Faculty

Alison Fohner

Assistant Professor, Epidemiology
Director of Institute of Public Health Genetics, Epidemiology


Education

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

Contact


Box 351619
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)

Midlife and late-life population attributable fractions of risk factors for dementia in the United States: The Dementia Risk Prediction Project.
(2026 Jan)
Alzheimers Dement 22(1): e71065
Li JM, Gauen AM, Zmora R, Stephen JJ, Petito LC, Scholtens D, Peterson EA, Kohli-Lynch C, Mansolf M, Sedaghat S, Giorgio K, Gross AL, Helmer C, Debette S, Soumaré A, Ikram MA, Wolters FJ, Seshadri S, Satizabal CL, Himali J, Levine DA, Briceño EM, Sorond FA, Launer LJ, Li D, Mbangdadji D, Zhao L, Lloyd-Jones DM, Lopez OL, Judd SE, Hughes TM, Gudnason V, Aiello AE, Fohner A, Singh-Manoux A, Allen NB

Large-scale blood pressure GWAS accounting for gene-depression interactions in 564,680 individuals from diverse populations.
(2026 Jan 10)
HGG Adv 7(2): 100566
Lee S, Miller CL, Bentley AR, Brown MR, Nagarajan P, Noordam R, Morrison JL, Schwander K, Westerman K, Kho M, Kraja AT, de Vries PS, Ammous F, Aschard H, Bartz TM, Do A, Dupont CT, Feitosa MF, Gudmundsdottir V, Guo X, Harris SE, Hikino K, Huang Z, Lefevre C, Lyytikäinen LP, Milaneschi Y, Nardone GG, Santin A, Schmidt H, Shen B, Sofer T, Sun Q, Tan YA, Tang J, Thériault S, van der Most PJ, Ware EB, Weiss S, Xing WY, Yu C, Zhao W, Ansari MAY, Anugu P, Attia JR, Bazzano LA, Bis JC, Breyer M, Cade B, Chen G, Collins S, Corley J, Davies G, Dörr M, Du J, Edwards TL, Faquih T, Faul JD, Fohner AE, Fretts AM, Gangireddy S, Gepner A, Graff M, Hofer E, Homuth G, Hood MM, Jie X, Kähönen M, Kardia SLR, Karvonen-Gutierrez CA, Launer LJ, Levy D, Maheshwari M, Martin LW, Matsuda K, McNeil JJ, Nolte IM, Okochi T, Raffield LM, Raitakari OT, Risch L, Risch M, Roux AD, Ruiz-Narvaez EA, Russ TC, Saito T, Schreiner PJ, Scott RJ, Shikany J, Smith JA, Snieder H, Spedicati B, Tai ES, Taylor AM, Taylor KD, Tesolin P, van Dam RM, Wang R, Wenbin W, Xie T, Yao J, Young KL, Zhang R, Zonderman AB, Biobank Japan Project, Lifelines Cohort Study,, Concas MP, Conen D, Cox SR, Evans MK, Fox ER, de Las Fuentes L, Giri A, Girotto G, Grabe HJ, Gu C, Gudnason V, Harlow SD, Holliday E, Jost JB, Lacaze P, Lee S, Lehtimäki T, Li C, Liu CT, Morrison AC, North KE, Penninx BWJH, Peyser PA, Province MM, Psaty BM, Redline S, Rosendaal FR, Rotimi CN, Rotter JI, Schmidt R, Sim X, Terao C, Weir DR, Zhu X, Franceschini N, O'Connell JR, Jaquish CE, Wang H, Manning A, Munroe PB, Rao DC, Chen H, Gauderman WJ, Bierut LJ, Winkler TW, Fornage M

Training competencies and recommendations for the next generation of public health genetics: Reflections from current leaders in the field.
(2025 Dec 4)
Am J Hum Genet 112(12): 2860-2869
Xue D, Blue EE, Fullerton SM, Henrikson NB, Knerr S, Laberge AM, Parker LS, Sabatello M, Shridhar NN, Smith JA, Wilfond BS, Wojcik GL, Yu JH, Fohner AE

Independent versus joint effects of polygenic or family-based schizophrenia risk in diverse ancestry youth in the ABCD study.
(2025 Oct 30)
Psychol Med 55(): e327
Hyat M, Zhu J, Boltz TA, Conomos MP, Hughes DE, Fohner AE, Foster KT, Bigdeli TB, Forsyth JK

Associations of Immune Cell Subsets With Coronary Artery Calcium Incidence and Progression in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
(2025 Oct 7)
J Am Heart Assoc 14(19): e042502
Patel RD, Buzkova P, Huber S, Landay A, Budoff M, Bis JC, Olson N, Rich S, Heckbert SR, Manichaikul A, Floyd J, Tracy RP, Psaty BM, Doyle MF, Sitlani CM, Delaney JAC, Fohner AE, Feinstein MJ

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