SPH-Epidemiology Areas of Research Emphasis

Epidemiology Faculty Research

The Department of Epidemiology is one of the top research epidemiology departments in the country. The department’s many areas of emphasis focus on the prevention and treatment of chronic disease and contribute to the improved understanding of cancers, diabetes, osteoporosis, and aging, as well as the relationship of lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise to genetic susceptibility. Our research programs extend a global reach to South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

Faculty members in each of these areas offer major research and/or community service programs that provide excellent facilities for student research and field training.

• Aging
• Applied public health
• Cancer
• Cardiovascular and diabetes
• Clinical trials and methods
• Environmental
• Global health
• Infectious disease
• Injury prevention
• Molecular and genetic
• Obesity and nutritional
• Population neuroscience
• Prevention, lifestyle, and physical activity
• Psychiatric
• Reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric
• Social epidemiology and health equity
• Women’s health

Aging Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Elsa S. Strotmeyer, PhD, MPH

• Areas of research broadly include: musculoskeletal health, mobility, and disability; body composition and sarcopenia; osteoporosis and osteoarthritis; falls and fall injuries; biology of aging and longevity; diversity, health equity and social determinants; health services; diabetes and cardiovascular aging; cognitive and mental health; sleep and circadian science; and clinical geroscience.
• Training Grant: Epidemiology of Aging.  All trainees participate in a four-course series on aging, hands-on research training, research conferences, and seminars. Additional career development opportunities for post-doctoral students are available.
• All doctoral trainees design, implement, analyze data, and report the results of an independent study as part of the program with a goal of submitting three manuscripts for publication. Trainees are encouraged to present their research in a variety of venues, including Public Health Dean’s Day, Aging Institute Research Day, and national scientific meetings.
• Faculty members primarily working in this area include: Jane A. Cauley, Sameneh Farsijani, Nancy W. Glynn, Allison L. Kuipers, Megan Marron, Iva Miljkovic, Anne B. Newman, Caterina Rosano, Andrea L. Rosso, Elsa S. Strotmeyer, and Joseph M. Zmuda.
• Collaborating Faculty include: Steven M. Albert (Behavioral and Community Health Sciences), Emma J. Barinas-Mitchell, Jennifer S. Brach (Health and Rehabilitation Sciences), Daniel J. Buysse (Psychiatry), Maria Mori Brooks, Julie M. Donohue (Health Policy and Management), Samar R. El Khoudary, Toren Finkel (Cardiology) Daniel E. Forman (Geriatrics), Linda F. Fried (Renal-Electrolyte), Mary Ganguli (Psychiatry), Tiffany L. Gary-Webb, Susan Greenspan (Geriatrics), Erin Kershaw (Endocrinology), Oscar L. Lopez (Neurology), Kathleen M. McTigue (Internal Medicine), Neelesh Nadkarni (Geriatrics), Brad C. Nindl (Sports Medicine and Nutrition), Patricia L. Opresko (Environmental and Occupational Health), Sara Piva (Health and Rehabilitation Sciences), John R. Shaffer (Human Genetics), Akira Sekikawa, Rebecca C. Thurston (Psychiatry), Frederico G. Toledo (Endocrinology), and George C. Tseng (Biostatistics).

Applied Public Health Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Catherine Haggerty, PhD, MPH

• Areas of focus include: population health status assessment; disease and injury surveillance; maternal and child health epidemiology; and environmental health epidemiology.
• Opportunities include practicum experiences, independent study and other applied projects. An enhanced practicum experience is the Summer Institute in Applied Public Health at the Allegheny Health Department.
• Faculty members currently working in this area include Tiffany L. Gary-Webb, Ashley V. Hill, Marshal Ma, Dara D. Mendez, Thomas J. Songer, and Evelyn O. Talbott.
• Additional collaborators from the Allegheny County Health Department include: LuAnn Brink, Debra L. Bogen, and Kristen J. Mertz.

Cancer Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Jian-Min Yuan, MD, PhD

• Research focus areas include: aging and cancer; cancer molecular epidemiology; environmental exposures and gene-environment interaction in risk of cancer development; cancer screening and early detection; natural occurring compounds for primary prevention of cancer.
• An advanced course is offered in EPIDEM 2171 - CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY  on topics of surveillance, etiology and prevention.
• Training Grant: Translational Research Training in Cancer Etiology and Prevention.
• Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Program Seminar series at the UPMC Hillman Cancer, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
• Faculty members currently working in this area include: Jane A. Cauley, Hung N. Luu, Robert E. Schoen (Medicine), Evelyn O. Talbott, Jian-Min Yuan, and Joseph M. Zmuda.

Cardiovascular & Diabetes Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Akira Sekikawa, MD, MPH, PhD

• Cardiovascular areas of research broadly include: subclinical atherosclerosis, arterial stiffness and endothelial function (see Ultrasound Research Laboratory); cardiovascular aging and longevity; women’s health; nutrition and environment; vascular aging; lipid metabolism; body composition and obesity; physical activity; novel CVD risk factors, high risk and international populations; and evaluation of interventions. 
• Diabetes areas of research include extensive programs in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. For type 1 diabetes, these include a 30-year follow-up study of childhood onset diabetes, Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study, and the national DCCT/EDIC study also with over 25 years follow-up. For type 2 diabetes, the Diabetes Prevention Program (OS) and the successful translation of its lifestyle intervention developed by the Diabetes Prevention Support Center used in community lifestyle efforts worldwide, the Group Lifestyle Balance, are the primary focus of the prevention work going on. 
• Training Grant: Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology Training Program. The program’s philosophy is to provide a core foundation of didactic training in Cardiovascular Epidemiology with strong methodological and quantitative skills, customized to the experience and background of each trainee. The Training Program is organized around three research cores: 1) subclinical atherosclerosis, 2) biostatistics/epidemiological methods and 3) cardiology grounded in six areas of strength (i) vascular aging, (ii) women’s health, (iii) high risk & international populations, (iv) nutrition & environment, (v) physical activity and (vi) psychosocial factors. To address novel opportunities in epidemiological research, our Program incorporates experiences for trainees in using Big Data, electronic health record, omics and mobile health for which we have rich faculty expertise.
• Faculty members working in this area include: Emma J. Barinas-Mitchell, Marnie Bertolet, Lisa Bodnar, Maria M. Brooks, Janet Catov (Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences), Jane A. Cauley, Tina Costacou, Samar R. El Khoudary, Anthony Fabio, Linda Fried (Medicine), Tiffany L. Gary-Webb, Mary K Kramer, Andrea M. Kriska, Allison L. Kuipers, Oscar L. Lopez (Neurology),  Jared W. Magnani (Cardiology), Oscar Marroquin (Medicine), Iva Miljkovic, Rachel G. Miller,  Matthew F. Muldoon (Cardiology), Suresh Mulukutla (Medicine), Anne B. Newman, Trevor J. Orchard, Sanjay R. Patel (Medicine), Bonny Rockette-Wagner, Bruce L. Rollman (Medicine), Caterina Rosano, Akira Sekikawa, Sonja Swanson,  Thomas J. Songer, Elsa S. Strotmeyer, Rebecca C. Thurston (Psychiatry), and Joseph M. Zmuda.

Clinical Trials & Methods

Faculty Contact: Steven H. Belle, PhD, M.Sc.Hyg.

• The activities of the Clinical Trials & Methods group contribute to all areas of emphasis, specializing in design and conduct of studies, including observational and interventional, and statistical methods.
• The didactic component includes 6 courses (EPIDEM 2110 - PRINCIPLES OF EPIDEMIOLOGY , EPIDEM 2180 - FUNDAMENTALS OF EPIDEMIOLOGICAL METHODS , EPIDEM 2181 - DESIGN AND CONDUCT OF CLINICAL TRIALS , EPIDEM 2189 - EPIDEMIOLOGICAL METHODS OF LONGITUDINAL & TIME-TO-EVENT ANALYSES , EPIDEM 2191 - ADVANCED THEORY AND METHODS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA , EPIDEM 2230 - SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS: A CAPSTONE COURSE ). Journal clubs have covered several topics including survey sampling, latent variable modeling, and causal inference.
• The Epidemiology Data Center (EDC) was established in 1980 as a section of the Department of Epidemiology, founded and formerly directed by Katherine M. Detre, MD, DrPH, and now under the co-direction of Steven H. Belle, PhD, MScHyg; Maria M. Brooks, PhD; and Stephen R. Wisniewski, PhD. The EDC has collaborated in over 100 research studies and personnel currently contribute to, or coordinate, data management and analysis activities for research projects sponsored by federal and various other governmental or private agencies and by industry. For more information, see the EDC website.
• The EDC hosts the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Design, Biostatistics, and Epidemiology (DBE) Core providing data management and analysis support and consultation to researchers. Services include: grant application development and the pairing of researchers with statistical collaborators. It also hosts a Journal Club.
• Faculty members in this Area of Emphasis include: Emma J. Barinas-Mitchell, Balasubramani K. Goundappa, Steven H. Belle, Marnie Bertolet, Maria Mori Brooks, Samar R. El Khoudary, Anthony Fabio, Sheryl F. Kelsey, Wendy C. King, Kristine M. Ruppert, Robert Schoen (Medicine), Sonja Swanson, and Stephen R. Wisniewski.

Environmental Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Evelyn O. Talbott, Dr PH, MPH

• Areas of research: This area of emphasis program has trained over 75 doctoral and graduate students in environmental epidemiology, with graduating students entering government, industry, and prestigious academic research centers.
• Research focus includes Health effects of air pollution including Dementia , Neurocognitive and neurodegenerative disease including autism and ALS, health effects in populations exposed to both personal and environmental risk factors, a majority concerned with exposure to air pollutants and other toxicants.
• We continue to partner with the CDC environmental Public Health Tracking program and the ATSDR/CDC National ALS Registry to investigate the effects of organochlorine pesticides and ALS and air toxicants. Working with the Allegheny County Health department, we study the association of air pollution, air toxins, and chronic diseases such as asthma, cardiovascular disease, and childhood lead poisoning in children living near a lead industry source.
• We recently completed (2023), a childhood cancer study considering the association of environmental exposures including Hydraulic (Natural Gas) Fracking and the risk of Childhood cancer in Southwestern Pennsylvania. This study investigated potential association of environmental exposures associated with fossil fuel extraction and other industrial pollution sources and risk of childhood health outcomes including low birth weight, asthma, and childhood cancer.
• All doctoral trainees conduct an independent study with the requirement to submit three manuscripts for publication. Hands-on training in environmental epidemiology is offered with collaborations at the local, state, and national levels.  We offer many field and lab experience opportunities at all these levels. Courses for this concentration include Fate and Transport, Risk Communication, Environmental Epidemiology and Geospatial Analysis in Community Health Studies.
• Faculty members currently working in this area include Jeanine M. Buchanich and Vincent Arena, (Biostatistics), Jim P. Fabisiak (EOH), Ravi Sharma (adjunct Professor Epidemiology),  Ada O. Youk (Biostatistics), and Jian-Min Yuan.
• Additional collaborators from the Allegheny County Health Department include: LuAnn Brink, PhD, also an adjunct professor (Epidemiology).

Global Health Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Jean B. Nachega, MD, PhD, MPH

• Areas of research Include: maternal and child health (rural India); functional disability in aging (rural India); diabetes (Rwanda); hypertension, cardiovascular disease (rural India and Tobago); impaired kidney function (Tobago); infectious diseases/HIV/Tuberculosis (Brazil, India, Mozambique, and South Africa); COVID-19 (Ghana, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Mozambique); Sickle Cell Disease (Ghana); bone health (Tobago); prostate cancer (Tobago and Nigeria); cancer (China); environmental health (China); application of the Internet and Mobile technology for global health and prevention; infectious diseases/dengue modeling (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brazil, and Columbia); and atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Japan).
• Training Grant: University of Pittsburgh HIV-Comorbidities Research Training Program in South Africa.
• Development of the internet Supercourse with 50,000+ members from over 170 countries, teaching over 50,000,000.
• Development of Project Tycho, a global health data repository released in November of 2013 providing open access to high resolution disease data for research, training, and public health public policy.
• Faculty members currently working in this area include: Donald S. Burke, Jane A. Cauley, Catherine L. Haggerty, Lee H. Harrison (Medicine), Andrea M. Kriska, Allison L. Kuipers, Iva Miljkovic, Jean B. Nachega, Anne B. Newman, Trevor J. Orchard, Akira Sekikawa, Evelyn O. Talbott, Jian-Min Yuan, and Joseph M. Zmuda.

Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Lee H. Harrison, MD

• Areas of research include: epidemiology and genomic epidemiology of serious, vaccine-preventable, drug-resistant and hospital-associated bacterial infections; prevention of HIV infection; infectious diseases surveillance; computational modeling of disease and intervention strategies; hospital transmission of bacteria, SARS-CoV-2, and other respiratory viruses.
• Training Grants: HIV research in Mozambique, Public Health Genomics In South Africa, T32: Pitt Training Program in Antimicrobial Resistance (includes doctoral and post-doctoral trainees from a variety of departments, including Department of Epidemiology).
• All doctoral trainees conduct an independent study with the requirement to submit three manuscripts for publication. Trainees can choose traditional epidemiology or genomic epidemiology as the basis of their doctoral research.
• Faculty members include: Steven H. Belle, Donald S. Burke, Catherine L. Haggerty, Lee H. Harrison (Medicine), and Jean B. Nachega.
• Collaboration with the Allegheny Health Department: Kristen J. Mertz.

Injury Prevention Epidemiology

Faculty Contacts: Thomas J. Songer, PhD, MPH; Anthony Fabio, PhD, MPH

• Applied research in broad areas of unintentional and intentional injury including but not limited to injury from motor vehicle crash, falls, self-harm, poisoning, head trauma, criminal violence, natural disasters, and the treatment of injury.
• Emphasis on the application of epidemiologic methods in population and clinical settings to understand key risk and prognostic factors for primary and secondary prevention of injury.
• Trainees participate in academic training in injury epidemiology and applied research training on specific injury and violence topics using mentors from multiple disciplines in the fields of epidemiology, statistics, trauma, behavioral sciences, surgery, psychiatry, criminology, and others.
• Faculty members currently working in this area include: Steven M. Albert (Behavioral and Community Health Sciences), Anthony Fabio, Thomas J. Songer, Sonja Swanson, Evelyn O. Talbott, and Stephen R. Wisniewski.

Molecular & Genetic Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Allison L Kuipers, PhD

• Areas of current research include: aging, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cognition and dementia, sarcopenia and physical function, infectious disease, osteoporosis, and reproduction and child development.
• This training program can be incorporated into any number of research outcomes and other AOEs. Students interested in Molecular Epidemiology often work on large epidemiologic cohorts with existing molecular data. However, there are also opportunities for students to generate their own molecular/genetic data and research projects. Both the Aging and Cardiovascular T32 Training Programs have incorporated trainees with interest in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology into their programs.
• Course requirements vary depending on student background and needs, though the Molecular Epidemiology course (EPIDEM 2600 - INTRODUCTION TO MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY ) is a required course for all Epidemiology PhD Students. Additional courses are often sought to align with students’ specific research and dissertation plans including courses from the departments of Human Genetics, Biostatistics, Environmental and Occupational Health and/or Medicine, among others.
• All doctoral trainees conduct an independent study with the requirement to submit three manuscripts for publication.
• Primary Faculty members currently working in this area include:  Catherine L. Haggerty, Allison L. Kuipers, Hung N. Luu, Iva Miljkovic, Rachel Miller, Caterina Rosano, Jian-Min Yuan, and Joseph M. Zmuda.

Nutritional Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Sameneh Farsijani, PhD, RD

Areas of focus include Precision nutrition, chrononutrition, time-based diets, intermittent fasting, calorie restriction, nutrition and aging, gut microbiome, nutrigenomics, metabolomics, development of age-specific dietary recommendations, energy and macronutrient relationship with body composition, obesity and metabolic diseases, sarcopenia, frailty, optimal weight gain during pregnancy, and supplement use.

Opportunities include independent study and a Nutritional Epidemiology course (EPIDEM 2560 - NUTRITIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGY ).

Faculty members currently working in this area include Lisa M. Bodnar, Anne B Newman, Jane A Cauley, Elsa S. Strotmeyer, and Megan M Marron.

Population Neuroscience

Faculty Contact: Caterina Rosano, MD, MPH

• Focuses on the application of epidemiology methods, neuroimaging, neuropsychological assessment and -omic methodologies in population and clinical studies, with the goal to advance etiological research in the disorders of the central nervous system due to aging or diseases.
• Targets the interdependent nature of clinical characterization, epidemiological methods, and multimodal assessment of disorders of the central nervous system through rigorous academic training and applied research opportunities.
• Maximizes the potential for applied research training and for successful field placements of the trainees through multidisciplinary mentored work with leaders in the fields of epidemiology, psychiatry, neuroscience, neurology, and others. 
• Training Grant: Population Neuroscience with a focus on aging related dementia: 3 pre-docs, 2 post-docs. Research grants of individual faculty support post- and pre-docs positions to work on a variety of topics, including traumatic brain injury and women’s health.
• Faculty members with primary appointment in Epidemiology working in this area include: Caterina Rosano, Andrea L. Rosso, Beth Shaaban, Iva Miljkovic  
• Faculty members with secondary appointment in Epidemiology working in this area include: Janet Catov (Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences), Mary Ganguli (Psychiatry) and Rebecca C. Thurston (Psychiatry).
• Collaborators from other departments include: Beth E. Snitz (Neurology), Zongqi Xia (Neurology), Lana Chahine (Neurology), Ann D. Cohen (Psychiatry), Oscar L. Lopez (Neurology), Howard J. Aizenstein (Geriatric Psychiatry), Meryl Butters (Psychiatry) .

For a full list of projects click here

Prevention, Lifestyle, & Physical Activity Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Bonny Rockette-Wagner, PhD

• This Area of Emphasis involves training and research translating the proven benefits of lifestyle intervention on a broad range of health outcomes including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. This program encompasses the conceptual and practical foundation needed for such public health translation initiatives. Learning objectives include a thorough understanding of the epidemiological basis for disease prevention, as well as behavioral intervention theory, and lifestyle intervention training, along with a critical understanding of the methodological issues in designing and evaluating these efforts.
• The faculty involved in this Area of Emphasis in the Department of Epidemiology are widely diverse in their focus, expertise and resulting funded research studies.  Under the umbrella of prevention, lifestyle intervention and movement, examples of the resulting recent studies developing from these diverse focus areas include the Diabetes Prevention Program and Translation Efforts; Aging, Cognition, and Hearing Evaluations in Elders; Psychosocial Issues and Bariatric Surgery; Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Change; Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications; Cognitive Decline, Brain Aging, Physical Environment & Mobility; Task Specific Timing and Coordination Exercises in Older Adults; the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN); and Lifestyle Intervention in Clinical Settings.
• Faculty members currently working in this area include: Lisa M. Bodnar, Jennifer Brach (Physical Therapy), Tiffany L. Gary-Webb, Nancy W. Glynn, Marquis Hawkins, Wendy C. King, Andrea M. Kriska, Kathleen M. McTigue (Medicine), Anne B. Newman, Andrea L. Rosso, Trevor J. Orchard, Bonny Rockette-Wagner, and Elizabeth M. Venditti (Psychiatry).

Psychiatric Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Natacha De Genna, PhD

• The Psychiatric Epidemiology area of emphasis focuses on the acquisition of epidemiological, biostatistical, and psychiatric concepts and methods, and on their application to research in the field of psychiatric disorders including substance use and substance use disorders.
• Training is accomplished through course work in epidemiology and biostatistics, and through courses in psychiatric epidemiology that were designed specifically for the area.
• The training experience includes the opportunity to work on research projects with faculty mentors who are active researchers in psychiatry and epidemiology within the School of Public Health and the Department of Psychiatry within the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
• Training Grant: Developmental Alcohol Research Training Program.
• Courses: EPIDEM 2310 - PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY , EPIDEM 2400 - PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS IN DISEASE .
• David A. Brent (Psychiatry), Natacha De Genna (Psychiatry), Mary Ganguli (Psychiatry), Kenneth Perkins (Psychology), Sonja Swanson,  Rebecca C. Thurston (Psychiatry) and Stephen R. Wisniewski.

Reproductive, Perinatal, & Pediatric Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Dara Mendez, PhD, MPH

• Areas of research broadly include: fetal origins of disease; maternal and child health inequities; causes of pregnancy complications and adverse outcomes including spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, preterm birth, low birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, and preeclampsia; obesity and nutrition among pregnant women; fertility and contraception; breastfeeding; sexually transmitted infections; and maternal substance use.  Major clinical sites for collaboration include UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Magee-Womens Hospital, the obstetrics, gynecologic, and reproductive sciences specialty hospital associated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Global health research experiences are available through a study of pregnancy being conducted in India. Community-partnered research opportunities are available as part of The Pittsburgh Study, supported and coordinated through the University Pittsburgh Department of Pediatrics and broadly designed to determine interventions that help children thrive in Allegheny County.
• The training program provides concentrated, tailored training on the patterns, risk factors, and interventions that might improve reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric health, as well as women’s health across the lifespan. All trainees will participate in coursework, research field work, and professional development including courses in EPIDEM 2719 - REPRODUCTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY , EPIDEM 2709 - EPIDEMIOLOGY OF WOMEN’S HEALTH , and EPIDEM 2340 - PEDIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY ; a Maternal and Child Health Equity Scholars group; independent research; grant writing; manuscript preparation; and scientific conference presentations.
• Faculty members currently working in this area include: Jennifer J. Adibi, Lisa M. Bodnar, Janet Catov (Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences), Natacha De Genna (Psychiatry), Catherine L. Haggerty, Dara D. Mendez, James Roberts (Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences), Sonja Swanson, and Evelyn O. Talbott.     

Social Epidemiology and Health Equity

Faculty Contact: Anthony Fabio, PhD, MPH

• Research areas
  • Maternal and child health
  • Chronic disease and nutrition
  • Interpersonal violence and behavior disorders
  • Gun injuries
  • Walkability
  • Cognition and aging
• Training/Education
  • EPIDEM 2143 - SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY  (Anthony Fabio)
  • Health Equity Certificate (Emma Barinas-Mitchell, Director)
  • Center for Health Equity (Dara D. Mendez, Interim Director, and Tiffany L. Gary-Webb, Associate Director)
  • MCH Equity Scholars Program (Dara D. Mendez, Director)
• Related Initiatives
  • Black COVID-19 Equity Coalition (Dara D. Mendez and Tiffany L. Gary-Webb)
  • Black Women/Femmes Health Project (Dara D. Mendez, PI)
• Faculty members currently working in this area include: Anthony Fabio, Tiffany L. Gary-Webb, Dara D. Mendez, Ashley Hill and Andrea L. Rosso.

Women’s Health Epidemiology

Faculty Contact: Maria M. Brooks, PhD

• Areas of research broadly include: women’s health across the lifespan, pregnancy, maternal and child health and adverse pregnancy outcomes and women at late life. Menopause and Aging focuses on furthering our understanding of chronological aging versus ovarian aging. Emphasis is placed on a broad range of topic areas including the musculoskeletal health, reproductive health, cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental health, physical function and disability, body composition, and lifestyle.
• Examples of specific research include the following:
  • Healthy weight and dietary intake as they affect maternal and child health;
  • Black women’s health across the life course and equitable approaches to centering women from marginalized populations;
  • Sleep, physical activity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women during and after pregnancy;
  • Early pregnancy origins of exposure related risk to the long-term health of the child by studying the placenta as a relevant mediator of the effects of maternal exposure e.g. endocrine disrupting chemicals called phthalates and effects on fetal development;
  • Adverse pregnancy outcomes and the development of CVD outcomes in later life;
  • Mechanisms linking the menopausal transition, sex hormones, lipids, ectopic fat deposition, and subclinical measures of CVD;
  • Aging including the study of risk factors and sequelae of frailty, physical and cognitive disability;
  • Studies of key outcomes in older women including fractures, CVD, falls, cancer and mortality;
• Key Studies/resources of Women’s Health AOE:
  • Study of Women’s health Across the Nation (SWAN);
  • Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF);
  • The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI);
  • Magee Obstetric and Infant database (MOMI);
  • Medicare Linkage of our cohorts
• Courses:
  • EPIDEM 2719 - REPRODUCTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY  
  • EPIDEM 2709 - EPIDEMIOLOGY OF WOMEN’S HEALTH  
  • EPIDEM 2340 - PEDIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY  
  • EPIDEM 2725 - REPRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT FROM MODEL ORGANISMS TO HUMANS  
• Faculty members currently working in this area include: Emma J. Barinas-Mitchell, Lisa M. Bodnar, Maria Mori Brooks, Janet Catov (Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences), Jane A. Cauley, Alicia Colvin, Natacha De Genna (Psychiatry), Samar R. El Khoudary, Catherine L. Haggerty, Andrea M. Kriska, Nina Markovic (Dental Medicine), Dara D. Mendez, Kristine M. Ruppert, Akira Sekikawa, Evelyn O. Talbott, and Rebecca C. Thurston (Psychiatry).