Ellen Velie

Ellen Velie is a Professor of Epidemiology at the Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with over 20 years of experience specializing in nutritional and cancer epidemiology for disadvantaged populations. Her work bridges perinatal epidemiology and cancer research with critical attention to socio-cultural determinants of health.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Epidemiology, University of California, Berkeley
• MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley
• BA in History and Literature, Harvard/Radcliffe College, Cambridge

Dr. Velie's research centers on life course socio-cultural and early life nutritional risk factors—particularly diet and body size—in breast cancer etiology. She critically examines the misuse of 'race' as a genetic construct in epidemiology and develops interventions targeting racial/socioeconomic disparities in obesity and breast cancer. Her work emphasizes community-engaged approaches to address health inequities in marginalized populations.

She currently leads the Young Women's Health Study (YWHHS), a major population-based case-control investigation of breast cancer in young African American and White women across socioeconomic strata, accessible at www.ywhhs.org. This project exemplifies her commitment to translating epidemiological findings into real-world health equity solutions through cross-sector collaboration.