Elise Caruso

Elise Caruso

Ph.D. Student

Elise Caruso is a social scientist and public health researcher. She holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from Michigan State University in Zoology, with a concentration in neurobiology and behavior, and Psychology. She received a Master in Public Health degree from the University of Michigan in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, with a focus on research methods and health disparities.

For the past eight years Elise has worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her work has spanned four Centers and a range of public health subject matter areas – from waterborne disease and hand hygiene to birth defects prevention, and most recently, tuberculosis. She completed multiple long-term assignments to respond to public health emergencies, including the Ebola epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic she served as a Data Analyst working with emergency department and laboratory test data. She later went on to evaluate case investigation and contact tracing efforts for COVID-19. Results of her analytic work have been presented at a variety of conferences and published in numerous journal articles, in addition to informing public health programs.

Elise is pursuing her Ph.D. in Public Health at Georgia State University under the mentorship of Dr. Alexander Kirpich. She is interested in disease prevention, determinants of health, and translating data into public health solutions.