Katherine A. Bowers, PhD, MPH

Member, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

katherine.bowers@cchmc.org

About

Biography

My interest in research came from a long-standing desire to understand the etiology of autism spectrum disorders. After joining Cincinnati Children’s in 2012, I began to study child development more broadly. My research is primarily in perinatal epidemiology, and my specific areas of interest include exposures and conditions during pregnancy and their implications for offspring health.

Two of my primary projects focus on psychosocial factors and diabetes experienced in pregnancy. The first one is about how adversity experienced by individuals in poverty affects child development and how DNA methylation may underlie this effect. The second project follows the offspring of women who had diabetes in pregnancy. I am interested in the long-term effects of metabolic and neurobehavioral impairments.

Interests

Infant and child development; epigenetics; pregnancy; health disparities

Research Areas

Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Publications

High Household Transmission Among Asymptomatic Contacts Across Pandemic Waves in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bowers, K; Benoit, S; Rose, J; Beck, AF; Folger, AT; Calhoun, TN; Day, ME; Lovell, A; Amin, M. Epidemiologia. 2025; 6(4).

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Effectiveness of Family Navigation for Low-income Ethnoracially Diverse Preschoolers with Developmental Concern. Smith, T; Burkett, K; Pickler, R; Bowers, K; Weber, S; Trenkamp, E; Heeman, A; Stanton-Chapman, T; Copeland, K; Froehlich, T. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities. 2025.

Association between maternal glycohemoglobin in pregnancy and adult offspring cognition: results from the Transgenerational Effects of Adult Morbidity (TEAM) Study. Bowers, K; Yolton, K; Catalano, P; Khoury, JC. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. 2025; 16:e26.

Timing and Variability of Maternal Hyperglycemia in Insulin‐Dependent Diabetes, Long‐Term Effects on Offspring Obesity—The TEAM Study. Bowers, K; Bhoopathy, K; Szczesniak, R; Ehrlich, S; Dolan, LM; Kalkwarf, H; Summer, S; Smith, E; Altaye, M; Ollberding, NJ; Catalano, P; Miodovnik, M; Khoury, JC. Pregnancy (Hoboken). 2025; 1(4).

Combined effects of life course maternal psychosocial experiences on perinatal mental health. Bowers, K; Ammerman, RT; Ding, L; Yolton, K; Frey, JR; Folger, AT. Public Health. 2025; 242:244-249.

Impact of Hepatoblastoma on Infectious Complications Following Pediatric Liver Transplantation. Hall, AD; Hendricks, HA; Bowers, KA; Geller, JI; Bondoc, AJ; Tiao, GM; Taylor, AE; Otto, WR; Paulsen, GC; Danziger-Isakov, LA. Pediatric Transplantation. 2025; 29(1):e70035.

The association between everyday discrimination and perinatal depression in a birth cohort in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bowers, K; Boulay, K; Alderman, S; Folger, A. Annals of Epidemiology. 2024; 97:143.

Father involvement during pregnancy and maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Alderman, S; Bowers, K; Folger, A. Annals of Epidemiology. 2024; 97:145.

Community-level and maternal individual-level social support and offspring epigenetic aging. Folger, AT; Ding, L; Mersha, TB; Bowers, K. Annals of Epidemiology. 2024; 97:144.

Association between maternal prenatal depressive symptoms and offspring epigenetic aging at 3-5 weeks. Folger, AT; Ding, L; Yolton, K; Ammerman, RT; Ji, H; Frey, JR; Bowers, KA. Annals of Epidemiology. 2024; 93:1-6.

From the Blog

Health Inequities

DNA Methylation May Serve as Biomarker for Maternal Stress Passed to Children

Katherine A. Bowers, PhD, MPH, Alonzo T. Folger, PhD, MS3/21/2022