Scientists

Dr. Catherine Machalaba

Senior Policy Advisor and Research Scientist

“Many of the leading drivers of emerging infectious diseases, such as deforestation, natural resource extraction, and agricultural expansion, are causing wide-scale biodiversity loss and ecological degradation, which in turn have other serious consequences for public health. Faced with the impacts of these drivers, the health and environment communities are constantly responding to pressures outside of their control. I am excited to work at EcoHealth Alliance to shape more preventive solutions with a range of sectors. Scientists, governments, industry, consumers, multilateral organizations – we all have a meaningful role to play in sustainable development that promotes the health of our environment and our own species.”

Scientists Bio

Dr. Catherine Machalaba is the senior policy advisor and a research scientist at EcoHealth Alliance. She supports the organization’s efforts to operationalize One Health approaches for more coordinated, preventive, and cost-effective systems that promote human, animal, and environmental health given their integral links. As part of these efforts, she works closely on One Health initiatives with a range of governmental and intergovernmental partners and initiatives. She was a lead author of the World Bank One Health Operational Framework published in 2018.

Dr. Machalaba currently manages the organization's acute febrile illness project with Liberian researchers and health officials, as well as a project on strategic coordination of One Health and veterinary programs across the African continent.

She is the Program Officer for the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Wildlife Health Specialist Group and is a member of the IUCN SSC Policy Subcommittee. She has served as Chair of the American Public Health Association (APHA) Veterinary Public Health Group and led the development of the APHA's One Health policy statement. Her work has been published by Foreign Affairs, as well as journals including Emerging Infectious Diseases, Health Security, and the OIE Scientific and Technical Review.

Prior to joining EcoHealth Alliance, Dr. Machalaba conducted a fellowship in healthcare systems engineering, interned with the Vermont Attorney General on tobacco control policy, and worked in a public health department on West Nile virus and Lyme disease surveillance and outreach. She holds a degree in biology from Wake Forest University, a Masters in Public Health from Dartmouth, and a PhD in environmental and planetary health sciences. Her doctoral work focused on a One Health impact assessment for Rift Valley fever, for which she received the 2020 Dissertation Award from the City University of New York School of Public Health.

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