Brianna Rooney, DrPH, 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 co-investigates a hospital preparedness project supporting rural and regional healthcare systems in strengthening preparedness and surge capacity for high-consequence infectious diseases, 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 data-informed strategies that enhance community and organizational resilience.

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

Research Interests:

• Public health and healthcare emergency preparedness and response
• Rural health system and safety net resilience
• Medical surge policy and evaluation
• Healthcare hazard and vulnerability analysis
• Disaster implementation science