Infection Preventionist
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
My name is Amy Kinzler, MS, and I am an Infection Preventionist at UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. After graduating from Slippery Rock University in 2015 with a BA in Biology, I worked in a food safety and quality laboratory testing for common causes of foodborne illnesses. In January 2017, I transferred to a research position at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) where I was involved in many national, multi-site surveillance studies of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in children for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During my time at Pitt, I was heavily involved with microbiology and virology laboratory work, which inspired me to seek my Master's degree part-time while continuing my work in the laboratory. In the summer of 2021, I graduated with my Masters of Science in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology from the Graduate School of Public Health at Pitt and transitioned to my current role as an Infection Preventionist. I will have been in my role for two years in June 2023, and plan to obtain my Certification in Infection Control (CIC) at that time.