Elizabeth Purchase Helzner

Elizabeth Purchase Helzner, PhD, MS is Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the SUNY Downstate School of Public Health and core faculty with the Brooklyn Initiative to Develop Geriatrics Education (BRIDGE). Since 2009 she has advanced a multidisciplinary research program focused on chronic disease epidemiology in aging populations, with particular emphasis on age-related hearing loss, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and the emerging role of plant-based nutrition.

Education & Post-doctoral Training

• Ph.D. in Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (2004)
• M.S. (with distinction), Boston University (1995)
• B.S. (magna cum laude), Boston University (1994)
• Post-doctoral Fellow – Neuroepidemiology, Columbia University Gertrude Sergievsky Center (2005-2007)
• Post-doctoral Fellow – Aging Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh (2004-2005)

Research Focus
Dr. Helzner is an internationally recognized chronic-disease epidemiologist whose work integrates audiology, gerontology, and metabolic medicine. She interrogates how vascular, metabolic, genetic, and behavioral factors drive presbycusis and its downstream effects on cognition, frailty, and mortality. Her recent expansion into plant-based dietary patterns explores preventive strategies for common age-related conditions.

Grant Support
Since 2019 she has served as faculty on a $3.75 million HRSA-funded Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program aimed at interprofessional geriatrics education across Brooklyn’s healthcare systems.

Institutional & Community Leadership

• Presiding Officer, Faculty & Professional Staff Assembly – School of Public Health (2019-)
• Vice Chair, SUNY Downstate Committee on Plant-Based Health and Nutrition (2018-)
• Member, SUNY Downstate Institutional Review Board (2013-)
• Coordinating Council, BRIDGE Program (2019-)
• Advisory Committee to CDC – Audiology (2018-)
• Nutrition Advisory Committee to Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams (2019-)