Julie Ritter, MPH

Julie Ritter is Program Manager for the Disease Burden and Simulation Program for Global Pediatric Medicine. Julie first came to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Global Pediatric Medicine (GPM) in 2016 to manage projects for the Asia Pacific Region and Health Systems Unit, including collaborations with the World Health Organization.  After four years, she moved to Epidemiology and Cancer Control to support St. Jude LIFE, a longitudinal survivorship study, before returning to GPM as the Program Manager for the Disease Burden and Simulation (DBS) Unit.

Julie is concurrently pursuing her Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of South Florida.   Her dissertation focuses on financial hardship experienced by families affected by childhood cancer in low- and middle-income countries. 

Trained in biostatistics and public health with expertise in international program evaluation, she started her career as a research analyst for the Center on Gender Equity and Health at the University of California, San Diego.  Throughout various roles and projects, she has conducted statistical analyses and evaluated programs targeting disparities in maternal and child health in Africa, Asia, and Central and North America.  Before joining St. Jude, Julie coordinated data management and statistical projects for a Memphis based cohort study investigating the conditions that impact neurocognitive development and learning in early childhood. 

In her new role with the DBS team, she is excited to grow the body of work on financial hardship and support other collaborative initiatives to generate evidence that can improve outcomes for children with cancer globally.