Binyam N. Desta

Profile

Dr. Binyam N. Desta is an infectious disease epidemiologist and applied public health researcher whose work focuses on waterborne and foodborne diseases in Canadian and global contexts.

He earned his PhD in Public Health and Health Systems (Epidemiology) from the University of Waterloo and an MPH in Epidemiology from Haramaya University in Ethiopia. Dr. Desta’s doctoral research, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, generated the first population-level estimates of enteric illness across several African low- and middle-income countries. This work has informed enteric disease surveillance systems and strengthened health system resilience in diverse global settings.

As a postdoctoral fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University, Dr. Desta led a Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)–funded study identifying environmental predictors of microbial contamination in Canadian freshwater and marine recreational waters. He continued his work on a PHAC-supported cohort design and mixed-methods studies exploring the health risks of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) for humans and animals.

Research Interests

Dr. Desta’s research lies at the intersection of infectious disease epidemiology, environmental health, and applied public health research. He aims to understand, model and reduce the risks of waterborne and foodborne illnesses through data-driven, interdisciplinary and One Health approaches. A core component of his work explores how public perceptions, knowledge and behaviours shape exposure to and management of infectious disease risks. He also examines the effectiveness of public health interventions and how research evidence is translated into policy and practice, informing more equitable and resilient health systems.

Dr. Desta employs advanced epidemiological and quantitative modelling, mixed-methods research, microbial quality monitoring, and community-based studies and evidence synthesis to generate insights that guide public health policy, prevention, and intervention strategies.

Dr. Desta’s research interests encompass six interconnected themes that aim to advance the field of Waterborne Epidemiology:

• Burden of Recreational Water Illness Due to Cyanobacteria: Estimating risks and burdens across human and animal populations using Bayesian multilevel modelling.
• Predicting Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Risks in Recreational Waters: Integrating metagenomic, environmental, and behavioural data to forecast AMR exposure through One Health pathways.
• Post-COVID Waterborne Illness, Surveillance Gaps, and Health Equity: Investigating behavioural and systemic shifts in illness reporting and public health response following the COVID-19 pandemic.
• One Health: Environmental Exposure, Health-Seeking, and Governance – Examining how environmental, sociocultural, and governance factors influence waterborne illness outcomes across diverse income and policy contexts.
• Policy Translation of Waterborne Disease Research: Evaluating how scientific evidence informs water safety policy, focusing on urban–rural disparities and implementation barriers.
• Public Perceptions, Behaviour, and Evidence-to-Policy Pathways: Understanding how risk perceptions, health behaviours, and communication strategies shape disease prevention and control, and assessing how public health interventions and research evidence are adopted, adapted, and implemented in policy and practice.

Teaching

POPM*6230- Applied Clinical Research

Graduate Students

Dr. Desta welcomes graduate students interested in waterborne and foodborne disease epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance, environmental exposure modelling and One Health approaches to infectious disease research. He also encourages students interested in health behaviour, risk perception, intervention evaluation and evidence-to-policy translation in the context of environmental and infectious disease health.

Current opportunities are available for graduate students to work on a project related to recreational water–associated illnesses and cyanobacteria risks. Dr. Desta is recruiting students to undertake theses within this thematic area, with the flexibility to tailor research topics that align with related interests and the broader priorities of his research program.

Selected Publications

• Desta, B.N., Tustin, J., Sanchez, J.J., Sekercioglu, F., Jardine, R., Thaivalappil, A., and Young, I., 2024, December. Risk Perceptions and Behaviours of Recreational Water Users in Canada toward Cyanobacteria Blooms in Freshwater Beaches: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Environmental Management. Volume 387, 2025, 125859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125859
• Desta, B.N., Pires, S.M., Hald, T., Gobena, T., Macuamule, C., Moiane, B., Fayemi, O.E., Ayolabi, C.I., Akanni, G., Mmbaga, B.T., Thomas, K.M., Kumburu, H., Dodd, W., and Majowicz, S.E., 2025. The epidemiology of acute gastrointestinal illness in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Tanzania: a population survey. Epidemiology & Infection, 153, p.e63. doi:10.1017/S095026882500038X
• Desta, B.N., Tustin, J., Sanchez, J.J., Heasley, C., Schwandt, M., Bishay, F., Chan, B., Knezevic-Stevanovic, A., Ash, R., Jantzen, D. and Young, I., 2024. Environmental predictors of Escherichia coli concentration at marine beaches in Vancouver, Canada: a Bayesian mixed-effects modelling analysis. Epidemiology & Infection, 152, p.e38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268824000311
• Desta, B.N., Sanchez, J., Heasley, C., Young, I. and Tustin, J., 2024. Environmental factors associated with Escherichia coli concentration at freshwater beaches on Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. PLOS Water, 3(4), p.e0000143. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000143
• Young, I., Sanchez, J.J., Sekerciouglu, F., Desta, B.N., Holeton, C., Lyng, D., Peczulis, V., Renwick, S., Brooks, T. and Tustin, J., 2024. Burden of recreational water illness due to exposure to cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwater beaches in Canada: protocol of a prospective cohort study. BMJ open, 14(6), p.e085406. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-085406
• Thystrup, C., Majowicz, S.E., Kitila, D.B., Desta, B.N., Fayemi, O.E., Ayolabi, C.I., Hugho, E., Buys, E.M., Akanni, G.B., Machava, N.E. and Monjane, C., 2024. Etiology-specific incidence and mortality of diarrheal diseases in the African region: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health, 24(1), pp.1-26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19334-8
• Young, I., Sanchez, J.J., Desta, B.N., Heasley, C. and Tustin, J., 2023. Recreational water exposures and illness outcomes at a freshwater beach in Toronto, Canada: a prospective cohort pilot study. PLoS One, 18(6), p.e0286584. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286584
• Young, I., Desta, B.N. and Sekercioglu, F., 2023. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food safety inspection outcomes in Toronto, Canada: a Bayesian interrupted time series analysis. Journal of Food Protection, 86(9), p.100138. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100138
• Desta, B.N., Ota, S., Gournis, E., Pires, S.M., Greer, A.L., Dodd, W. and Majowicz, S.E., 2023. Estimating the Under-ascertainment of COVID-19 cases in Toronto, Ontario, March to May 2020. Journal of Public Health Research, 12(2), p.22799036231174133. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/22799036231174133
• Desta, B.N., Gobena, T., Macuamule, C., Fayemi, O.E., Ayolabi, C.I., Mmbaga, B.T., Thomas, K.M., Dodd, W., Pires, S.M., Majowicz, S.E. and Hald, T., 2022. Practicalities of implementing burden of disease research in Africa: lessons from a population survey component of our multi-partner FOCAL research project. Emerging Themes in Epidemiology, 19(1), p.4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-022-00113-y
• Pires, S.M., Desta, B.N., Mughini-Gras, L., Mmbaga, B.T., Fayemi, O.E., Salvador, E.M., Gobena, T., Majowicz, S.E., Hald, T., Hoejskov, P.S. and Minato, Y., 2021. Burden of foodborne diseases: think global, act local. Current Opinion in Food Science, 39, pp.152-159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2021.01.006
• Desta, B.N., Kassa, N.A., Damte, T.D. and Hordofa, L.O., 2016. Incidence and risk factors of neonatal mortality in eastern Ethiopia, a prospective cohort study in Kersa health and demographic surveillance system (Kersa HDSS). Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Public Health, 13(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.2427/11938