Faculty

Dr. Engelman is a genetic epidemiologist interested in complex diseases and quantitative traits of aging such as Alzheimer's disease, cognitive function, vitamin D deficiency, type 2 diabetes, and insulin resistance. She uses various statistical and computational approaches to analyze rich datasets with genome-wide genetic data and environmental (non-genetic) data to better understand the etiology of these diseases and traits. One major area of research is the genetic and non-genetic factors associated with vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with many adverse health outcomes. Dr. Engelman is currently studying the genetic, demographic, behavioral, physiological, and environmental correlates of vitamin D levels in the blood. Dr. Engelman is also studying the genetic and non-genetic determinants of cognitive decline related to Alzheimer’s disease. She is particularly interested in gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in four main pathways that may contribute to cognitive decline and risk for Alzheimer's: cholesterol metabolism, insulin resistance, inflammation, and vitamin D metabolism. Moreover, she is interested in the role that low frequency and rare genetic variants may play in cognitive decline and Alzheimer's.