Ruth Link-Gelles

Ruth Link-Gelles
Ruth Link-Gelles
Born	Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA
Academic background
Education	BA, history, 2006, George Washington University ; MPH, epidemiology, 2010, Emory University ; PhD, epidemiology, 2016, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Thesis	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 (2016)
Academic work
Institutions	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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

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 Public Deposited.^[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] As a result of her research, Link-Gelles was appointed a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.^[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]

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]

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)

References[]

^ ^a ^b Washington, Julie (December 8, 2016). "Former Cleveland Heights resident helps CDC fight Zika virus in American Samoa". cleveland.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Vaccine effectiveness in the United States" (PDF). sph.unc.ed. June 13, 2016. p. 10. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
^ "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 Public Deposited". cdr.lib.unc.edu. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
^ "GILLINGS SCHOOL OF GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH Delta Omega, Theta Chapter". sph.unc.edu. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
^ "2016 State of the Union Deployment Experience". dcp.psc.gov. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
^ 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.
^ Frieden, Joyce (August 21, 2020). "Childcare Centers in States With Little COVID Can Safely Reopen, Study Suggests". medpagetoday.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.

External links[]

Ruth Link-Gelles publications indexed by Google Scholar

[Washington-1] Washington, Julie (December 8, 2016). "Former Cleveland Heights resident helps CDC fight Zika virus in American Samoa". cleveland.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.

[UND-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 Public Deposited". 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.

[State-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.

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