Parsonnet Laboratory

Department of Medicine

The Julie Parsonnet Laboratory

Our Research

Dr. Parsonnet is an infectious diseases epidemiologist. Her laboratory's primary research interest has been investigating the role of infectious agents in chronic diseases. Early on, this work revolved around Helicobacter pylori infection as a cause of adenocarcinomas and lymphomas of the stomach. More recently, the lab’s work has focused on how infections early in life might influence childhood growth and metabolism. As part of this work, the Parsonnet lab recently showed that human body temperature has been decreasing in the US for two centuries, parallel with increases in body mass and longevity. The lab continues to research in temperature as a marker of human infectious disease exposure, particularly with the advent of the COVID pandemic. The lab group has also applied their skills in epidemiology to large seroprevalence studies of COVID in vulnerable populations and participation in COVID19 clinical research trials.