Abby E. Rudolph, Ph.D., M.P.H

Dr. Abby E. Rudolph is an Infectious Disease and Social Epidemiologist whose independent research incorporates social network and spatial approaches to better understand the independent and combined influence of individual, network (sociometric and egocentric), and environmental (built and social) factors on disease transmission dynamics, recruitment patterns, risk behaviors, and health service use among marginalized populations.  Her research focuses primarily on the intersection of infectious disease and substance use epidemiology and has made significant contributions to the following areas: (1) evaluation of recruitment strategies for "hidden" populations, (2) methodological innovations for network analysis and approaches to combine spatial and network analyses, (3) research ethics associated with data collection approaches, and (4) health services research.

She has an MPH in Infectious Disease Epidemiology (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health), a PhD in Infectious Disease Epidemiology (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health), and a postdoc in Global Public Health (University of California, San Diego). Her dissertation evaluated respondent-driven sampling (RDS) with respect to its assumptions and the potential for biased measures. 

Collectively, she has over 75 publications (see Co-Authorship Network Diagram), authored 2 book chapters, and was very successful in obtaining external funding for her independent research as a PI, Co-I, and consultant. Her government-funded research portfolio is diverse, and included funding from several different NIH institutes (NIDA, NIAID, NIMH, NICHD, NIDCR, and NCRR) and the CDC (PI of an $8.7 million contract to study post COVID-19 conditions). 

She has experience working across different sectors, with positions in the pharmaceutical industry, at non-profit organizations, local health departments, healthcare centers, and universities. 

LinkedIn