Rachael Birn, MPH
Epidemiologist, UNMC Department of Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health
Rachael Birn, MPH,is an epidemiologist in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health of the UNMC College of Public Health.
She previously was an applied edpidemiology fellow at the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health.
She was an epidemiologist and an administrative analyst in the Imperial County Public Health Department in California.
She also has been a registered dental hygienist.
Education
- 2020, MPH, University of South Florida
- 2010, BS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Research Interests
Rachael Birn's professional interests lie in the utilization of innovative epidemiological approaches to track, analyze, and mitigate the effects of environmental exposures on public health outcomes. She is dedicated to advancing our understanding of how climate and disasters impact human health in Nebraska. Her previous experience as a CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellow at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, specializing in infectious diseases, has provided me with invaluable insights into disease surveillance and the intricate interplay among humans, animals, and the environment.
Selected Publications
- Birn R, Hamik J, Dayne L, Frederick J, Bartling A, Iwen P, Wells A, Donahue M. (2024). Confirmed case of longstanding respiratory Francisella tularensis holarctica infection: Nebraska, 2022. Clinical infectious diseases, 78(Supplement_1), S64–S66. doi:10.1093/cid/ciad669
- Poonsuk K, Loy, Birn R, Buss B, Donahue M, Nordeen T, Sinclair K, Meduna L, Brodersen B, Loy JD. (2023) Detection of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in retropharyngeal lymph node exudates of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from Nebraska, USA. Wildlife Diseases, 59(4), 702–708. doi:10.7589/JWD-D-23-00005.
- Hamik J, Bourret TJ, Smith H, Herman M, Birn R, Dawdy T, Zuffante MJ; Donahue M. (2023) Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi infected Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) associated with local Lyme disease transmission in Nebraska, USA, 2021. Zoonoses and Public Health, 70(4): 361-364. doi:111/zph.13031
- McCall J, Rothfeldt L, Giesbrecht K., Hunt A, Bauck L, Scheftel J, Birn R, Buss B, Schroeder B, Haupt TE, Klos R, & Straily A. (2022). Public Health Surveillance and Reporting for Human Toxoplasmosis - Six States, 2021. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 71(28), 889–893. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7128a1
Professional Affiliations
- American Public Health Association
- Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
- National Environmental Health Association