Meet Brianna McNulty, Outreach Coordinator (CDC Public Health Associate)

Hello!

My name is Brianna McNulty and I am extremely excited to be joining the Iowa Cancer Consortium as an Outreach Coordinator through the CDC’s Public Health Associate Program. Although I consider Virginia as my home and am a proud Nittany Lion (We Are), I’ve loved exploring Iowa City, and cannot wait to see what else the Hawkeye State has to offer.

While in college, I worked in a vector-biology lab. My experience in research included studying vector control methods of mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue virus and Jamestown Canyon Virus in Aedes mosquitoes. This lab experience, coupled with the difficulties brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic solidified my passion for public health, and I am eager to work together with the Iowa Cancer Consortium and all Iowans to reduce the burden of cancer in the state.

Although my research experience is in another field, cancer prevention and control is a topic that is very important to me. In June of 2021, my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. With the help of an amazing team of doctors back home, I am beyond thankful to say she is cancer free and back to her normal, wild self. Witnessing the pain on both a mental and physical level of cancer treatment for both my mother and my family is something I will never forget, and I hope the work I do here can help ease the burden for people who are going through treatment, have survived treatment, as well as their friends and families.

In the several months of being here, I’ve never witnessed a community come together on this grand of a scale before. I am so thankful to be given the opportunity to join the Consortium and am very excited to be getting started.