Ruth Link-Gelles

Ruth Link-Gelles is an American epidemiologist. She works for the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and serves as a Commander in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Ruth Link-Gelles
Born
Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA
Academic background
EducationBA, history, 2006, George Washington University
MPH, epidemiology, 2010, Emory University
PhD, epidemiology, 2016, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
ThesisAre We Studying Who We Think We're Studying? Role of Socioeconomic Status in the Validity of Estimates of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Effectiveness in the United States (2016)
Academic work
InstitutionsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention

Early life and education

Link-Gelles was born and raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where she graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 2002. Following her high school graduation, she enrolled at George Washington University for her Bachelor of Arts in history and her MPH in epidemiology from Emory University. Starting in 2010, Link-Gelles began working for the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[1] While earning her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she accepted a position within the United States respiratory diseases branch within the CDC.[2] She published her thesis in 2016 titled Are We Studying Who We Think We're Studying? Role of Socioeconomic Status in the Validity of Estimates of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Effectiveness in the United States.[3] Following graduation, Link-Gelles received an award from Delta Omega, Theta Chapter[4] and joined the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service.[2]

Career

During her tenure with the CDC, Link-Gelles has helped fight against the Zika virus and COVID-19. In 2016, she travelled with a team of researchers to the U.S. territory of American Samoa to ensure babies born to Zika-infected mothers were tested for birth defects.[1] Link-Gelles commissioned as a Lieutenant (O-3) in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS) in 2016.[5] She later presented a study at the 2017 EIS Conference demonstrating that two-thirds of pregnant women with high viral loads of Hepatitis B go untreated.[6] She was promoted to Lieutenant Commander (O-4) in 2020 and to Commander (O-5) in 2023.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Link-Gelles published a study in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report which analyzed the reopening of childcare centers in Rhode Island.[7] She then went on the lead the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care program, a monumental effort by the CDC to rapidly deliver and administers COVID-19 vaccines to residents of long-term care (LTC) settings, such as nursing homes, assisted living communities, residential care communities, group homes and senior housing.[8][9][10] For her efforts, she was awarded the Jan Thayer Pioneer Award by the National Center for Assisted Living[11][12] and the USPHS Shalon M. Irving Junior Scientist of the Year Award.[13]

Personal life

Selected publications
  • Effectiveness of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in children in the USA: a matched case-control study (2016)
  • Effect of use of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in children on invasive pneumococcal disease in children and adults in the USA: analysis of multisite, population-based surveillance (2015)
  • Serotype-specific changes in invasive pneumococcal disease after pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction: a pooled analysis of multiple surveillance sites (2013)
  • Infection control assessment of ambulatory surgical centers (2010)
  • Effectiveness of 2, 3, and 4 COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Doses Among Immunocompetent Adults During Periods when SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2/BA.2.12.1 Sublineages Predominated — VISION Network, 10 States, December 2021–June 2022 (2022)[14]

References
  1. Washington, Julie (December 8, 2016). "Former Cleveland Heights resident helps CDC fight Zika virus in American Samoa". cleveland.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  2. "Vaccine effectiveness in the United States" (PDF). sph.unc.ed. June 13, 2016. p. 10. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  3. "Are We Studying Who We Think We're Studying? Role of Socioeconomic Status in the Validity of Estimates of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Effectiveness in the United States". cdr.lib.unc.edu. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  4. "GILLINGS SCHOOL OF GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH Delta Omega, Theta Chapter". sph.unc.edu. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  5. "2016 State of the Union Deployment Experience". dcp.psc.gov. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  6. Ellis, Carole (May 2, 2017). "Two-Thirds of Pregnant Women with High Viral Loads of Hepatitis B Go Untreated". contagionlive.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  7. Frieden, Joyce (August 21, 2020). "Childcare Centers in States With Little COVID Can Safely Reopen, Study Suggests". medpagetoday.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  8. CDC (2022-07-05). "COVID-19 Vaccine Access in Long-term Care Settings". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  9. Gharpure, Radhika (2021). "Early COVID-19 First-Dose Vaccination Coverage Among Residents and Staff Members of Skilled Nursing Facilities Participating in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program — United States, December 2020–January 2021". MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 70 (5): 178–182. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7005e2. ISSN 0149-2195. PMC 7861479. PMID 33539332.
  10. Gharpure, Radhika; Yi, Sarah H.; Li, Ruoran; Slifka, Kara M. Jacobs; Tippins, Ashley; Jaffe, Aaron; Guo, Angela; Kent, Alyssa G.; Gouin, Katryna A.; Whitworth, J. Carrie; Vlachos, Nicholas; Patel, Anita; Stuckey, Matthew J.; Link-Gelles, Ruth (2021-10-01). "COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among Residents and Staff Members of Assisted Living and Residential Care Communities—Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, December 2020–April 2021". Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 22 (10): 2016–2020.e2. doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2021.08.015. ISSN 1525-8610. PMC 8384582. PMID 34508695.
  11. "AHCA/NCAL Names CDC Professionals Recipients of the Champion of Quality and Pioneer Awards". www.ahcancal.org. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  12. Dr. Ruth Link-Gelles presented with Jan Thayer Pioneer Award, retrieved 2022-11-13
  13. "Scientist Professional Advisory Committee". dcp.psc.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  14. Link-Gelles, Ruth (2022). "Effectiveness of 2, 3, and 4 COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Doses Among Immunocompetent Adults During Periods when SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2/BA.2.12.1 Sublineages Predominated — VISION Network, 10 States, December 2021–June 2022". MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 71 (29): 931–939. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7129e1. ISSN 0149-2195. PMC 9310634. PMID 35862287.
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