Elaine Morrato

Elaine Morrato is the Founding Dean and Professor at Loyola University Chicago's Parkinson School of Public Health. With expertise in epidemiology and a background in pharmaceutical industry experience at Procter and Gamble, her work focuses on accelerating evidence-based practice in drug safety and implementation science. She leads Loyola’s collaboration in the NIH NCATS Clinical & Translational Sciences Award (CSTA) program and directs the Innovation-Corps (I-Corps) training program for health innovation scaling. As a former FDA visiting professor, she advises on pharmaceutical risk management and regulatory science.

Education:

• BS in Biochemistry, Purdue University
• MPH in Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University
• DrPH in Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University

Research Focus: Morrato’s work emphasizes dissemination and implementation science, regulatory science for drug safety, and health policy. Her projects include designing frameworks for risk mitigation strategies (e.g., RIMES-SE guidelines), evaluating FDA Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), and advancing telehealth innovations through I-Corps methods. She prioritizes equity-centered approaches, such as addressing disparities in early intervention access and diabetes prevention in vulnerable populations.

Key Contributions:

• Co-developed the RIMES-SE reporting standards for pharmaceutical risk minimization studies
• Guided national expansion of the I-Corps@NCATS program
• Directed the Evolve to Next-Gen ACT Network for clinical trial accrual

Her work bridges academic research with real-world application, emphasizing sustainable implementation of evidence-based practices.