Mandy Fretts, PhD, MPH
She/Her
Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health
Dr. Mandy Fretts is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health. She is a cardiovascular epidemiologist with a focus on observational and interventional research aimed at improving cardio-metabolic health in underserved and rural communities. Her research interests include nutrition, physical activity, fatty acids, diabetes, and American Indian health. She is the Principal Investigator of the North Dakota and South Dakota field site for the Strong Heart Study, a large cohort study of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in 12 rural American Indian communities in Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota, that has been on-going since 1988. She is also Principal Investigator of a community-based diet and cooking skills intervention (randomized trial) for American Indians with diabetes who reside on the Cheyenne River Reservation. As an American Indian investigator (Mi’kmaq, Eel Ground First Nation), Dr. Fretts is committed to improve the cardio-metabolic health of American Indians, and to integrate observational and interventional research to mitigate obesity-related health disparities and improve health behaviors and health outcomes among American Indian people. In addition to her work with American Indian communities, Dr. Fretts is also actively involved in several on-going projects related to fatty acids, diet, diet*gene interactions, and cardiovascular outcomes in the Cardiovascular Health Study, the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) and the Fatty Acids and Outcomes Research Consortium (FORCE).
