California at Berkeley
Master of Science in Environmental Health Sciences
1999 · University of California at Berkeley
Master of Science in Zoology
1992 · Southwest Normal University, Chongqing, China
Bachelor of Science in Biology
1989 · Southwest Normal University, Chongqing, China

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 273-9203
Emails:
Business:
songliang@ufl.edu
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
686 North Pleasant Street
281 Goessmann
Amherst FL 01003
Business Street:
686 North Pleasant Street
281A Goessmann
Amherst FL 01003