Droughts & Floods: Making Sense of Data During a Pandemic
As part of George Mason University's Summer Workshop on Pandemics and Global Health Security, infectious disease epidemiologist, Jessica Malaty Rivera will discuss how The COVID Tracking Project stepped in to fill the enormous data reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic. She'll cover the importance of data quality, data infrastructure, and the critical work of increasing science literacy.
How Inclusive Science Communication Builds and Keeps Public Trust
Trustworthiness is achieved when people develop supportive and equitable relationships, and this is especially critical in matters of health. Jessica Malaty Rivera argues that the responsibility for building trust of medical professionals among communities of color must shift to reduce the risk of isolating more people in cycles of fear, shame, and targeted misinformation.
Jessica Malaty Rivera is an infectious disease epidemiologist and internationally recognized science communicator. She earned her MS in Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Georgetown School of Medicine and has dedicated the last 15 years of her career to emerging disease surveillance, public health policy, and vaccine advocacy. Her specialty is in translating complex scientific concepts into impactful, judgment-free, and accessible information for diverse audiences. From 2020-2021, she served as the Science Communication Lead for The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic.
Currently, she is a Research Fellow at Boston Children's Hospital Innovation & Digital Health Accelerator, a Researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, a Senior Science Communication Advisor at the deBeaumont Foundation, and an expert contributor for NBC Bay Area, CNN, PBS, BBC and more.
In 2021, Jessica was named one of the "World’s 50 Greatest Leaders" by Fortune Magazine for her work on COVID-19 research and data communication. That same year she made the cover of Parents magazine, highlighting her work as a world-renowned science communicator from home. In 2022 she was named one of the Top 50 Leaders of Digital Health by Rock Health, and in 2023 she was named as one of Fierce Pharma's Fierce 50 for Social Impact in Health. Jessica was the host of the 2023 COVID Tracking Project podcast series which was nominated for a Peabody Award in 2024.
Between her day jobs and being a full-time mother to three little kids, she also dedicates several hours a week to promoting science literacy and debunking misinformation on social media.
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