Dr. Marisa Donnelly

Dr. Marisa Donnelly

Contributing Epidemiologist

Dr. Marisa Donnelly, a senior epidemiologist with wastewater monitoring company Biobot Analytics, has worked in applied public health for over a decade, specializing in infectious diseases and emerging public health threats. She holds a PhD in epidemiology and has led multiple outbreak investigations, including at the California Department of Public Health and as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Marisa has conducted research in Peru, focusing on dengue and Zika viruses, as well as the mosquitoes that spread them. She is Healthbeat’s contributing epidemiologist for New York in partnership with Your Local Epidemiologist. She lives in New York City.

A lot is unfolding at the national level, including the recent firing of about 1,300 federal health agency employees. We’re still learning about the impacts of the layoffs, but the direct impacts on New Yorkers are minimal.

Federal changes are happening at lightning speed, and while they may seem high-level or far away, they can have direct and indirect impacts on New Yorkers' health.

In the U.S. public health system, local and state health departments collect and own the data rather than the federal government. With uncertainties surrounding federal data sharing, this provides a sort of firewall.

Since 2011, ICE has not been allowed to arrest people in “sensitive locations,” including hospitals, schools, daycare centers, and places of worship. Last week that policy was revoked.

Navigating and getting care for Long Covid can be overwhelming. However, many New York clinics and hospitals are on the leading edge of understanding and treating it.

Does it feel like everyone around you is sick right now? Number of people with flu is high, and norovirus is surging.

Public health often gets attention when something scary happens. Here are some noteworthy recent accomplishments.

Respiratory viruses will likely increase over the holidays as many of us expand our social connections. But we have several tools to help keep us from getting sick.

Two to three women die of pregnancy-associated factors each week in New York, on average. The majority of these deaths are preventable.

RSV is on the rise and affecting a lot of young children. The good news is that there are now two key ways to protect babies.