Members

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Principal Investigator

Kate

Katherine (Kate) Ellingson, PhD, CIC
Associate Professor of Epidemiology

Kate Ellingson, PhD, joined the College of Public Health in 2017 following 10 years of public service as a healthcare epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Oregon State Health Department. While at CDC, she investigated the transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms in healthcare settings, evaluated initiatives to prevent healthcare-associated infections, built capacity for infection prevention in resource-limited settings, and served as the agency’s subject matter expert for hand hygiene in healthcare. At the Oregon Health Department, she directed the state’s mandatory healthcare-associated infection reporting program, investigated infectious disease outbreaks and led injection safety promotion efforts.

kellingson@arizona.edu

Research Synopsis: 
Dr. Ellingson’s research focus is patient safety. Specifically, she examines the distribution and predictors of healthcare-associated infections across hospital, long-term care, and outpatient settings. She also evaluates the impact of interventions designed to decrease antimicrobial resistance and patient adverse events. As a guest researcher at CDC, she continues to work with federal colleagues on infection prevention and transfusion safety. 

Areas of Expertise:

  • Infection prevention
  • Antimicrobial resistance and stewardship
  • One Health
  • Occupational health
  • Healthcare-associated infections
  • Implementation science
  • Border health
  • Hand hygiene
  • Transfusion safety
  • Outbreak investigation
  • Surveillance and capacity-building in resource-limited settings
  • Injection safety
  • Valley Fever
  • COVID-19

 

Active Members

flavia

Flavia Nakayima Miiro, MCS
(PhD-Epi Candidate)
Graduate Research Assistant

Flavia Nakayima Miiro has a passion for health research as a gateway to disease prevention and treatment. She has either as a team leader or member of a team conducted research in HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Maternal and Child Health, adolescent health and health systems strengthening focusing on service provision and utilization looking at bottlenecks and how they can be overcome. Flavia has previously worked with The World Bank, UNICEF, CDC, UNFPA and other local and international NGOs in her home country Uganda. On the African continent, she has conducted evaluations in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Swaziland, Liberia and Zimbabwe.

fnakayimamiiro@arizona.edu

 

paulina

Paulina Colombo, MPH
(PhD-Epi Candidate)
Graduate Research Assistant

Paulina Colombo is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with a focus on healthcare epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship. She is currently a pre-doctoral fellow supporting the epidemiology team at BeiGene, an oncology biotechnology company, and serves as a research assistant on a pilot project exploring antimicrobial stewardship and prescribing practices in animal shelters. Paulina has also earned a graduate certificate in healthcare informatics. Her proposed dissertation research investigates the role of interfacility transfers in the proliferation of multidrug-resistant organisms, a topic for which she was recently honored as a finalist in the 2024 SHEA Epi Competition.

paulinacolombo@arizona.edu

 

Jose

Jose Luis Camarena, MPH
(PhD-Epi Student)
Graduate Research Assistant

José is an Epidemiology PhD student at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. He obtained both his Masters and Bachelor’s at the University of Arizona. He is currently working at the UAHS Biorepository and as a Graduate Research Assistant in Dr. Ellingson’s lab. His recent contributions involve studies in costs of healthcare-associated infections in Latin America, antibiotic use and its relation to COVID-19 in the US and Mexico, and preferences in HIV care and prevention. His current interests include healthcare epidemiology, infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. On his free time he likes to go to traveling, hike around Tucson, and do yoga.

camarena@arizona.edu

 

Brooke

Brooke Hawkes, MS
(PhD-Epi Student)
Graduate Research Assistant

Brooke Hawkes is a PhD student in Epidemiology at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Currently, she is a graduate research assistant for the Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study (FFCCS), where she analyzes epigenomic data to investigate the relationship between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). With a minor in Computer Science, Brooke has a strong interest in applying machine learning techniques to disease diagnosis and outbreak prediction. Her previous research has covered a variety of topics, including farmworker enumeration, antibiotic use in the US-Mexico border region, and immune response to COVID-19. 

brookehawkes@arizona.edu

boqi

Boqi Xiang, MPH (PhD-Epi Student)
Graduate Research Assistant

Boqi is a second-year PhD student in Epidemiology. He is currently a graduate research assistant at the SAFER Lab, focusing on contact tracing and data submission for COVID-19 and enteric diseases. He also works on the SCORCH research, managing data assembly and analysis. His previous research has examined COVID-19 infection in pediatric populations, essential workers, vaccine breakthrough cases, and brain imaging, leading to 12 publications. His current research interests include infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, and occupational health.

bqxiang@arizona.edu

James

James Hollister, MS (PhD-Bios Student)
Data Science

James Hollister is a PhD student in Biostatistics minoring in Epidemiology at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. His dissertation is focused on applying a causal inference framework in epidemiological settings, particularly prospective cohort studies. His research also focuses on the relationship between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and infectious diseases. He currently works as a scientific analyst for the Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study (FFCCS), a longitudinal study focused on the health and wellness of fire fighters across the United States. He previously worked as an analyst for the AZ-HEROES study, a CDC-funded project focused on COVID-19-related outcomes among frontline workers. James also serves as a graduate student ambassador for MEZCOPH.

jameshollister@arizona.edu

 

James

James Romine, PhD
Post-Doctoral Research Associate 
(Lab alumni from PhD-Epi program)

James Romine is a post-doc in Epidemiology for the AZ-HEROES study, working to support both analytic and operational efforts of the project. James joins the AZ-HEROES team after involvement in numerous Public Health initiatives, such as the Pima County Health Department's response to COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, as well as the community-based development of vector-borne disease interventions in northern Mexico and Nicaragua. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Nicaragua from 2010-2013, James supported community efforts to control Chagas disease and other infectious diseases. James enjoys hiking and exploring the Sonoran Desert wilderness.

romine@arizona.edu

 

cedar

Cedar Mitchell, PhD
EIS Officer, Pima County 

An Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer who served in Pima County Health Department (PCHD) from 2022 to 2024, Dr. Mitchell now works for the CDC as a Career Epidemiology Field Officer in Montana.

While serving as an EIS officer at PCHD, Cedar led investigations of a fatal botulism case in Tucson, an outbreak at Pima Animal Care Center, rattlesnake bite surveillance in Arizona, a case series on malaria among recent migrants crossing the Mexican border, and syphilis screening. She also supported a West Nile Virus study of long-term impact on Arizonans. Additionally, Cedar collaborated with partners across the county to the launch Tucson’s first Healthy Companions clinic to serve housing-unstable populations and their pets simultaneously through mobile health clinics. For this project, she mentored MPH interns and invited other graduate students from MEZCOPH to volunteer.

As her analytic project for EIS, Cedar worked with students from Dr. Ellingson’s lab to analyze blood levels of PFAS among Arizona frontline workers enrolled in the CDC-funded AZ-HEROES study led by MEZCOPH and UA Health Sciences faculty. Her diverse and extensive contributions during her two years with PCHD made a significant impact on public health in Southern Arizona and on MEZCOPH graduate students.

Cedar.Mitchell@pima.gov

 

female

Alejandra Hernandez, MS

(MPH Student)
Graduate Research Assistant

alejandrah@@arizona.edu

 

female

Alfonso Trujillo MS 

(MPH Student)
Graduate Research Assistant

alejandrah@@arizona.edu

 

female

Omozusi Guobadia, MS 

(MPH Student)
Graduate Research Assistant

omozusig@arizona.edu

 

Alumni  

Samantharuth

Samantha Ruth, MS 

(PhD Past Rotation: KAPs on antibiotic use and vaccination for respiratory viruses)

Graduate Research Assistant

sruth@arizona.edu

 

Cynthia

Cynthia Porter, MS
Data Scientist with AZ HEROS and Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study

Cynthia Porter is an MS Epidemiology student at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Cynthia currently works as a graduate research assistant for the AZ-HEROES study which is funded by the CDC to study immune markers of protection against COVID-19 in healthcare workers, first responders, and essential workers. Cynthia's current research for the Ellingson lab focuses on predictors of COVID-19 infection in healthcare workers. Her current research interests include occupational health, cancer prevention, infectious disease and clinical trials, with research experience focusing on clinical research and maternal health. In her free time, Cynthia enjoys eating good food and spending time with her girlfriend and two dogs. 

cynthiaporter@arizona.edu

 

Priscila

Priscila Ruedas, MPH
Research Program Administrator, Farmworker Enumeration

priscilaruedas@arizona.edu

 

sk

Sana Khan, MPH
Data Scientist

Sana Khan is a doctoral candidate in Epidemiology at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. She has been involved in the University of Arizona's COVID-19 response as part of the SAFER and Contact Tracing team. She is currently working on the CoVHORT study as a research assistant and is particularly interested in the role of stress on developing long-COVID. Sana is also a Data Analyst and Liason with Arizona HEROES and the CDC. Sana is interested in infectious disease epidemiology, specifically focuses on multidrug-resistant infections and how prescribing patterns influence antimicrobial resistance. She is also committed to the study of women's health and access to quality healthcare. Her previous research and clinical experience ranged from projects in neurology to cancer survivorship. 

sanakhan@arizona.edu

 

ferrisheadshot

Ferris Ramadan, MS
Research Specialist, Sr. 

Ferris Ramadan is a Senior Research Coordinator for the Ellingson lab. His work predominantly focuses on antimicrobial stewardship, working with the Valley Fever Center for Excellence on coccidioidomycosis research questions, and most recently supporting the Pima County Health Department's COVID-19 response in long-term care homes. Ferris' decision to work with Dr. Ellingson and build a career in public health was motivated by a passion to improve people’s lives: "The unique beauty of public health is that I regularly draw upon a variety of disciplines - including statistics, biology, and health policy - and pragmatically apply these fields to effect change and educate communities." In his spare time, Ferris enjoys bike rides and hikes, bingeing Parks and Rec, and travel. 

ferrisr@arizona.edu

 

female

Zoe Baccum, MPH
One Health Student

(Now PhD student at ASU)

 

 

Melanie

Melanie Rubio, BS
Graduate Research Assistant

Melanie Rubio is an MPH student with a concentration in Epidemiology. She currently works on the Community Engagement Retention Research (CERR) core for PAN- Healthy Minds for Life, a multi-site national study to discover personalized solutions to improve brain health and optimize brain health throughout the lifespan. She is also conducting a project to improve the infection prevention workforce development in Southern Arizona. Melanie‚Äôs current research interests are infectious disease epidemiology, sexual health and infection prevention. In her free time, Melanie enjoys spending time with her dog, watching movies and traveling.

rubiom1@arizona.edu

Caitlyn

Caitlyn McFadden, MPH 

(PhD Past Rotation: Infection Prevention in long-term care)

Graduate Research Assistant

cmcfadde@arizona.edu

 

Theresa

Theresa LeGros, MA
Research Specialist, Sr.

Theresa is a career evaluator with a passion for learning and living. Her philosophical approach to science is rooted in some of the ideas percolating in physics: we can’t really define (or “know”) something without understanding how it interacts with all of the other somethings. Her most cherished academic experiences have been researching primate ecology and conservation in Madagascar as an undergraduate, the deep learning and discovery that came with earning an MA in Biological Anthropology, and today pursuing a PhD in Public Health with a dissertation centered around school district reopening plans in response to COVID-19. 

drejza@arizona.edu

female

Gemma Parra
Undergraduate Honors Student, MPH

(Now at Emory, now Health Scientist at CDC)

 

female

 

 

Dilsharan Kaur
Graduate Research Assistant

Dilsharan is a doctoral student in Clinical Translational Sciences. She received her BS in Human Biology from the University of California, Merced. She has an interest in infectious disease epidemiology and clinical research. Her previous research experience involved finding bacteriophages as a part of the SEA-PHAGES program at UC Merced.

dkaur9@arizona.edu

 

Neha

Neha Mishra
Undergraduate Honors Student

(Now a medical student)

Neha Mishra is a senior undergraduate student in Public Health with an emphasis in Quantitative Methods. She is currently completing her public health internship at the Ellingson lab where she is assisting with an enumeration study of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in Yuma County. Neha's current research interests include border health, infectious diseases, and women's health. In addition to working at the Ellingson lab, she works in an immunology lab studying regulatory/accessory proteins of HIV and volunteers at a free clinic serving the underserved population in Tucson. In her free time, Neha enjoys hiking and reading.

nmishra@arizona.edu