Katja Polman is an epidemiologist and heads the Unit of Medical Helminthology within the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp. She also has a position as associate professor within the Section of Infectious Diseases at the VU University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She has a university training in Medical Biology and Parasitology and a Master in Epidemiology, and did her PhD at the Leiden University on the diagnosis and epidemiology of schistosomiasis. Since then she has been working in the field of neglected tropical diseases. Her research interests and expertise lie in the field of parasite epidemiology, with focus on helminth (co)infections and associated diseases.
Research lines
(Eco-)epidemiology, transmission dynamics, diagnosis and control of schistosomiasis and other human helminth infections
Helminth co-infections: interactions with other infections (eg. polyparasitism) and diseases (eg. allergy, malnutrition), and how these shape disease patterns and control.