Kat DeRuff is a program manager at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where she manages viral and malaria genomics projects focused on advancing laboratory and bioinformatic tools for pathogen genomic surveillance. Her efforts include standardizing sample and data management practices, supporting laboratories in scaling their genomics workflows to enhance disease monitoring efforts. Collaborating closely with public health partners, Kat ensures the group’s initiatives align with the needs of public health systems, enabling the integration of genomic data into operational outbreak control strategies.

Before transitioning to program and project management, Kat contributed to the Broad’s COVID-19 genomic surveillance efforts, working in both the wet lab and lab operations to scale and standardize viral genomics workflows in support of state and federal public health responses.