Michelle Marie Mielke

Michelle Marie Mielke serves as Professor and Chair of Epidemiology and Prevention within the Department of Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, with an additional professorship in Gerontology and Geriatrics (Department of Internal Medicine). Her institutional affiliations include the Center for Precision Medicine and Sticht Center for Healthy Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention.

Her academic training comprises:

• BS from University of Pittsburgh (1999)
• PhD from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2004)

Dr. Mielke's research centers on Alzheimer's disease epidemiology with emphasis on biomarker discovery and validation. Her work integrates neuroimaging, blood-based biomarkers, and population health to investigate dementia risk factors across the lifespan, including hormonal influences, surgical interventions, and socioeconomic determinants. She examines how vascular pathways interact with classic Alzheimer's pathology to drive cognitive decline.

Recent publications reveal a methodological shift toward multimodal biomarker integration (combining PET, plasma, and cognitive data) for early dementia detection. Her 2024 work demonstrates increasing focus on clinical translation of biomarkers and disentangling complex gene-environment interactions in diverse populations.

As an active leader in the Sticht Center for Healthy Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention, she directs interdisciplinary teams developing precision medicine approaches to dementia prevention through biomarker-guided risk stratification and targeted interventions.