
Annette Regan
Assistant Professor; Co-Director of the Community Public Health Practice Concentration, Orange County
Biography
Dr. Regan is a perinatal and pediatric infectious disease epidemiologist with over 14 years of experience leading epidemiologic research and public health practice. She completed an MPH in epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University in 2006, and a PhD in infectious diseases at the University of Western Australia in 2016. She has previously worked as an epidemiologist for state and federal public health agencies, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During her time at CDC, she coordinated national surveillance activities and had the opportunity to serve in emergency response operations, including the response to the 2009 influenza A/H1N1 pandemic. After leaving CDC in 2011, she spent seven years living in Australia working for the state health department in Western Australia. During her time there, she implemented several communicable disease prevention and surveillance programs, including the development of novel surveillance tools for monitoring emerging infectious disease threats such as Ebola virus. Since returning to the US in 2018, she has been faculty at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, where she lectured on epidemiologic methods, infectious disease epidemiology, and reproductive health. Over the course of her career, she has mentored and supervised undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students as well as postdoctoral research fellows.
In addition to her public health and teaching experience, Dr. Regan has an active research portfolio in maternal health and immunization and continues to collaborate internationally with researchers in Australia, Norway, Canada, and across the US. She has published >65 peer-reviewed papers in public health and medical journals, including the Lancet, Lancet Global Health, American Journal of Epidemiology, and the American Journal of Public Health. Her research has contributed to policy briefs and improvements in public health programs related to maternal and child health.
Expertise
- Epidemiology
- Public Health Surveillance
- Infectious Disease Prevention & Control
- Survey Development & Data Analysis
- Analysis of Administrative Health Data
Research Areas
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Vaccine Epidemiology
- Maternal, Infant and Child Health
- Birth Spacing
- Digital Health Tools
Education
- University of Western Australia, PhD in Infectious Diseases, 2016
- University of Western Australia, Masters of Infectious Diseases, 2016
- Emory University, MPH in Epidemiology, 2006
- University of Florida, BSc in Psychology, 2004
Prior Experience
- Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Texas A&M University
- NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow, Curtin University
- Vaccine Epidemiologist, Department of Health Western Australia
- Epidemiologist, Office on Smoking and Health (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Awards & Distinctions
- Aileen Plant Memorial Prize in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, 2017
Selected Publications
- Mchugh L, Van Buynder P, Sarna M, Andrews RM, Moore HC, Binks MJ, Pereira G, Blyth CC, Lust K, Foo D, Regan AK. Timing and temporal trends of influenza and pertussis vaccinations during pregnancy in three Australian jurisdictions: The Links2HealthierBubs population-based linked cohort study, 2012-2017. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2022 Jun 13.
- Sarna M, Pereira GF, Foo D, Baynam GS, Regan AK. The risk of major structural birth defects associated with seasonal influenza vaccination during pregnancy: A population-based cohort study. Birth Defects Res. 2022 Jun 9.
- Foo D, Sarna M, Pereira G, Moore HC, Regan AK. Maternal influenza vaccination and child mortality: Longitudinal, population-based linked cohort study. Vaccine. 2022 Jun 15;40(27):3732-3736.
- Arah OA, Sullivan SG, Fell DB, Regan AK. Analyzing uncontrolled confounding of the perinatal health effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy. J Infect Dis. 2022 May 11:jiac194.
- Regan AK, Wesley MG, Gaglani M, Kim SS, Edwards LJ, Murthy K, Jeddy Z, Naleway AL, Flannery B, Dawood FS, Groom H. Consistency of self-reported and documented historical influenza vaccination status of US healthcare workers. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2022 Apr 12.
- Foo D, Sarna M, Pereira G, Moore HC, Regan AK. Prenatal influenza vaccination and allergic and autoimmune diseases in childhood: A longitudinal, population-based linked cohort study. PLoS Med. 2022 Apr 5;19(4):e1003963.
- Fell DB, Dhinsa T, Alton GD, Török E, Dimanlig-Cruz S, Regan AK, Sprague AE, Buchan SA, Kwong JC, Wilson SE, Håberg SE, Gravel CA, Wilson K, El-Chaâr D, Walker MC, Barrett J, MacDonald SE, Okun N, Shah PS, Dougan SD, Dunn S, Bisnaire L. Association of COVID-19 Vaccination in Pregnancy With Adverse Peripartum Outcomes. JAMA. 2022 Apr 19;327(15):1478-1487.
- Kaur R, Callaghan T, Regan AK. Disparities in Prenatal Immunization Rates in Rural and Urban US Areas by Indicators of Access to Care. J Rural Health. 2022 Feb 14. Online ahead of print.
- Regan AK, Arah OA, Sullivan SG. Performance of diagnostic coding and laboratory testing results to measure COVID-19 during pregnancy and associations with pregnancy outcomes. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2022 Jan 25.
- Wesselink AK, Hatch EE, Rothman KJ, Wang TR, Willis MD, Yland J, Crowe HM, Geller RJ, Willis SK, Perkins RB, Regan AK, Levinson J, Mikkelsen EM, Wise LA. A prospective cohort study of COVID-19 vaccination, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and fertility. Am J Epidemiol. 2022 Jan 20:kwac011.
- Foo D, Sarna M, Pereira G, Moore HC, Regan AK. Longitudinal, population-based cohort study of prenatal influenza vaccination and influenza infection in childhood. Vaccine. 2022 Jan 28;40(4):656-665.
- Regan AK, Arah OA, Fell DB, Sullivan SG. SARS-CoV-2 Infection During Pregnancy and Associated Perinatal Health Outcomes: A National US Cohort Study. J Infect Dis. 2022 Mar 2;225(5):759-767.