Primary research interests focus on understanding the etiology of musculoskeletal diseases and interventions for osteoporosis, specifically: 1) the epidemiology of age-related osteoporosis and arthritis; 2) the influence of foot disorders on physical function and falls; and 3) the influence of dietary and other risk factors on bone loss in elders. Dr. Hannan is the principal investigator on a number of NIH grants and has had continuous NIH funding since 1996. As an epidemiologist, Dr. Hannan collaborates closely with other investigators in the large musculoskeletal unit at HSL, using the combined expertise of nutritional epidemiologists, geneticists, molecular biologists, and statisticians to quantify risk factor contributions to bone loss and musculoskeletal disease.
Dr. Hannan is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is a past president of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals. Teaching activities include the first-year HMS course, for which Dr. Hannan was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award at Harvard Medical School in 2003, the HSPH Epidemiology of Aging course, lectures in the HMS geriatrics fellowship program, and mentoring medical students and epidemiology graduate students. Dr. Hannan also is a frequent lecturer at Boston University School of Public Health, as well as a research mentor within the BIDMC/Harvard Translational Research in Aging T32 Training Program.
