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UF Health University of Florida
College of Public Health & Health Professions University of Florida
Sonja A Rasmussen

Sonja A Rasmussen, M.D., M.S.

Professor

Department: MD-PEDIATRICS
Business Phone: (352) 273-5934
Business Email: skr9@ufl.edu
CV: View Curriculum Vitae

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About Sonja A Rasmussen

Sonja Rasmussen, MD, MS, is Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology at the University of Florida (UF) College of Medicine and College of Public Health and Health Professions. In this role, she serves as a clinical geneticist, seeing a broad range of genetics patients, and as director of UF’s Precision Health Program, which focuses on integration of genomics into clinical care. Dr. Rasmussen recently joined UF after 20 years at the CDC in Atlanta. From 1998-20011, Dr. Rasmussen served in the National Center on Birth Defects and Development Disabilities, where she worked on a large case-control study to identify genetic and environmental risk factors for birth defects, and on studies to better understand the morbidity and mortality associated with several genetic conditions. From 2011-2014, she served as Deputy Director of the Influenza Coordination Unit, responsible for CDC’s pandemic influenza preparedness, and for 6 months, served as the Acting Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, responsible for CDC’s public health preparedness and response activities. From 2015-2018, she served as Editor-in-Chief of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series and as the Director of the Division of Public Health Information Dissemination. Dr. Rasmussen was lead author of the paper confirming Zika virus as a cause of birth defects, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2016. She served in leadership roles during several CDC responses to public health emergencies, including 2009 H1N1 influenza, H7N9 influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Zika virus.

Dr. Rasmussen is an author on >260 peer-reviewed papers and is the lead editor of The CDC Field Epidemiology Manual, released by Oxford University Press in 2018. She is board-certified in Genetic Counseling, Pediatrics, and Clinical Genetics.

Accomplishments

  1. Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society Visiting Professorship

    Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

  2. Induction into Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars

    Johns Hopkins University

  3. Induction into the Delta Omega National Honorary Society in Public Health

    University of Georgia (Beta Chi chapter)

  4. NCEZID Director’s Recognition Award for rigorous analysis of primary data and systematic reviews on botulism, yielding a comprehensive set of fifteen articles to guide clinicians in diagnosing and treating this life-threatening disease (group award)

    The National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)

  5. CSELS Honor Award, “Excellence in Program Evaluation” awarded to the Vital Signs Evaluation team (group award)

    The Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS)

Teaching Profile

Courses Taught

  1. PHA6613 – Clinical Applications Precision Medicine: Precision Health

    College of Pharmacy

  2. PHC6971 – Research for Master’s Thesis

    College of Public Health and Health Professions

  3. PHC6941 – MPH Applied Practice Experience

    College of Public Health and Health Professions

Board Certifications

  • Clinical Genetics and Genomics
    American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics
  • Pediatrics
    American Board of Pediatrics

Clinical Profile

Specialties

  • Pediatrics

Areas of Interest

  • Down Syndrome

Research Profile

Areas of Interest

  • COVID-19
  • Emerging infectious disease
  • Zika virus

Publications

Academic Articles

Grants

  1. Teratogenic Risk Impact and Mitigation (TRIM): An Evidence-based Decision Framework

    Role:
    Project Manager
    Funding:
    US FOOD AND DRUG ADMN

  2. CDC-RFA-IP21-2113

    Role:
    Project Manager
    Funding:
    CTRS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

  3. CoVPN 3006 Protocol Funding (PF) – Gainesville Protocol-Specific Site

    Role:
    Co-Investigator
    Funding:
    FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER CENTER via NATL INST OF HLTH NIAID

  4. A randomized study to assess the efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 EUA vaccine in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and viral shedding in US college students

    Role:
    Co-Investigator
    Funding:
    FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER CENTER via NATL INST OF HLTH NIAID

  5. Contract with South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

    Role:
    Principal Investigator
    Funding:
    SC DEPT OF HLTH AND ENVIR CONTROL via US HLTH RESOURCES AND SERV ADMN

  6. Florida Development in Early Childhood: Adversity and Drug Exposure (FL-DECADE) Study

    Role:
    Project Manager
    Funding:
    NATL INST OF HLTH NIDA

  7. Surveillance of muscular dystrophy in the Southeastern United States

    Role:
    Project Manager
    Funding:
    CTRS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

  8. Sparking Advancements in Genomic Medicine?

    Role:
    Project Manager
    Funding:
    NATL INST OF HLTH NHGRI

  9. Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM)

    Role:
    Principal Investigator
    Funding:
    JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY via NATL INST OF HLTH NHGRI

Education

  1. M.D. with Honors

    University of Florida

  2. M.S. in Medical Genetics

    University of Wisconsin – Madison

  3. B.S. with Honors in Biology and Mathematics

    University of Minnesota Duluth

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 273-5934
Emails:
Business:
skr9@ufl.edu
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
PO Box 100296
 GAINESVILLE FL 32610