Dr. Catherine Finneran joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine as an Instructor in June 2023. An accomplished researcher and dedicated patient advocate, Dr. Finneran brings her specialized background in epidemiology and public health to the Department of Medicine. Prior to being awarded her Doctorate in Medicine from Emory University School of Medicine in 2020, she sat in the Departments of Epidemiology and Global Health at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health as senior staff in PRISMHealth, where she collaborated with a diverse group of researchers, epidemiologists, physicians, and public health professionals working to understand and respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic among sexual and gender minorities in the U.S. South. She earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) in Global Health from Rollins in 2011, where her research focused on maternal health disparities in rural Ethiopia and included several months of field research with support from the Gates Foundation. Reflecting her passions for public health, sexual and gender minority health, and infectious pandemics, she was awarded the Charles C. Shephard Award for her Master’s Thesis on intimate partner violence and HIV/AIDS risk among sexual minority men.
Originally from St. Louis County, Dr. Finneran’s professional trajectory was formed when she attended the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. Her time at Carolina was typified by humanistic endeavors, including volunteering with campus sexual health groups, studying global pandemics, hospital volunteering, and international instruction through the School of International Training in Nairobi, Kenya. Her key interests are HIV/AIDS, sexual health, gender minority health, LGTBQ+ health, healthcare disparities, research methods, epidemiology, public health, infectious diseases, sexually transmitted infections, clinical instruction, inpatient care and hospital medicine. Since returning home to St. Louis for her residency training in Internal Medicine, she has continued to focus on her research interests and deepened her dedication to patient advocacy, with a particular focus on persons at risk for health care disparities. Dr. Finneran was awarded the competitive Clinical Scientist Training in Research Award (C-STAR) for a project examining disparities in treatment of sexually transmitted infections in the era of rising rates of antimicrobial resistance and was recognized on multiple occasions by her faculty and peers as Housestaff of the Month for her dedication to superb patient care and continual focus on housestaff wellbeing. A classically trained mezzo-soprano and musical theatre apologist, she is a proud alumna of UNC Pauper Players and Emory University Chorus and spends her free time supporting the arts, travelling, and spending time with family and friends over tabletop board games.