Aspro Ryan Wagner

Ryan Wagner is a public health and epidemiology researcher whose work bridges neurological disorders, mental health, and aging in low- and middle-income settings. His scholarship integrates population-based cohort studies, advanced statistical modeling, and machine learning to address complex health challenges, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. He collaborates across international consortia, contributing to multi-country analyses on epilepsy, cerebrovascular health, and global burden estimates.

A central focus of his research is epilepsy epidemiology, including prevalence estimation, determinants of attrition in community surveys, and the generalisability of diagnostic machine learning tools across diverse cultural contexts. His work highlights the importance of locally adapted models and culturally grounded implementation strategies. In parallel, he investigates structural and social determinants of mental health, including student anxiety, suicidal ideation, and collaborative models between traditional healers and biomedical providers.

Wagner’s contributions also extend to life-course epidemiology, examining how mid-life employment and food insecurity shape later-life cognitive outcomes in rural South Africa. Through longitudinal data linkage and mixed-effects modeling, his research advances understanding of how social and economic exposures influence memory and brain health. Collectively, his work informs equitable health policy, strengthens methodological rigor in global epidemiology, and supports context-sensitive innovation in neurological and mental healthcare.