Marissa Reitsma

Marissa Reitsma, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University School of Medicine. She obtained her PhD in Health Policy at Stanford in 2024, during which time she was a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, Stanford Data Science Scholar, and NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Previously, she worked on the Global Burden of Disease Study at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Reitsma develops computational models to quantify disease burden, evaluate the benefits and costs of interventions, and support evidence-based policies across a range of priorities in public health, with a focus on health equity.

Reitsma aims to build simulation models that integrate the overlapping risk factors, social determinants, and syndemic conditions that disproportionately impact marginalized populations and contribute to health inequities. She also investigates the potential for multimodal data synthesis to inform these models, improve population health decision-making, and reduce health disparities. Her work spans multiple communicable and non-communicable conditions linked to behavioral risk factors, including tobacco use, drug use, and obesity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she collaborated closely with state and local public health agencies to inform their decision-making.