Ellen W Demerath

Ellen W Demerath is a Professor of Epidemiology & Community Health at the University of Minnesota. She serves as Director of the Driven to Discover Research Facility and is affiliated with the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain and Healthy Weight Research Center. Her research spans pediatrics, nutrition, genetics, and life course epidemiology, with a focus on infant body composition, maternal health, and genetic determinants of growth patterns.

Research Trends: Recent publications highlight her work on

• infant fat mass and rapid growth
• parenteral nutrition protocols in NICUs
• genetic links to puberty timing
• lactation data validation in EHRs
• osteosarcoma risk factors tied to birthweight

These align with SDGs for health and well-being (SDG 3) and innovation in health systems (SDG 9).

Grants & Collaborations: She leads or co-leads NIH-funded projects including Milk-Omics (2022–2025), Maternal Obesity and Infant Growth (2020–2026), and a 2024 short-term NIH grant for operational expenses at D2D. Collaborations span Brigham and Women’s Hospital, international cohort studies, and computational biology teams.

Laboratory & Facilities: As Director of the Driven to Discover Research Facility, she oversees neonatal nutrition trials and longitudinal studies like the Multicenter Infant Body Composition Reference Study (MIBCRS). Her work integrates systems biology and pharmacoepidemiology frameworks.