Biography

Dr. Karen Ertel is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. Dr. Ertel's is a social epidemiologist who studies maternal mental health and children’s health. Her current research focuses on maternal depression and its relation to overweight in children. Related interests include work-life balance among parents and the health effects of short sleep duration and sleep disruption in mothers and young children. Dr. Ertel completed her Doctorate of Science (ScD) at Harvard School of Public Health in June 2008, where she studied social epidemiology, maternal and child health, and methods of biostatistics and epidemiology. She also holds a MPH in Maternal and Child Health from the University of California, Berkeley and a BS in Biopsychology from Georgetown University.