Brianna Catherine Rooney

Biography

Brianna Rooney, DrPH, MPH, is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Public Health Practice, Policy, and Translational Research and the Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. She leads Arizona’s Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program and the rural health initiatives for Arizona’s Overdose Data to Action Program. Dr. Rooney is co-investigator of a project supported by the Arizona Hospital Preparedness Program H5N1 supplemental grant, supporting rural and regional healthcare systems in strengthening preparedness and surge capacity for high-consequence infectious diseases and applying evidence-based model language to artificial intelligence platforms.

Dr. Rooney’s research focuses on healthcare preparedness, policy, and rural health system resilience, with an emphasis on using disaster epidemiology and translational research methods to generate actionable evidence for practice and policy. Her work investigates how organizational structures, health policy, continuity of care, and social factors shape preparedness outcomes and health system performance. She applies mixed methods and program evaluation approaches to develop equitable, data-informed strategies that enhance community and organizational resilience.

With over a decade of experience in emergency preparedness and response, Dr. Rooney has worked extensively with healthcare coalitions, hospitals, emergency services, and local health departments to advance public health planning, evaluation, and capacity building.

Degrees

• DrPH Health Policy and Management
• University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States
• Risk Assessment as the Foundation of Healthcare Emergency Management: The Impact of Rural and Urban Differences in Factors Associated with Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis
• MPH Epidemiology
• University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, United States
• B.S. Biology and Spanish
• University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States

Awards

• Making Action Possible Dashboard White Paper Grant
• The Economic and Business Research Center in the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management, Fall 2025
• NIH/NSF Investigations in Disasters and Emergencies: Advanced Applied Learning in Disaster Research Response
• University of Washington Center for Disaster Resilient Communities, Summer 2025