Biography
Monica Pilewskie is Mescalero Apache on her mother’s side. She grew up in Boulder, Colorado but has also lived in Baltimore and Arizona. Monica joined the Infectious Disease team at the Center in September 2021 as a student intern and started a position as a Research Associate in April 2022. She is involved in coordination and management of infectious disease programs including the SHIELD (Staph Intervention for Effective Local Defense) Study in Whiteriver, AZ, aiming to promote the best practices for education and prevention of Staph infections. She has also worked on the PROTECT Backpack Testing project and a COVID-19 seroprevalence study in community members and healthcare workers.
Monica received her BA in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2019. Upon completing her BA, Monica was a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia, where she worked on health education and empowerment in a rural community. She then went on to complete a Master of Science in Public Health at Johns Hopkins, with a concentration in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control.
Outside of work, Monica is passionate about playing sports, being active outside, reading, and enjoying good food.