Faculty Spotlight: Rozenn Lemaitre

Dr. Rozenn Lemaitre is trained in epidemiology and biochemistry, which she applies to evaluate how nutrition, genetics, and blood lipids relate to cardiovascular and diabetes risk.

She joined the UW Department of Medicine in 1992 as a research scientist working in the Cardiovascular Health Research Unit. Based on a track record of important scientific contribution, she was appointed to the GIM faculty as a research associate professor in 2012. She also holds an adjunct appointment in the UW Department of Epidemiology. 

Lemaitre initiated a program to study lipidomics, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Her research is supported by multiple federal grants for which she serves as principal investigator. Well-known for her innovative and collaborative approach to science, she directs two different international consortiums that have consolidated biorepositories and clinical information to provide a robust research resource for large-scale epidemiologic studies of cardiovascular disease. She also shares her expertise with junior scientists, serving as mentor for several successful early- and mid-career investigators. 

Her research is featured in high-profile scientific journals, in which she has over 200 peer-reviewed, original science publications. Her findings have important implications for preventative nutrition (i.e., transfats, omega-3 fatty acids, and distinct lipid profiles). Moreover, her innovative epidemiology has compelled basic science researchers to investigate biological mechanisms by which fatty acids and other related compounds affect human health.