Kristen Pogreba-Brown

Presenter: Kristen Pogreba-Brown, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. She also has a joint appointment in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences as an Associate Veterinary Specialist. Prior to joining the faculty, Dr. Pogreba-Brown was an Epidemiologist with the College as the Director of the Student Aid for Field Epidemiology Response (SAFER) team.

Dr. Pogreba-Brown focuses her research on foodborne diseases, specifically the epidemiology and microbiology of Campylobacter, and outbreak investigation methodologies. She developed and manages SAFER, a program that coordinates with local and state health departments to investigate a variety of diseases and serves on the state’s Foodborne Taskforce Committee. She is also the co-Director of the One Health Consortium at the University of Arizona aimed at forming collaborative research teams from across campus and bridging the gap between clinical human medicine and agricultural practices, animal health, and production. Working under a One Health model, the long-term goal of her team is to understand the continuum of food safety practices beginning in the animal population and continuing through the development and resolution of disease processes in humans.

Her most recent research activities are focused on the post-infectious sequelae of foodborne diseases. Knowledge gaps exist as to who was really at risk, what role certain exposures may have and what the mechanisms of pathogenesis were. Dr. Pogreba-Brown’s long term goal as a foodborne epidemiologist is to lead the synthesis of varying disciplines and data streams to significantly contribute to an improved understanding of the mechanisms that lead to both acute and long-term effects of foodborne illnesses. Dr. Pogreba-Brown is a proud alumni of the University of Arizona.

Dr. Pogreba-Brown was recently added as a Bio5 Institute Scientist at the University of Arizona.