Maria Mori Brooks, PhD

My research has focused on the design, conduct, and analysis of multicenter clinical trials and cohort studies.  Most of my work has involved the evaluation of treatments and risk factors in patients with coronary artery disease, diabetes and blood disorders and the epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases and women’s health. I am the Principal Investigator of the Coordinating Center of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a multi-racial/ethnic longitudinal cohort study designed to characterize the physiological and psychosocial changes that occur during the menopausal transition. In addition, I am the Principal Investigator of the Data Coordinating Center for the Myocardial Ischemia and Transfusion (MINT) trial, a multicenter randomized clinical trial evaluating transfusion strategies for patients with acute myocardial infarction and anemia and of the Data Coordinating Center for the Sickle Cell Disease and Cardiovascular Risk - Red cell Exchange (SCD-CARRE) trial, a randomized clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of automated exchange transfusion for adult patients with sickle cell disease. I am also a co-Investigator on the INHIBIT Clinical Trials Platform, two linked randomized clinical trials, the Inhibitor Prevention Trial and the Inhibitor Eradication Trial, that utilize a Bayesian platform design to evaluate treatment regimens for patients with severe hemophilia A. Over the years, I have collaborated on projects involving infectious diseases including COVID-19, behavioral interventions and genetics. I teach advanced epidemiological methods.

1985 | Williams College, Williamstown, MA | Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics, cum laude 

1986 | Harvard University, Cambridge, MA | Master of Arts, Statistics 

1991 | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC | PhD, Statistics

2006-2012 | EPIDEM 2180: Epidemiological Methods 1

2012-2018 | EPIDEM 2187: Epidemiological Methods 2

2019-Present | EPIDEM 2180: Epidemiological Methods 1

• Hutchins F, Krafty R, El Khoudary SR, Catov J, Colvin A, Barinas-Mitchell E, Brooks MM. Gestational weight gain and long-term maternal obesity risk: A multiple bias analysis. Epidemiology. 2021 Mar 1;32(2):248-258. PMID: 33284167. PMCID: PMC7855686.
• Reeves AN, Elliott MR, Brooks MM, Karvonen-Gutierrez CA, Bondarenko I, Hood MM, Harlow SD. Symptom Clusters Predict Risk of Metabolic-Syndrome and Diabetes in Midlife: The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. Ann Epidemiol. 2021 Feb 22;58:48-55. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2021.02.011. PMID: 33631313. PMCID: In Process.
• Thurston RC, Vlachos HEA, Derby CA, Jackson EA, Brooks MM, Matthews KA, Harlow S, Joffe H, El Khoudary SR. Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events in SWAN. J Am Heart Assoc. 2021 Feb 2;10(3):e017416. doi:  10.1161/JAHA.120.017416. Epub 2021 Jan 20. PMID: 33470142. PMCID: PMC7955448.
• Bertolet M, Brooks MM, Ragni MV. The design of a Bayesian platform trial to prevent and eradicate inhibitors in patients with hemophilia. Blood Advances. 2020 Nov 10;4(21):5433-5441. PMID: 33156923. PMCID: PMC7656929.
• Matthews KA, Chang Y, Brooks MM, Crawford SL, Janssen I, Joffe H, Kravitz HM, Thurston RC, El Khoudary SR. Identifying women who share patterns of reproductive hormones, vasomotor symptoms, and sleep maintenance problems across the menopause transition: group-based multi-trajectory modeling in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Menopause. 2020 Oct 5;28(2):126-134. doi: 10.1097/ GME.0000000000001663. PMID: 33038144. PMCID: In Process.
• Barinas-Mitchell E, Duan C, Brooks M, El Khoudary SR, Thurston RC, Matthews KA, Jackson EA, Lewis TT, Derby CA. Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Burden During the Menopause Transition and Late Midlife Subclinical Vascular Disease: Does Race/Ethnicity Matter? J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Feb 18;9(4):e013876. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.013876. Epub 2020 Feb 17.PMID:32063114. PMCID: PMC7070180.
• El Khoudary SR, Chen X, Nasr A, Billheimer J, Brooks MM, McConnell D, Orchard T, Crawford S, Matthews KA, Rader DJ. HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) Subclasses, Lipid Content, and Function Trajectories Across the Menopause Transition: SWAN-HDL Study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2020 Dec 3;ATVBAHA120315355. PMID: 33267661. PMCID: In Process.
• Yu YH, Bodnar LM, Brooks MM, Himes KP, Naimi AI. Comparison of Parametric and Nonparametric Estimators for the Association Between Incident Prepregnancy Obesity and Stillbirth in a Population-Based Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2019 Jul 1;188(7):1328-1336. PMID: 31111944. PMCID: PMC6657564
• Lin HS, Naimi AI, Brooks MM, Richardson GA, Burke JG, Bromberger JT. Child maltreatment as a social determinant of midlife health-related quality of life in women: do psychosocial factors explain this association? Qual Life Res. 2018. Dec;27(12):3243-3254. PMID: 30121897. PMCID: PMC7366611
• Matthews KA, El Khoudary SR, Brooks MM, Derby CA, Harlow SD, Barinas-Mitchell EJ, Thurston RC. Lipid Changes Around the Final Menstrual Period Predict Carotid Subclinical Disease in Postmenopausal Women. Stroke. 2017 Jan;48(1):70-76. PMID: 27909203. PMCID: PMC5183479.
• Bertolet M, Brooks MM, Bittner V. Tree-based identification of subgroups for time-varying covariate survival data. Statistical Methods in Medical Research. 2016 Feb: 25(1):488-501. PMID: 23070595. PMCID: PMC5575747.
• Tepper PG, Brooks MM, Randolph JF Jr, Crawford SL, El Khoudary SR, Gold EB, Lasley BL, Jones B, Joffe H, Hess R, Avis NE, Harlow S, McConnell DS, Bromberger JT, Zheng H, Ruppert K, Thurston RC. Characterizing the trajectories of vasomotor symptoms across the menopausal transition. Menopause. 2016 Oct; 23(10):1067-74. PMID: 27404029. PMCID: PMC5028150.
• Mancini GB, Farkouh ME, Brooks MM, Chaitman BR, Boden WE, Vlachos H, Hartigan PM, Siami FS, Sidhu MS, Bittner V, Frye R, Fuster V. Medical Treatment and Revascularization Options in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Coronary Disease. J Am Coll Cardiol.. 2016 Sep 6;68(10):985-95. PMID: 27585501. PMCID: N/A.
• Everett B, Brooks MM, Vlachos HE, Chaitman B, Frye RL, Bhatt DL; BARI 2D Study Group. Troponin and cardiac events in stable ischemic heart disease and diabetes.  N Engl J Med. 2015 Aug 13;373(7):610-20.  PMID: 26267622. PMCID: PMC4627639
• Carson JL, Brooks MM, Abbott JD, Chaitman B, Kelsey SF, Triulzi DJ, Srinivas V, Menegus MA, Marroquin OC, Rao SV, Noveck H, Passano E, Hardison RM, Smitherman T, Vagaonescu T, Wimmer NJ, Williams DO. Liberal versus restrictive transfusion thresholds for patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease. American Heart Journal. 2013 Jun; 165(6):964-971.e1. PMID: 23708168.  PMCID: PMC3664840
• Althouse AD, Abbott JD, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Forker AD, Lombardero MS, Buitrón LV, Pena-Sing I, Tardif JC, Brooks MM, BARI 2D Study Group. Favorable effects of insulin sensitizers pertinent to peripheral arterial disease in type 2 diabetes: results from the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) trial. Diabetes Care. 2013 Oct; 36 (10):3269-75. PMID: 23735723. PMCID: PMC378157
• Brooks MM, Chaitman BR, Nesto RW, Hardison RM, Feit F, Gersh BJ, Krone RJ, Sako EY, Rogers WJ, Garber AJ, King SB 3rd, Davidson CJ, Ikeno F, Frye RL, BARI 2D Study Group. Clinical and angiographic risk stratification and differential impact on treatment outcomes in the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) trial. Circulation. 2012 Oct 23; 126 (17):2115-24. PMID: 23008442.  PMCID: PMC4104411
• Brooks MM, Chung SC, Helmy T, Hillegass WB, Escobedo J, Melsop KA, Massaro EM, McBane RD, Hyde P, Hlatky MA. Health status after treatment for coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the bypass angioplasty revascularization investigation 2 diabetes trial. Circulation. 2010 122:1690-1699. PMID: 20937978.  PMCID: PMC2964421.
• Hlatky MA, Boothroyd DB, Bravata DM, Boersma E, Booth J, Brooks MM, Carrié D, Clayton TC, Danchin N, Flather M, Hamm CW, Hueb WA, Kähler J, Kelsey SF, King SB, Kosinski AS, Lopes N, McDonald KM, Rodriguez A, Serruys P, Sigwart U, Stables RH, Owens DK, Pocock SJ. Coronary artery bypass surgery compared with percutaneous coronary interventions for multivessel disease: a collaborative analysis of individual patient data from ten randomised trials. Lancet. 2009 Apr 4;373(9670):1190-7. PMID: 19303634. PMCID: N/A
• The BARI 2D Study Group.  Frye RL, August P, Brooks MM, Hardison RM, Kelsey SF, MacGregor JM, Orchard TJ, Chaitman BR, Genuth SM, Goldberg SH, Hlatky MA, Jones TL, Molitch ME, Nesto RW, Sako EY, Sobel BE. A randomized trial of therapies for type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. N Engl J Med. 2009; 360:2503-15. PMID: 19502645.  PMCID: PMC2863990.