FEATURED FACULTY SPOTLIGHT:

Dr. Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, PhD, FACE, FAHA                         Professor and Head, Division of Epidemiology

The primary focus of my research over the course of my professional life has been in the areas of cardiovascular disease and hypertension. I have been an investigator or Principal Investigator in the major NHLBI funded multi-center clinical drug trials in hypertension, as well as in studies of dietary management of high blood pressure. My work in this area includes studies of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. For example, we have shown, in several studies, that depression is a risk factor above and beyond the traditional risk factors of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking and obesity. Currently I am studying the blood biomarkers of inflammation and atherothrombosis as predictors of stroke in women. However, my research has spanned the cancer risk as well as cardiovascular disease, and both these areas of investigation have been brought together in my role as the Principal Investigator of the Women’s Health Initiative, a multi-center, multi-part national study of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in older women. In brief, the Women's Health Initiative, known as WHI, is an 11 year study which consists of several interrelated clinical trials and a long-term observational study whose overall objectives are to prevent cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis in post-menopausal women and to identify risk factors for these and other diseases of older women. Nationally, 160,000 women are participating in this study and locally, we have enrolled nearly 5000 participants. I am also Principal Investigator of several related studies: The Effects of Hormone Therapy on the Development and Progression of Dementia; the Prevalence and Prognostic Importance of Myocardial Ischemia during Daily Life and Its Relationship to Migraine Status; the Women’s Health Initiative Study of Cognition in Aging. 

Most recently, we have been chosen to be one of four U.S. centers studying health in Hispanic populations. In this Hispanic Community Health Study, we will be enrolling 4000 Hispanic men and women and following them over a 6.5 year period to study their cardiovascular health, as well as dental, hearing and other health issues. We will also be collecting and storing blood samples for future research. We have strong support from the Hispanic community and expect to make important scientific and public health contributions.  

In addition to my own research, I find fulfillment in mentoring graduate students and junior faculty, and maintain ongoing and gratifying relations with many whom I have mentored in the past.