Dr. Irene Ruberto: 'Public Health Stories of Arizona Arboviral Outbreaks'

Please join us to learn more about: 'Public Health Stories of Arizona Arboviral Outbreaks' by Dr. Irene Ruberto, the Manager of the Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases (VBZD) as well as the Mycotic Disease teams at the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS).  Irene has been with ADHS for over ten years , contributing to public health responses to Avian Influenza (2025), Mpox (2022), West Nile virus (2021), SARS-CoV-2 (2020), Opioids (2017) , Zika (2016) and dengue (2022 and 2014). 

In her current role, Irene leads efforts with local county health departments, vector control agencies, state, federal and academic One Health partners to monitor and control vector and zoonotic diseases in Arizona. Her team’s activities include coordinating testing for case investigation, analysis of surveillance data, issuing health alerts for healthcare providers, organizing state-wide calls and partners meetings, and supporting tabletop exercises, preparedness planning and public outreach efforts.

Before joining ADHS Irene worked on malaria research at the University of Arizona and on dengue surveillance at the Pittsburgh School of Public Health. Her interest in vector-borne diseases started seventeen years ago, during her PhD studies at the University of Edinburgh (UK), where she researched the life cycle of African trypanosomes, and expanded to other tropical diseases during her MPH at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London (UK). Irene is originally from Padua, Italy.