Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Kate Rucinski, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist with a focus on sexual and reproductive health research that promotes the health and wellbeing of marginalized populations in resource-limited settings.
Research Interests
women's health; adolescent health; sexual and reproductive health; HIV prevention and treatment; pregnancy; contraception; implementation research; program data
Experiences & Accomplishments
Katherine Rucinski is an epidemiologist who conducts research with women and young people globally. Specifically, her work aims to identify and address the intricate social and structural determinants that influence sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes in resource-constrained settings. Currently, Dr. Rucinski's research is focused on leveraging existing data to inform innovative modeling approaches for women's health; and evaluating targeted interventions and implementation strategies to enhance the sustained utilization of SRH services among adolescents and young people at risk for or living with HIV.
Select Publications
Representative publications from the last few years.
Rucinski K, Knight J, Willis K, Wang L, Rao A, Roach MA, Phaswana-Mafuya R, Bao L, Thiam S, Arimi P, Mishra S, Baral S. Challenges and Opportunities in Big Data Science to Address Health Inequities and Focus the HIV Response. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2024 Aug;21(4):208-219. doi: 10.1007/s11904-024-00702-3. Epub 2024 Jun 25. PMID: 38916675; PMCID: PMC11283392.
Wolfe A, Roach MA, Turpin G, Syarif O, Looze P, Lalak K, Anoubissi JD, Chiu YC, Volgina A, Brion S, Dunaway K, Stryzhak O, Ocheret D, Sprague L, Garcia de Leon Moreno C, Baral SD, Lyons C, Rucinski KB. Characterising the effects of displacement on gender-based violence among women living with HIV in Ukraine: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Glob Health. 2025 May 8;10(5):e016478. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2024-016478. PMID: 40345703; PMCID: PMC12067787.
Loeb T, Willis K, Velishavo F, Lee D, Rao A, Baral S, Rucinski K. Leveraging Routinely Collected Program Data to Inform Extrapolated Size Estimates for Key Populations in Namibia: Small Area Estimation Study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2024 Apr 4;10:e48963. doi: 10.2196/48963. PMID: 38573760; PMCID: PMC11027056.
Roach MAE, Loeb T, Willis K, Sing'oei V, Owuoth J, Crowell TA, Polyak CS, Rao A, Baral S, Rucinski KB; RV393 Study Group. Profiles of Sexual Economic Exchanges among Women in Kisumu, Kenya: A Latent Class Analysis. Arch Sex Behav. 2025 Feb;54(2):495-506. doi: 10.1007/s10508-024-03020-2. Epub 2024 Oct 29. PMID: 39472396; PMCID: PMC11835520.
Rucinski K, Masankha Banda L, Olawore O, Akolo C, Zakaliya A, Chilongozi D, Schwartz S, Wilcher R, Persaud N, Ruberintwari M, Baral S. HIV Testing Approaches to Optimize Prevention and Treatment for Key and Priority Populations in Malawi. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Mar 7;9(4):ofac038. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofac038. PMID: 35265725; PMCID: PMC8900928.