Dr. Sharon Xie, Professor of Biostatistics, played a key role as lead statistician in a study published in JAMA Neurology linking increased air pollution to worsened Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology, showing that this relationship helps explain how air pollution impacts cognitive and functional outcomes.
Dr. Xie contributed advanced statistical expertise, including measurement error correction to account for uncertainties in air pollution exposure. The work was recognized as one of Penn’s top 20 innovative breakthroughs of 2025 and received widespread media coverage, appearing in over 100 outlets such as CBS News, Fox News, Philadelphia Inquirer, The Independent, and New York Times. It was also featured by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Environmental Factor, Science Daily, and EurekAlert! from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).