Background

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world" ~Mahatma Gandhi

A first generation Pakistani-American, from Phoenix Arizona - Alexandra strives to bridge science and policy to help build a healthy and robust health system that prioritizes equitable health care access for all. Simultaneously, she recognizes the critical importance of building future generations of health care and community leaders. As such, fostering the development of our next gen and future colleagues is of the upmost importance and she does so through both professional and philanthropic efforts.

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Professional Work

Professionally, Ms. Bhatti is a molecular biologist who transitioned from assessing microorganisms, to boots on the ground public health initiatives as a program manager for a state immunization program office, and finally is a public health attorney and health policy expert studying and advancing evidence-based polices.

Director, US Vaccine Public Policy

Merck Vaccines- Global Vaccine public Policy and Partnerships

Ms. Bhatti leads the US Vaccine Policy Development and Federal Vaccine Policy Advocacy team. She is responsible for:

Developing and leading the US vaccine policy research agenda
Driving evidence based policy solutions to achieve high vaccination coverage rates.
Engaging diverse and cross-sector partners at the national and federal level
Leading a team and fostering their professional development and expertise

Arizona State University Downtown Campus- location of School for the Science of Healthcare Delivery

Faculty

Arizona state university - school for the science of health care delivery

Alexandra has been with Arizona State University since Fall 2015 and is grateful for the opportunity to share her passion for science with students, many whom are aspiring healthcare and public health professionals, and foster their commitment to lifelong learning by connecting course materials to broader themes and current events.

Instructing and developing upper division undergraduate courses such as Legal Issues in Health Care, Impact of Violence on Health, Evaluation of Health Sciences Research, Health Care Legislation, and Applied Medical and Health Care Ethics.

Public Health Attorney

Center's for disease control and prevention-Office of state tribal local and territorial support, Public health law program

As a public health attorney, she didn’t actually practice law in the traditional sense. Instead, her work consisted of preforming legal research using legal epidemiology. Legal Epidemiology is the study of law as a factor in the cause, distribution, and prevention of disease and injury.

Ms. Bhatti's research portfolio focused on vaccination laws and Medicaid policies. In this role, she collaborated with public health colleagues at CDC and with state, tribal, local, and territorial partners, to assess state and local laws related to vaccination and better understand the impact of law on health

In this role Ms. Bhatti had the opportunity to travel around the country and share not only her research but train others at the state and local level so that they can advance this work at the community level

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Immunization Program Manager

Arizona Department of Health Services- Immunization Program OFfice

As the Immunization Assessment manager Alexandra oversaw multiple programs within the Immunization Program Office such as:

School and Childcare Immunization Program
AFIX Program - A CDC Provider Quality Improvement Program, and
Adult Immunization Program

Here Ms. Bhatti was also responsible for all data analytics and program evaluation and managed activities and fostered personal and professional growth of her direct reports. She additionally led and developed state and federal grant proposals, and oversaw the implementation of respective program funding and leveraged technology to restructure program design to maximize efficiency and ultimately provide a better public service to Arizonans.

By the time she left this position, the her team had been given two awards from the CDC for their work, and she was considered a subject matter expert in the field and was providing technical assistance to states around the country, developed stronger programs in the office for adult and childhood vaccination, was the first to incorporate GIS in displaying vaccination coverage data link to income levels. Further due to her work, the program was one of the first states to publicly post school and childcare facility specific vaccination and exemption rates online, and Alexandra was recognized by The Arizona Partnership for Immunizations for "Outstanding media coverage to educate the public about the value of immunization as a preventive health strategy."

Overall this position has been one of Ms. Bhatti's most memorable and truly shaped her career. It was an honor to work alongside other Arizonans at the state and local level to help increase vaccination uptake and improve the health of the community.

Public Health Scientist- Microbiologist and Virologist

Arizona Department of Health Services- Public Health Laboratory

As a scientist at a State Public Health Laboratory, Alexandra's duties were to test, interpret, and report results on clinical and/or reference specimens for a variety of viral and bacterial agents in direct support of municipal, county, state, and/or federal public health programs.

Ms. Bhatti's days on the bench were never boring. At the State lab, there was always something new to explore. Notably she recalls her first week in the microbiology lab where she isolated and identified a bacteria from a human that had never seen before at the State lab.

Beyond technical skills gained, laboratory work has taught the importance of being resilient, detailed oriented, and curious.

Testing one of two bears for rabies after Payson bear attacks, June 2012

Home | Background

Education

Juris Doctor

Arizona Summit Law School (2013-2015)

Magnum Cum Laude
Merit scholarship maintained for duration
Dean's list receipt for duration
Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity
Advanced Writing Requirement
- Treating the Patient Not the Disease
- Vaccines are Good - Disease is Bad: Current Exemptions Laws and Trends in Arizona and the Effect it Has on Public Health

Master of Public Health-Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Certificate - Public Health Preparedness and Disaster Response

University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of public Health (2009-2011)

3.77 GPA
Inducted as a student into Delta Omega - National Honorary Society in Public Health
- Members are inducted by chapters through a highly-selective process that assesses their outstanding performance and devotion to the field. Membership reflects the dedication of an individual to increasing the quality of the field, as well as to the protection and advancement of the health of all people.
GSPH Executive Board Member
GSPH Representative for the University of Pittsburgh Graduate and Professional Students Assembly
Graduate Student Researcher: University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Department in Dr. Anil Ojha's lab
Graduate Thesis: Optimization Of rTDMH As A Reagent Toward Improving The Sensitivity Of The RT-PCR Based Diagnosis For Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Bachelor of Science-Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology

Arizona State University (2004-2008)

Member of Alpha Epsilon Delta Premedical Honor Society
Member of Support for International Change
Student Researcher: Arizona State University Biodesign Institute - Biodesign Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines, and Virotherapy in Dr. Bertram Jacobs' lab