Katherine Reifler, MD, received her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago and her undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Before medical school, she worked on public health initiatives in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Peru. During medical school, she spent time in Kenya working on emergency care systems and HIV screening in emergency settings. These early global health experiences, along with clinical training at safety-net hospitals in Chicago and Boston, shaped her commitment to addressing tropical infectious diseases, migrant health, and health inequities.

She completed her internal medicine residency and infectious disease fellowship at Boston University/Boston Medical Center. During her training, she began research focused on Chagas disease in migrant populations and worked on clinician education to raise awareness of this neglected tropical disease. Although the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily paused this work, she contributed to several COVID-related research efforts during that time.

As a BU CHART Trainee and Research Fellow, Dr. Reifler resumed her focus on migrant health and Chagas disease, conducting research in both Boston and Bolivia under the mentorship of Drs. David Hamer, Daniel Bourque, Robert Gilman, and Deborah Cotton. In Bolivia, her research includes studying cardiomyopathy in patients with Trypanosoma cruzi and HIV coinfection. She also collaborates with the Hematology/Oncology department to study infectious disease screening practices, particularly for latent tuberculosis and strongyloidiasis, in high-risk patients prior to cancer treatment.