Langezijds

Dr. rer. nat. Y. Cheng (Yanchao)

Assistant Professor
ITC-SCI-GAIA
Langezijds 1209
y.cheng-1@utwente.nl
+31534897124
Business card

I am Yanchao, an Assistant Professor at ITC. I was originally trained as an ecologist. My current research focuses on infectious disease modelling. I use ecological niche models (also referred to as species distribution models) to investigate the spatial distribution patterns and potential range of vector‑borne diseases. To capture the temporal aspect of disease transmission, I apply epidemiological approaches (compartment models e.g., SEIR). I work fluently with both ecological and epidemiological modelling frameworks, allowing me to approach disease transmission from complementary and integrative perspectives.

I studied biosciences and ecology for my B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees, and earned my doctoral degree (Dr. rer. nat.) in biogeography. Over the years, I have worked on a wide range of subjects, from Amur tigers to mosquito‑borne diseases, and for a short period, I modelled PRRS transmission between farms. I have spent a great deal of time in the field tracking tigers’ footprints, but also plenty of time sitting in front of a computer writing code. My training as an ecologist encourages me to think in ecological context, while my more recent training in spatial analysis has broadened my perspective even further. In the end, everything is connected with everything. The thread tying all these experiences together is modelling. "All models are wrong, some are useful."

I welcome self‑motivated, critical‑thinking, and curious MSc/PhD students. Good research begins with curiosity and meaningful discussion, so please come with an interesting question.

Expertise

  • Earth and Planetary Sciences

    • Model
    • Risk
    • Vector
    • Map
    • Suggestion
    • View
    • Ecological Niche
    • Landscape Conservation

Organisations

Publications

2025

Understanding the spatial distribution of tick species and diseases present in Kenya: A systematic review (2025)[Contribution to conference › Poster] 14th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health, ECTMIH 2025. Kioko, C., Githaka, N., Cheng, Y. & Blanford, J. I.https://ectmih-2025.de/programme-abstracts/scientific-programme

2024

Anthropogenic land consolidation intensifies zoonotic host diversity loss and disease transmission in human habitats (2024)Nature Ecology & Evolution. Pei, S., Yu, P., Raghwani, J., Wang, Y., Liu, Z., Li, Y., Cheng, Y., Lin, Q., Song, C., Dharmarajan, G., Faust, C. L., Tian, Y., Xu, Y., Liang, Y., Qu, J., Wei, J., Li, S., Zhang, T., Ma, C., … Tian, H.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02570-xEconomic losses due to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Ethiopian cattle (2024)Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 230. Article 106276. Rasmussen, P., Shaw, A. P., Jemberu, W. T., Knight-Jones, T., Conrady, B., Apenteng, O. O., Cheng, Y., Muñoz, V., Rushton, J. & Torgerson, P. R.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2024.106276

2023

Economic losses due to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Ethiopian cattle (2023)[Working paper › Preprint]. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). Rasmussen, P., Shaw, A. P., Jemberu, W. T., Knight-Jones, T., Conrady, B., Apenteng, O. O., Cheng, Y., Muñoz, V., Rushton, J. & Torgerson, P. R.https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4547171Bidirectional movement of emerging H5N8 avian influenza viruses between Europe and Asia via migratory birds since early 2020 (2023)Molecular Biology and Evolution, 40(2). Zhang, G., Li, B., Raghwani, J., Vrancken, B., Jia, R., Hill, S., Fournie, G., Cheng, Y., Yang, Q., Wang, Y., Wang, Z., Dong, L., Pybus, O. & Tian, H.https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msad019

2022

Modeling Distributional Potential of Infectious Diseases (2022)In Geospatial Technology for Human Well-Being and Health. Springer. Samy, A. M., Yáñez-Arenas, C., Jaeschke, A., Cheng, Y. & Thomas, S.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71377-5_18

2021

Chikungunya beyond the tropics: Where and when do we expect disease transmission in Europe? (2021)Viruses, 13(6), 1-15. Article 1024. Tjaden, N. B., Cheng, Y., Beierkuhnlein, C. & Thomas, S. M.https://doi.org/10.3390/v13061024Assessing spatio-temporal risks of vector-borne diseases: an interdisciplinary view integrating ecological and epidemiological models (2021)[Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research external, graduation external]. University of Bayreuth. Cheng, Y.https://doi.org/10.15495/EPub_UBT_00005431Using centroids of spatial units in ecological niche modelling: effects on model performance in the context of environmental data grain size (2021)Global ecology and biogeography, 30(3), 611-621. Cheng, Y., Tjaden, N., Jaeschke, A., Thomas, S. & Beierkuhnlein, C.https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13240

Research profiles

Courses academic year 2025/2026

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

VU-UT Alliance Seed Grant: Modelling future outbreak risk of West Nile Virus in the Netherlands under changing climate 

Main applicant and project leader, September 2025 - June 2026

Research on natural hazards has predominantly focused on the interactions between hydrological extremes and societal impacts, often overlooking the implications with vector-borne diseases (VBDs). While risk mapping for VBDs has primarily addressed the effects of a warming climate, the influence of hydrological extremes remains underexplored. This project aims to propose a new modelling framework to quantify the impact of droughts and floods on the outbreak risks of VBDs. Specifically, our project will predict the future occurrence of West Nile virus (WNV) in the Netherlands under climate change, identify regions with potentially elevated risk, and determine vulnerable populations.

Address

University of Twente

Langezijds (building no. 19), room 1209
Hallenweg 8
7522 NH Enschede
Netherlands

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