Rate My Professor Suzanne Faigan

Dr. Suzanne Faigan serves as an Assistant Research Fellow in the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, with an affiliation to the Centre for International Health. Holding a PhD, she contributes to research aimed at understanding and improving health outcomes in under-resourced countries, focusing on infectious disease epidemiology. Her work supports the Centre's mission through partnerships and postgraduate training initiatives. Faigan has played key roles in clinical studies and global health programs, including serving as Study Coordinator for a feasibility trial on the management of musculoskeletal chest pain, funded by the Stanley Paris Research Fellowship at the School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago. This trial assesses the viability of a larger randomized controlled trial comparing standard and innovative physiotherapy approaches for chest pain, involving participant assessments, questionnaires, and follow-up sessions over 12 weeks.

Faigan is a co-author on significant publications in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. In 'Global typhoid fever incidence: an updated systematic review with meta-analysis' (July 31, 2025), she contributed to analyzing 46 reports yielding 107 incidence estimates, including 14 new reports from 35 sites across 15 countries. The pooled incidence was 206.3 per 100,000 person-years from population-based studies, with highest rates in southern Asia (320.6 per 100,000) and children aged 2 to under 5 years, emphasizing the urgency of vaccines and interventions. In 'Complications and mortality of typhoid fever: an updated global systematic review and meta-analysis' (November 12, 2025), alongside Shruti Murthy, Nienke N. Hagedoorn, Meera D. Rathan, Christian S. Marchello, and John A. Crump, she examined 167 reports covering 29,933 non-surgical typhoid cases and 4,486 typhoid intestinal perforation cases. Findings revealed delirium or confusion as the most common complication (26.5%), typhoid intestinal perforation prevalence at 1.7%, a 2.1% overall case-fatality ratio (higher in Africa at 4.7%), and 16.3% fatality for perforations. These meta-analyses, registered on PROSPERO, inform typhoid prevention strategies worldwide. Additionally, Faigan facilitated the Otago Global Health Institute's 2025 conference and seed grant programme, and was acknowledged for data collection in related typhoid studies. Her ResearchGate profile documents 6 research works with 9 citations.