Catherine Freeland, PhD, MPH

Catherine Freeland, PhD, MPH, is the Associate Director of Public Health Research at the Hepatitis B Foundation in Doylestown, PA. She served as the Treasurer for the Task Force from 2016 to 2018 and Secretary from 2018 to 2024. Ms. Freeland received her Ph.D. at Thomas Jefferson University, College of Population Health with a concentration in Health Behavior Science and a dissertation on addressing low hepatitis B birth dose uptake in Nigeria. She led the effort to incorporate values and preferences for people with lived experience within the updated 2024 World Hepatitis Organization Guidelines and continues to focus on addressing barriers and facilitators to hepatitis B elimination globally. She earned her Master of Public Health at East Tennessee State University with a concentration in Community and Behavioral Health. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana. Following her graduation from Hanover College, she spent a year working in Nairobi, Kenya as a Communication and Programming Chair for the Organization of African Instituted Churches. In this position, Dr. Freeland was working to empower, educate, and learn from grassroots community leaders through a train the trainer program. She is interested in reducing health disparities through sustainability projects and collaboration at the community level. As a Frist Field Scholar, Dr. Freeland applied her public health knowledge in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia through Flagstaff International Relief Effort and the World Health Organization focusing on community outreach and education on viral hepatitis and liver cancer. Dr. Freeland has an increased interest in viral hepatitis prevention and outreach.