91㽶

91㽶Office of Global Health
Laura Cassidy, MS, PhD

Laura Cassidy, MS, PhD

Associate Dean for Global Health

Contact Information

Biography

Dr. Cassidy’s journey to 91㽶began in Pittsburgh, where she grew up. While working fulltime at the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Dr. Cassidy earned the MS in Biostatistics and a PhD in Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology while working as a full time research coordinator in the Department of Biostatistics. Shortly after receiving her PhD, she was awarded a grant through the Emergency Medical Services for Children to design a National Trauma Registry for Children. Dr. Keith Oldham, MCW, Professor of Surgery and Chief of Pediatric Surgery was on her advisory panel and in 2016 recruited her to 91㽶Department of Surgery as an Associate Professor and Director of Surgical Clinical Outcomes Research in general pediatric surgery and the pediatric surgical divisions of urology, cardiothoracic surgery, otolaryngology, orthopedic, plastic surgery, and anesthesia.

She transitioned to the College’s Institute for Health & Equity in 2011 when she became Director of the PhD Program in Public and Community Health and the Founding Director of the Division of Epidemiology and as of recent, Epidemiology and Social Sciences. She became full Professor with Tenure in 2014 and currently serves also serves as the Institute’s Research Director. In 2017, Dr. Cassidy was chosen for the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Program for Women. An outcome of that program was her founding the State’s first Master of Science in Global Health Equity degree program and currently serves as its Director.

Dr. Cassidy’s research experience is diverse, including managing a bladder cancer screening program, evaluating community health departments, a Mid-Atlantic AIDS education training grant, health effects of radiation exposure in Russian workers, Native American health, in addition to clinical outcomes research and registry development. She has been the PI on multiple federally funded grants including NIH, RWJ and NIJ, and has over 100 publications.

She has had many global collaborations including a remote hospital in Haiti to evaluate data collection methods in that environment and Nigeria to implement a web-based trauma registry that currently collects a culturally sensitive, minimal data set from multiple hospitals. She is an Examiner, at the Uganda-based Makerere University School of Public Health and maintains partnerships in Rwanda with Health Builders and Ageis Trust where she serves as Chair of Steering Committee on Mental Health in Rwanda. Through this work, she gained valuable experience with complex data compiled from challenging and unique and diverse resourced environments. From 2011-2020, with the continuous learning opportunities at 91㽶she has been able to build upon and redesign the Public and Community Health PhD program to better foster academic learning and independent research including diversifying its matriculants.

Through COVID-19 pandemic, she has served as an Epidemiology Advisor to Dr. Raymond, a member of the WI Covid-19 Leadership Core Steering Committee, an advisor to the Milwaukee Restaurant COVID-19 Health and Safety, and the Wisconsin Performing Arts COVID-19 Health and Safety Advisor. She received the Marcus Performing Arts Center's Dynamic Leadership Award for the extraordinary service, guidance, and volunteerism she provided the arts sector during the pandemic, the Wisconsin Public Health Association’s 2021 Distinguished Service to Public Health Award, and an Excellence in Journalism Gold award for Best Pandemic Story in Audio for the CTSI Discovery Radio Episode on The Epidemiology of Disease: COVID-19 which also featured, her colleague, Dr. Kirsten Beyer.

Focused on all four missions of the College including successful grant writing, manuscript development, and a mentor to medical students, residents, fellows, graduate and doctoral students and post-doc fellows and faculty, Dr. Cassidy became Associate Dean for Global Health in July 2022.

Leadership Positions

  • Director, Division of Epidemiology & Social Sciences
  • Founding Director Master of Science in Global Health Equity
  • Research Director, Institute for Health & Equity

Publications

  • (Tomas CW, Timmer-Murillo S, Kallies KJ, Snowden AJ, Borisy-Rudin F, Busalacchi M, Mackenzie R, Kostelac CA, Cassidy LD, deRoon-Cassini TA.) Soc Sci Med. 2024 Jul;352:117035 PMID: 38850675 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85195188628 06/09/2024

  • (Anguzu R, Walker RJ, Babikako HM, Beyer KMM, Dickson-Gomez J, Zhou Y, Cassidy LD.) BMC Public Health. 2023 Nov 17;23(1):2276 PMID: 37978467 PMCID: PMC10656909 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85176939609 11/18/2023

  • (Anguzu R, Cassidy LD, Nakimuli AO, Kansiime J, Babikako HM, Beyer KMM, Walker RJ, Wandira C, Kizito F, Dickson-Gomez J.) BMC Womens Health. 2023 Nov 08;23(1):584 PMID: 37940914 PMCID: PMC10634177 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85176043761 11/09/2023

  • (Anguzu R, Walker RJ, Beyer KMM, Zhou Y, Babikako HM, Dickson-Gomez J, Cassidy LD.) BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2023 Nov 03;23(1):767 PMID: 37924014 PMCID: PMC10623746 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85175710523 11/04/2023

  • (Georgeades C, Farazi M, Bergner C, Bowder A, Cassidy L, Levas MN, Nimmer M, Flynn-O'Brien KT.) Inj Epidemiol. 2023 Aug 21;10(Suppl 1):43 PMID: 37605186 PMCID: PMC10441698 08/22/2023

  • (Tomas C, Kallies K, Cronn S, Kostelac C, deRoon-Cassini T, Cassidy L.) Inj Prev. 2023 Aug;29(4):347-354 PMID: 36941050 PMCID: PMC10423504 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85152652779 03/21/2023

  • (Cassidy LD, Kenyon D, Ritchey J, Becenti D, Ayala A, Prather T, Mitchell-Box K.) Public Health Rep. 2023;138(2_suppl):3S-6S PMID: 37599446 PMCID: PMC10515978 08/21/2023

  • (Kohlbeck SA, Quinn K, deRoon-Cassini T, Hargarten S, Nelson D, Cassidy L.) Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2023;93(2):131-143 PMID: 36548072 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85147009637 12/23/2022

  • (van Kesteren J, van Duinen AJ, Marah F, van Delft D, Spector AL, Cassidy LD, Groen RS, Jabbi SB, Bah S, Medo JA, Kamanda-Bongay A, van Leerdam D, Westendorp J, Mathéron HM, Mönnink GLE, Vas Nunes J, Lindenbergh KC, Hoel SK, Løvdal SM, Østensen MN, Solberg H, Boateng D, Klipstein-Grobusch K, van Herwaarden D, Martens JPJ, Bonjer HJ, Sankoh O, Grobusch MP, Bolkan HA, PRESSCO 2020 study group.) World J Surg. 2022 Nov;46(11):2585-2594 PMID: 36068404 PMCID: PMC9529684 09/07/2022

  • (Dellinger M, O'Keefe G, Poupart A, Stevens D, Thompson S, Meza A, Cassidy L.) WMJ. 2022 Jul;121(2):153-156 PMID: 35857693 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85134854295 07/21/2022

  • (Anguzu R, Cassidy LD, Beyer KMM, Babikako HM, Walker RJ, Dickson-Gomez J.) BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 Mar 02;22(1):283 PMID: 35232438 PMCID: PMC8889632 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85125601498 03/03/2022

  • (Anguzu R, Kabagenyi A, Cassidy LD, Kasasa S, Shour AR, Musoke BN, Mutyoba JN.) PLOS Glob Public Health. 2022;2(4):e0000177 PMID: 36962157 PMCID: PMC10021164 03/25/2023