Assistant Professor, Epidemiology Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Novo Nordisk Professor in Health Equity and Chronic Disease Prevention
I am an epidemiologist interested in population health research on aging. I am particularly interested in novel and advanced methods for studying health and disease in older adults. The substantive focus of my research program is obesity, age-related change in body composition, and chronic disease risk. I seek to use novel methodological approaches to better understand heterogeneity in obesity-related outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and mortality, in older adults. When I am not working, I’m usually spending time with my husband, Matt, and our three boys (Dylan, Henry, and Davie). I spend most of my non-academic hours refereeing the kids’ wrestling matches and driving them to various sport practices or activities. I really like watching reality tv and popcorn. I love coffee, audiobooks, and my Peloton. I believe strongly in the value of mentorship and am an advocate for kindness in academia. If you have questions about my work or want to ask me questions about your work, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I view science as a team sport; I am a much better researcher because of the terrific mentorship I have received in my career and the outstanding colleague/friends that I get to collaborate with on a daily basis.
Claire Cook
PhD Student, Epidemiology
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Claire is a PhD Candidate in the Epidemiology Division at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Claire’s work aims to understand how sex- and age- specific reproductive health factors contribute to cardiometabolic disease burden and healthy aging among postmenopausal women. Her thesis is titled “From menarche to menopause: examining the impact of reproductive health history on obesity and diabetes among postmenopausal women in the United States.” Claire completed her Bachelor of Music at McGill University where she studied music history and her Master of Public Health at the University of Rochester where she completed her master’s thesis in maternal and child health. She then worked as a research assistant on a clinical trial for patients with Metabolic Syndrome before spending several years as a clinical research coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital managing clinical epidemiology projects in rheumatology and COVID-19. Claire’s doctoral work is supported by the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.
Chris Kim
PhD Student, Epidemiology
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Chris Kim is a PhD Candidate in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Prior to joining the PhD program, Chris worked in clinical research for several years at hospitals and contract research organizations. He majored in mathematics in undergrad at McGill University and also completed his Master of Public Health in epidemiology at U of T. His research interests include obesity, sarcopenic obesity, cardiometabolic outcomes, and machine learning. His thesis topic concerns the fat mass to fat-free mass ratio as a measure of sarcopenic obesity.
Ms. LILAC/MASS Study Team
The study team for Ms. LILAC and MASS are responsible for the primary data collection required for these NIH-funded research projects
