May 2013 VSTH Meeting Speakers

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Speakers' Biographies

John Ward, MD

Director, Division of Viral Hepatitis, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

As director of CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis, John Ward, MD, is responsible for planning and directing national and international research, surveillance, vaccination, and other public health programs related to the prevention of viral hepatitis. Prior to his work in viral hepatitis, Dr. Ward conducted early studies of AIDS transmission and natural history. He has also served as editor of MMWR, CDC’s primary health publication. Dr. Ward has authored more than 100 scientific publications and served as editor for Silent Victories: The History and Practice of Public Health in Twentieth-Century America, published in 2007 by Oxford University Press.

Dr. Ward received his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama, his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine, and completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Alabama Hospitals. Dr. Ward holds a clinical faculty appointment with the Emory University Department of Medicine.

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Katherine Bornschlegel, MPH

Hepatitis B and C Surveillance Coordinator, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Katherine Bornschlegel, MPH, is the hepatitis B and C surveillance coordinator for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Over the past 10 years, she has developed several projects to describe unmet needs of patients living with chronic hepatitis B or C and of their clinicians. The city’s hepatitis team has used the findings of her research to develop public health strategies to meet those needs, with a focus on educational outreach. More recently, her team developed strategies to monitor and increase the proportion of hepatitis C antibody-positive persons who get RNA testing.

Bornschlegel received an MPH in public health epidemiology from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

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Shauna Onofrey, MPH

Senior Epidemiologist, Division of Epidemiology and Immunizations, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Shauna Onofrey, MPH, is a senior epidemiologist in the Division of Epidemiology and Immunizations at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She joined the division seven years ago and focuses on healthcare-associated infections and viral hepatitis. Since 2006, Onofrey has particularly focused on the outbreak of hepatitis C among adolescents and young adults in Massachusetts, as initially reported in MMWR.

Onofrey received an MPH from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.

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