Office Address:
Division of Epidemiology & Community Health
1300 2nd Street S, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55455
1300 2nd Street S, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Mailing Address:
Ellen W. Demerath, PhD
Professor, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health
Titles
Affiliate Faculty, Center for Neurobehavioral Development
Member, Healthy Weight Research Center
Education
PhD, Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania
MS, Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania
BA, Biological Anthropology, Harvard University
Summary
My research program seeks to understand the interplay of early-life factors, including prenatal and postnatal nutrition and genetics) on growth rate and body composition changes in infancy, adolescence, and adulthood. My current studies cover three major themes: 1) the developmental origins of obesity, including breast milk composition and its role in transgenerational obesity, 2) the relationship of body composition trajectories to obesity and neurocognitive development in preterm infants, and 3) molecular biomarkers obesity (telomere length attrition, DNA methylation variation).
Expertise
Chronic diseases, genetics, mother & children, obesity, genetic epidemiology, child health, breastfeeding, epigenetics, nutrition, child development.
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