Global Health Expert Available to Comment on Spread, Impact of COVID-19

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Epidemiologist and senior research director of public health at RTI International, Pia MacDonald, PhD, is using her experience from past pandemics to track the potential spread and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus, which has officially spread across all 50 states in the U.S., has led to stay-at-home orders for millions of people nationwide.

Using real data and on-the-ground experience from the epicenter of past Ebola outbreaks, Dr. MacDonald has described recommendations and a glimpse of what people across the U.S. can expect in a recent news article by WRAL in Raleigh.

In her current role, Dr. MacDonald’s work is focused on strengthening countries’ capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks in order to become compliant with the International Health Regulations. She was a previous 10-year faculty member at The University of North Carolina (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health and has led projects funded by the CDC, Pan American Health Organization, National Association of Country and City Health Officials, and the North Carolina Division of Public Health.

Dr. MacDonald’s work on COVID-19 includes:

• Published critical recommendations outlined for disease surveillance and cross-organizational partnerships based on lessons she learned from the Ebola outbreak epicenter.
• A recorded Q&A on COVID-19 with iHeartRadio.
• Helped evaluate data for RTI’s recent survey on the public’s understanding and perceptions of COVID-19.
• Recently published blog on COVID-19 and what we need to know based on science.

To request an interview, email news@rti.org.