Dr. MacDonald is an Associate Professor at The Rockefeller University. Her research focuses on host factors that confer resistance to viral infection, utilizing herpes simplex type 1, Sindbis, and yellow fever viruses as model systems. She is also interested in the roles of cellular factors in virus replication. Currently, both proteomic and genetic approaches are being utilized to ascertain the important host factors necessary for Sindbis virus replication. Together these approaches may elucidate new targets for therapeutic intervention.

Dr. MacDonald has a longstanding interest in infectious diseases, having obtained a B.A. in Microbiology from Oregon State University in 1979. After obtaining her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in 1990 from Washington University in St. Louis, she continued her medical training in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Disease at St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University. She joined The Rockefeller University in 2000.