I am a cardiovascular genetic epidemiologist whose primary research focus is on genetic, molecular and biomarker risk factors for lower extremity peripheral artery disease and subclinical cardiovascular disease, especially in diverse populations. A secondary focus of my research is how ectopic fat and muscle relate to cardiovascular risk factors as well as clinical and subclinical cardiovascular disease.
2008 Ph.D., Cardiovascular and Genetic Epidemiology (Minor - Human Genetics), University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN
2002 M.S., Applied Statistics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
1999 B.A., Psychology (Minors in Statistics and English), Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
2015 - present Associate Professor, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington VT
2013-2015 Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA
2008-2012 Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California - San Diego, La Jolla CA
2012 Fellow of the American Heart Association, Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Council
2011 Fellow of the American Heart Association, Epidemiology and Prevention Council
2006-2008 National Institutes of Health T32 Fellowship in Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Prevention
2005-2006 National Institutes of Health T32 Fellowship in Genetic Epidemiology
1997-2002 Purdue University Dean’s List and Semester Honors (varying semesters)
1998 Psi Chi Psychology Honorary
1998 Golden Key National Honor Society
2016 Bell EJ, Larson NB, Decker PA, Pankow JS, Tsai MY, Hanson NQ, Wassel CL, Longstreth WT, Bielinski SJ. Hepatocyte Growth Factor Is Positively Associated With Risk of Stroke: The MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis). Stroke. 2016 Oct 11. PMID: 27729582
2016 Wassel CL, Allison MA, Ix JH, Rifkin DE, Forbang NI, Denenberg JO, Criqui MH. Ankle-brachial index predicts change over time in functional status in the San Diego Population Study. J Vasc Surg. 2016 Sep;64(3):656-662. PMID: 27139783
2016 Pankow JS, Decker PA, Berardi C, Hanson NQ, Sale M, Tang W, Kanaya AM, Larson NB, Tsai MY, Wassel CL, Bielinski SJ. Circulating cellular adhesion molecules and risk of diabetes: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Diabet Med. 2016 Jul;33(7):985-91. PMID: 26937608
2016 Bancks MP, Bielinski SJ, Decker PA, Hanson NQ, Larson NB, Sicotte H, Wassel CL, Pankow JS. Circulating level of hepatocyte growth factor predicts incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Metabolism. 2016 Mar;65(3):64-72. PMID: 26892517
2015 Hughes-Austin JM, Dominguez III A, Allison MA, Wassel CL, Rifkin DE, Morgan CG, Daniels MR, Ikram U, Knox JB, Wright CM, Criqui MH, Ix JH. Relationship of Coronary Artery Calcium on Standard Chest Computed Tomography Scans with Mortality. 2015 In Press. J Am Coll Cardiol Img
2015 Wassel CL, Berardi C, Pankow JS, Larson NB, Decker PA, Hanson NQ, Tsai MY, Criqui MH, Allison MA, Bielinski SJ. Soluble P-selectin Predicts Lower Extremity Peripheral Artery Disease Incidence and Change in the Ankle Brachial Index: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Atherosclerosis 2015 Jan; 239(2):405-11. PMID: 25682040
For a complete list of Christina Wassel's publications, please visit PubMed.