Faculty

Alison Fohner

Assistant Professor, Epidemiology


Education

PhD Public Health Genetics, University of Washington, 2015
MS Biology, Stanford University, 2008

Contact


Box 357236
Department of Epidemiology
Hans Rosling Center for Population Health, 874B
Seattle, WA 98195

Bio

Dr. Fohner is a genetic epidemiologist applying innovative big data methods to extensive electronic health record, population-based longitudinal cohort, and multi-omic data to improve precision medicine. She approaches genetic epidemiology through an ELSI (ethical, legal, social implications) lens, and aims to promote equity and justice in the benefit of and access to genetic information in health settings. She prioritizes interdisciplinary collaborations and is a member of the Cardiovascular Health Research Unit at UW, where she integrates genomics and proteomics to identify early biomarkers for cognitive decline and dementia. She is an Associate Director of the Institute for Public Health Genetics, an interdisciplinary program in the School of Public Health that explores the application of genomics in public health, and is an adjunct investigator at Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. 

Research Interests

Dr. Fohner is a genetic epidemiologist applying innovative big data methods to extensive electronic health record and genomic data to improve precision medicine. She approaches genetic epidemiology through an ELSI (ethical, legal, social implications) lens, and aims to promote equity and justice in the benefit of and access to genetic information in health settings. She teaches in the Institute of Public Health Genetics, an interdisciplinary program in the School of Public Health that explores the application of genomics in public health, and is an adjunct investigator at Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research.

Recent Publications (PubMed)

Plasma TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) levels in a population-based cohort of older adults: The cardiovascular health study.
(2025 Apr 23)
J Alzheimers Dis
Fohner AE, Sitlani CM, Jayadev S, Bis JC, Trittschuh EH, Lopez OL, Tracy RP, Psaty BM, Longstreth WT Jr, Seshadri S

Mapping the Relationships Between Structural Brain MRI Characteristics and Sleep EEG Patterns: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
(2025 Apr 17)
Sleep
Kozhemiako N, Heckbert SR, Castro-Diehl C, Paquet CB, Bertisch SM, Habes M, Fohner AE, Bryan RN, Nasrallah I, Hughes TM, Redline S, Purcell SM

Whole genome sequencing analysis of body mass index identifies novel African ancestry-specific risk allele.
(2025 Apr 11)
Nat Commun 16(1): 3470
Zhang X, Brody JA, Graff M, Highland HM, Chami N, Xu H, Wang Z, Ferrier KR, Chittoor G, Josyula NS, Meyer M, Gupta S, Li X, Li Z, Allison MA, Becker DM, Bielak LF, Bis JC, Boorgula MP, Bowden DW, Broome JG, Buth EJ, Carlson CS, Chang KM, Chavan S, Chiu YF, Chuang LM, Conomos MP, DeMeo DL, Du M, Duggirala R, Eng C, Fohner AE, Freedman BI, Garrett ME, Guo X, Haiman C, Heavner BD, Hidalgo B, Hixson JE, Ho YL, Hobbs BD, Hu D, Hui Q, Hwu CM, Jackson RD, Jain D, Kalyani RR, Kardia SLR, Kelly TN, Lange EM, LeNoir M, Li C, Le Marchand L, McDonald MN, McHugh CP, Morrison AC, Naseri T, NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium, O'Connell J, O'Donnell CJ, Palmer ND, Pankow JS, Perry JA, Peters U, Preuss MH, Rao DC, Regan EA, Reupena SM, Roden DM, Rodriguez-Santana J, Sitlani CM, Smith JA, Tiwari HK, Vasan RS, Wang Z, Weeks DE, Wessel J, Wiggins KL, Wilkens LR, Wilson PWF, Yanek LR, Yoneda ZT, Zhao W, Zöllner S, Arnett DK, Ashley-Koch AE, Barnes KC, Blangero J, Boerwinkle E, Burchard EG, Carson AP, Chasman DI, Ida Chen YD, Curran JE, Fornage M, Gordeuk VR, He J, Heckbert SR, Hou L, Irvin MR, Kooperberg C, Minster RL, Mitchell BD, Nouraie M, Psaty BM, Raffield LM, Reiner AP, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Benjamin Shoemaker M, Smith NL, Taylor KD, Telen MJ, Weiss ST, Zhang Y, Heard-Costa N, Sun YV, Lin X, Cupples LA, Lange LA, Liu CT, Loos RJF, North KE, Justice AE

Selected social and lifestyle correlates of brain health markers: the Cross-Cohort Collaboration Consortium.
(2025 Apr)
Alzheimers Dement 21(4): e70148
Grasset L, Bis JC, Frenzel S, Kojis D, Simino J, Yaqub A, Beiser A, Berr C, Bressler J, Bülow R, DeCarli CS, Fohner AE, Harrington LB, Helmer C, Ikram MA, Lemaitre RN, Lopez OL, Longstreth WT Jr, Neitzel J, Odden MC, Palta P, Schmidt CO, Talluri R, Vernooij MW, Völzke H, Voortman T, Whalen Q, Wittfeld K, Grabe HJ, Mosley TH Jr, Psaty BM, Wolters FJ, Seshadri S, Dufouil C

Methylome-wide association analyses of lipids and modifying effects of behavioral factors in diverse race and ethnicity participants.
(2025 Apr 2)
Clin Epigenetics 17(1): 54
Hu Y, Haessler J, Lundin JI, Darst BF, Whitsel EA, Grove M, Guan W, Xia R, Szeto M, Raffield LM, Ratliff S, Wang Y, Wang X, Fohner AE, Lynch MT, Patel YM, Lani Park S, Xu H, Mitchell BD, Bis JC, Sotoodehnia N, Brody JA, Psaty BM, Peloso GM, Tsai MY, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Smith JA, Kardia SLR, Reiner AP, Lange L, Fornage M, Pankow JS, Graff M, North KE, Kooperberg C, Peters U

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