About

Kristen Pogreba-Brown, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. She serves as the Faculty Lead for the MPH One Health Program and is actively involved in public health preparedness activities, particularly for large events. Her research focuses on food-borne diseases and improving methodologies for outbreak investigations, including identifying risk factors related to food-borne infections and chronic outcomes following acute disease. Dr. Pogreba-Brown has initiated a One Health Program at the university to foster collaborative research across campus and develop a graduate-level certificate program. She works closely with county and state health departments in Arizona to aid in outbreak investigations and serves on the state's Food-borne Taskforce Committee. Prior to her current role, she was an Epidemiologist with the college, directing the Student Aid for Field Epidemiology Response (SAFER) team.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Pediatrics
• Sociology
• Immunology
• Psychiatry
• Intensive care medicine
• Virology
• Nursing
• Pathology
• Gerontology
• Environmental health
• Biology
• Family medicine

Selected publications

• Integrating Human–Animal Care Through a Public Health–Driven One Health Clinic Model in Pima County, Arizona, October 2023–February 2024

  Public Health Reports · 2025-11-03

  article

  One Health clinics integrate human, animal, and environmental health to provide interdisciplinary health care and community resources to people experiencing homelessness (PEH). Five mobile, public health-led One Health clinics were newly implemented in Pima County, Arizona, during October 2023-February 2024. Clinic locations included parks, libraries, and homeless shelters to reduce transportation-related barriers and integrate public health, veterinary, and housing services. Originally designed for PEH and their pets, Pima County One Health clinics were open to everyone in neighborhoods where clinics were hosted to promote community engagement with clinics and strengthen relationships with public health. We evaluated the performance of these clinics by describing service patterns, client perceptions, and lessons learned to support development of clinics by other jurisdictions. During clinic visits, basic demographic information was collected for people and pets, along with data on housing status, environmental and resource concerns, use of clinic services, and perceptions of clinics. The first 5 monthly mobile community clinics served 108 clients and 93 pets; 44% of clients were unhoused or unstably housed, 36% of clients were housed, and housing status was unknown for 20% of clients. Clinics facilitated partnership among service providers and with housed and unhoused community members. Clinics supported vaccine uptake among people and their pets and identified 3 cases of sexually transmitted infections that might otherwise have remained undetected. By implementing a One Health Clinic framework, our local health department helped address gaps in human and veterinary health care services. Other public health agencies might consider implementing similar models to enhance public health engagement with local communities.

  PublisherDOI

• Pilot Study to Determine the Efficacy, Feasibility, and Impact of Storage Conditions on At-Home Blood Collection Kits for Proteomic Studies

  medRxiv · 2025-05-16 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access

  At-home blood collection kits have the potential to greatly increase the efficiency of blood collection for diagnostic or research purposes by reducing the cost and burden on participants, researchers, or physicians and eliminating the need for a phlebotomist, specialized equipment, and on-site processing. These kits have shown to be effective for studying specific blood metabolites and proteins, but for analyses targeting the entire proteome, their effectiveness is unknown. For this study, data on human serum proteome was compared when blood was capillary-collected with a Tasso+ device (Tasso Inc.) versus the gold-standard venous samples drawn by a trained phlebotomist. Analyses were conducted using the SomaScan 7K assay (SomaLogic Inc.), which assesses the levels of nearly 7,600 serum proteins. Additionally, duplicate Tasso+ blood samples were also subjected to a variety of pre-processing storage temperatures and times to mimic the effects of shipping samples from participants on the serum proteome compared to baseline samples. Minimal differences were seen between the serum proteome results of capillary and venous blood for all participants. Delays in processing of greater than 48 hours led to large changes in detected protein levels throughout the serum proteome, while lower holding temperatures (refrigeration at ≥4°C) pre-processing decreased the amount of change in the serum proteome. Overall, it was determined that when processed immediately, capillary blood gives similar results to venous blood, while minimizing the time (≤48 hrs) and temperature (≤4°C) can minimize the serum proteome changes in samples collected by at-home blood collection kits and detected by the 7K assay.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Concordance between self-reported SARS-CoV-2 positivity and laboratory-confirmed positivity

  PLoS ONE · 2025-10-17

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  As the use and availability of at-home antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection have increased, the number of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infections that are reported to state COVID-19 surveillance systems have decreased. Self-reported infection dates are critical to accurately track incidence and outbreaks of COVID-19 and for continued research on illness progression; however, the reliability of self-reported infection dates is unknown to date. To assess accuracy of self-reported test dates, we utilized self-reported SARS-CoV-2 testing data from the Arizona CoVHORT Study (CoVHORT) and laboratory-confirmed testing data collected by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and calculated the difference in days between dates to examine their percent agreement. We used logistic regression to assess if any participant characteristics were associated with self-reporting a test date >7 days different than the laboratory confirmed date. A total of 1,900 CoVHORT participants aged 18 years or older were included in our analyses. Most participants (82.5%) reported a test date within 7 days of the laboratory confirmed date of their illness. Increasing age and number of weeks between testing positive and self-reporting the test date were both significantly associated with a difference of 7 days or greater between dates. There was an 84% increase (OR=1.84, 95% CI = 1.11-3.06) in likelihood of inaccurately self-reporting their SARS-CoV-2 test date for participants aged 55 years and older and a 2% increase (OR=1.02, 95% CI = 1.02-1.03) for each elapsed week following their SARS-CoV-2 test. We observed an 82% percent agreement (dates within 7 days of each other) between self-reported and laboratory confirmed test dates, suggesting that self-reported SARS-CoV-2 test dates are sufficient for identifying and tracking Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions when a laboratory-confirmed test date is not available. However, increasing age and greater time between test date and date of self-report were found to decrease the agreement between self-reported and laboratory confirmed test dates.

  PublisherDOI

• Determining the incidence, risk factors and biological drivers of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as part of the constellation of postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) outcomes in the Arizona CoVHORT-GI: a longitudinal cohort study

  BMJ Open · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  INTRODUCTION: Postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) are extensive. Also known as long COVID, primary outcomes reported are neurologic, cardiac and respiratory in nature. However, several studies have also reported an increase in gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and syndromes following COVID-19. This study of PASC will include extensive analyses of GI symptoms, determine if people with pre-existing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are at higher risk of developing PASC generally or PASC-GI, and which biomarkers are impacted and to what degree. This R01 study is being funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (1R01DK135483-01) from 2023 to 2028. METHODS AND ANALYSES: This study combines a longitudinal epidemiologic cohort study and in-depth, novel biologic analyses. In collaboration with a pre-existing study, the Arizona CoVID-19 Cohort (CoVHORT)-GI will recruit participants based on the history of COVID infection(s), new or ongoing GI symptoms 3-6 months postinfection, and pre-existing or incident IBS diagnosis to represent five study groups for comparison and analyses. A subset (n=1000) of those recruited will submit both stool and blood samples. Both samples will undergo a novel method to quantitate humoral and mucosal immune responses to host-derived faecal communities in conjunction with magnetic bead-based separation and high-depth shotgun microbial sequencing. Stool samples will also undergo traditional microbiome analyses (diversity and abundance) and faecal calprotectin assays. Additional serum analyses will aim to determine if a proteomics-based signature exists that differentiates a unique biomarker compositional signature discriminating PASC-GI versus no PASC. All laboratory data will be linked with in-depth epidemiologic data on demographics, symptoms and chronic conditions. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study involves human participants and was approved by the University of Arizona Institutional Review Board (IRB (#00002332) and has been deemed minimal risk. Participants gave informed consent to participate in the study before taking part. All publications from the study will be shared back to participants along with alternative lay summaries and webinars to communicate key findings. The data management plan has been published and is publicly available online, including protocols for data requests.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ocular Toxoplasmosis Infection Leading to Uveitis or Chorioretinal Lesions: A Systematic Review

  Foodborne Pathogens and Disease · 2025-10-10 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  Introduction: Toxoplasma gondii ( T. gondii ) infections affect approximately 30% of the population worldwide. This systematic review of ocular sequelae from toxoplasmosis explores in greater depth the outcomes found in our previous scoping review. Uveitis and ocular lesions can be acute or recurrent following infection and result in long-term and often irreversible effects. Methods: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool to evaluate articles for inclusion. Data extraction included the frequency and proportion of participants who developed uveitis or chorioretinal lesions, the type, anatomical locations affected, and disease burden. Results: Utilizing an inclusion criterion that included a physical examination combined with laboratory confirmation, 63 articles from 27 countries spanning a publication period from 2000 to 2023 were included. Most reported outcomes in these articles included uveitis ( n = 61), chorioretinal lesions ( n = 42), or both ( n = 40). Meta analysis results indicate that the proportion of ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) cases resulting in lesions was lower than uveitis, with the highest estimates reported in Asia. Discussion: Uniform diagnostic methodology was only found in articles describing congenital case populations arising from toxoplasmosis monitoring programs. Consistent use of nomenclature, consistent diagnostic testing, and standardized reporting of patient demographics by researchers would greatly aid in understanding the burden of disease experienced.

  PublisherDOI

• Social Determinants of Health and Risk for Long COVID in the U.S. RECOVER-Adult Cohort

  Annals of Internal Medicine · 2025-07-28 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Social determinants of health (SDoH) contribute to disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection, but their associations with long COVID are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine associations between SDoH at the time of SARS-CoV-2 infection and risk for long COVID. DESIGN: Prospective observational cohort study. SETTING: 33 states plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. PARTICIPANTS: Adults (aged ≥18 years) enrolled in RECOVER-Adult (Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery) between October 2021 and November 2023 who were within 30 days of SARS-CoV-2 infection; completed baseline SDoH, comorbidity, and pregnancy questionnaires; and were followed prospectively. MEASUREMENTS: Social risk factors from SDoH baseline questionnaires, ZIP code poverty and household crowding measures, and a weighted score of 11 or higher on the Long COVID Research Index 6 months after infection. RESULTS: Among 3787 participants, 418 (11%) developed long COVID. After adjustment for demographic characteristics, pregnancy, disability, comorbidities, SARS-CoV-2 severity, and vaccinations, financial hardship (adjusted marginal risk ratio [ARR], 2.36 [95% CI, 1.97 to 2.91]), food insecurity (ARR, 2.36 [CI, 1.83 to 2.98]), less than a college education (ARR, 1.60 [CI, 1.30 to 1.97]), experiences of medical discrimination (ARR, 2.37 [CI, 1.94 to 2.83]), skipped medical care due to cost (ARR, 2.87 [CI, 2.22 to 3.70]), and lack of social support (ARR, 1.79 [CI, 1.50 to 2.17]) were associated with increased risk for long COVID. Living in ZIP codes with the highest (vs. lowest) household crowding was also associated with greater risk (ARR, 1.36 [CI, 1.05 to 1.71]). LIMITATION: Selection bias may influence observed associations and generalizability. CONCLUSION: Participants with social risk factors at the time of SARS-CoV-2 infection had greater risk for subsequent long COVID than those without. Future studies should determine whether social risk factor interventions mitigate long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: National Institutes of Health.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• An analytical evaluation of contact tracing systems using real-world individual-level data

  International Journal of Medical Informatics · 2025-06-19

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Long COVID and the Increased Risk of Food Insecurity Among Participants in Arizona CoVHORT: A matched cohort study

  medRxiv · 2025-11-17

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract Objectives To assess whether individuals with long COVID face a higher risk of food insecurity compared with those without long COVID. Methods We used data from the Arizona CoVHORT, which is a prospective longitudinal study of SARS-CoV-2 health outcomes initiated in May 2020. Participants with confirmed infections who completed a symptom survey ≥6 months post-infection were eligible (n = 2415). We matched participants with long COVID to participants who did not have long COVID by gender, age group, income bracket, and date of first assessment of food insecurity (±6 months). We estimated the association between long COVID and food insecurity using a conditional logistic regression analysis. Results Participants with long COVID had significantly greater odds of food insecurity (adjusted odds ratio = 1.47; 95% confidence interval = 1.06 - 2.04). Conclusions Long COVID significantly increases vulnerability to food insecurity. This highlights the need for integrated health and social interventions for individuals with long COVID. WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC Food Insecurity has been shown to be an important risk factor for long COVID, but we do not know whether long COVID independently increases the risk of food insecurity, nor have studies adopted a cohort design approach to examine the relationship between long COVID and food insecurity. This study is the first to analyze the association between long COVID and food Insecurity using a matched cohort data within the United States. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS This study uniquely adds to the current knowledge base by providing evidence that long COVID is independently associated with a significantly increased risk of food insecurity among adults in Arizona, after adjusting for confounders. We found that adults with long COVID in the Arizona CoVHORT had 47% higher odds of experiencing food insecurity compared to matched controls without long COVID. This study provides robust statistical support for a direct association between long COVID and food insecurity and advances the field by evidencing a previously under-explored dimension of the pandemic’s long-term impact, thus, highlighting an urgent need for integrated screening and intervention strategies at the intersection of chronic illness and nutrition insecurity. HOW THIS STUDY MIGHT AFFECT RESEARCH, PRACTICE OR POLICY Our study provides evidence that long COVID not only affects health of individuals but also social and economic well-being, including food access and stability. Healthcare and public health systems should integrate routine screening for food insecurity in outpatient care, primary care, and long COVID clinics. Early detection and referral to nutritional or financial assistance programs may reduce the combined effects of chronic illness and economic strain. These interventions are critical for groups disproportionately impacted by the pandemic’s longer-term effects, including low-income households, women, and communities of color. Expanding safety net programs and tracking social consequences of infectious diseases are vital for public health preparedness.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Exposing Vibriosis: A Scoping Review of the Literature Regarding Sequelae of Non-cholera Vibrio Infection

  Archives of Clinical Infectious Diseases · 2024-06-16

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  : Vibriosis, non-cholera infection by marine bacteria of the genus Vibrio, is a relatively uncommon infection associated with high morbidity and mortality relative to other bacterial food and waterborne pathogens. The range and impact of these common marine organisms is likely to increase as global water temperatures rise in association with global warming. We have conducted a scoping review of available literature (2000 - 2020), including individual case studies, in order to provide the most current overview of reported sequelae and complications of this disease, including amputation, necrotizing fasciitis, organ failure, respiratory complications, and uncommon serious outcomes. Notably, we have found the available data indicate that route of exposure (contact with water, ingestion) may not be as reliably associated with disease presentation (soft tissue infection, gastroenteritis, sepsis) as has commonly been proposed. This information can be used to inform more accurate burden estimates for this disease, which have, to date, not included severe tissue sequelae including amputation as an outcome associated with foodborne exposure to non-cholera Vibrio. We have also identified knowledge gaps and priority research areas that may provide data allowing further refinement of cost and burden models.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Tracking the burden, distribution, and impact of Post-COVID conditions in diverse populations for children, adolescents, and adults (Track PCC): passive and active surveillance protocols

  BMC Public Health · 2024-08-29 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Track PCC includes five geographic surveillance sites to conduct standardized population-based surveillance to estimate and track Post-COVID Conditions (PCC) by age, sex, race/ethnicity, geographic area, severity of initial infection, and risk factors among persons with evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection (based on the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologist [CSTE] case definitions for confirmed cases or laboratory-confirmed evidence of infection). METHODS: The study will estimate the incidence, prevalence, including temporal trends, and duration and severity of PCC symptoms, among children, adolescents, and adults. PCCs include a broad range of symptoms and conditions that continue or develop after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 illness. Surveillance includes both passive and active components for diverse populations in Arizona, Indiana, and Utah as well as the Bronx Borough, NY, and part of Philadelphia County, PA. Passive surveillance will utilize electronic health records and health information exchanges within each site catchment area to longitudinally follow persons with COVID-19 to estimate PCC occurring at least 30 days after acute COVID-19 illness. Active surveillance will utilize self-report of PCCs from detailed surveys of persons ages 7 years and older with evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the past 3 months. Respondents will complete follow-up surveys at 6-, 12- and 18-months post-infection. DISCUSSION: These data can help identify which groups are most affected by PCC, and what health differences among demographic groups exist, as well as indicate potential barriers to care. These additional levels of granularity can inform public health action and help direct needed clinical care for patients.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Kacey C. Ernst

  University of Arizona

  26 shared

• Grace A. McComsey

  Case Western Reserve University

  26 shared

• Stuart D. Katz

  New York University

  23 shared

• Jai Marathe

  22 shared

• Andrea S. Foulkes

  21 shared

• Thomas F. Patterson

  The University of Texas at San Antonio

  20 shared

• Leora I. Horwitz

  19 shared

• Alexander W. Charney

  New York Proton Center

  19 shared

Education

• PhD, Epidemiology & Biostatistics

  University of Arizona

  2013

• MPH, Epidemiology & Biostatistics

  University of Arizona

  2005

• BS, School of Animal Science and Microbiology

  University of Arizona

  2000

Awards & honors

• Food-borne Taskforce Committee (Arizona)