Marisa Eastman

Marisa Eastman is a public health researcher and innovation strategist with experience spanning epidemiology, clinical research, program evaluation, and economic development. Prior to RTI, she conducted NIH-funded aging and COVID-19 research at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, where she analyzed large longitudinal datasets and co-authored peer-reviewed publications. She also conducted global health research in Ghana focused on trauma care outcomes and worked in pediatric pulmonary medicine supporting clinical quality improvement and research initiatives. Her background combines scientific research, evaluation, and stakeholder engagement across academic, clinical, and community settings.

At RTI International, Marisa supports federal initiatives focused on innovation, workforce development, and economic competitiveness. She co-leads national Communities of Practice for the U.S. Economic Development Administration's Recompete Pilot Program and Build Back Better Regional Challenge, facilitating peer learning, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge exchange among regional coalitions working to expand economic opportunity and workforce participation. She also serves as Innovator Skills Development Lead for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Catalyze Program, where she designs and delivers programming that helps researchers and entrepreneurs advance biomedical technologies toward commercialization.

Her work includes program evaluation, performance measurement, stakeholder engagement, qualitative and quantitative research, and the design of frameworks that help federal agencies and regional partners translate strategy into implementation. She regularly collaborates with innovators, universities, economic development organizations, workforce agencies, and federal program leaders to strengthen innovation ecosystems and support technology-based economic development.

Ms. Eastman is proficient in program evaluation, facilitation, and the advanced use of statistical and qualitative software (SAS, Stata, R, NVivo, Dedoose). 

Select Publications

Eastman MR, Kalesnikava VA, Mezuk B. Experiences of care coordination among older adults in the United States: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study. Patient Educ Couns. 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2022.03.015

Eastman MR, Finlay JM, Kobayashi LC. Alcohol Use and Mental Health among Older American Adults during the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18084222

Eastman MR, Ospina-Romero M, Westrick AC, et al. Does a Cancer Diagnosis in Mid-to-Later Life Modify Racial Disparities in Memory Aging? Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2022. DOI: 10.1097/WAD.0000000000000493

Kobayashi LC, O'Shea BQ, Kler JS, et al. Cohort profile: the COVID-19 Coping Study, a longitudinal mixed-methods study of middle-aged and older adults' mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. BMJ Open. 2021. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044965

Finlay J, Eastman M, Kobayashi L. “Please don't let me become a statistic in this grocery store”: Civic engagement among older Americans since the COVID-19 pandemic onset. Soc Sci Med. 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116267