Position Title
Assistant Professor | Department of Public Health Sciences
Position Title
Assistant Professor | Department of Public Health Sciences
Bio
She is an environmental epidemiologist whose research focuses broadly on the impact of air pollution and extreme weather on older adults. Much of her work focuses on evaluating the role of air pollution in dementia and related cognitive outcomes, examining the unequal burden of environmental exposures among older adults, and estimating the impact of environmental policies on air pollution and health. She is also interested in causal inference, methods to handle selection bias, and quasi-experimental methods.
Sindana received her PhD in Epidemiology jointly from San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego, MPH in Epidemiology from UC Los Angeles, and BA in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley.
In her spare time, Sindana enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, sewing, playing tennis, and hiking.
Education and Degree(s)
- Doctor of Philosophy, Epidemiology, San Diego State University | University of California, San Diego
- Master of Public Health, Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles
- Bachelor of Arts, Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
Honors and Awards
- NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00), National Institute on Aging
Research Interests & Expertise
- Environmental Epidemiology
- Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
- Social Epidemiology
- Causal Inference
Publications
- Ilango SD, Adam CE, Huang X, Leary C, Semmens EO, Crane PK, Fitzpatrick AL, Kaufman J, Hajat A. Air pollution, cognitive function, and cognitive decline in the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025. [Epub ahead of print 2025 Sep 12]. DOI: 10.1177/13872877251373050.
- Kim MH, Frøslev T, White JS, Glymour MM, Ilango SD, Sørensen HT, Pedersen L, Hamad R. Kim et al respond to “Dispersal policies, neighborhood disadvantage, and refugee health in a Nordic context.” Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Mar;194(3):649–650. DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwae241.
- Kim MH, Frøslev T, White JS, Glymour MM, Ilango SD, Sørensen HT, Pedersen L, Hamad R. Mediating pathways between neighborhood disadvantage and cardiovascular risk: quasi-experimental evidence from a Danish refugee dispersal policy. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Mar;194(3):635–644. DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwae158.
- Libby TE, Ilango SD, Leary CS, Semmens EO, Adam CE, Fitzpatrick AL, Kaufman JD, Hajat A. An assessment of the mediating role of hypertension in the effect of long-term air pollution exposure on dementia. Environ Epidemiol. 2024 Jun 1;8(3):e306. DOI: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000306.
- Adam CE, Fitzpatrick AL, Leary CS, Hajat A, Ilango SD, Park C, Phelan EA, Semmens EO. Change in gait speed and fall risk among community-dwelling older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment: a retrospective cohort analysis. BMC Geriatr. 2023 Dec;23(1):1. DOI: 10.1186/s12877-023-03890-6.
- Ilango SD, Leary CS, Ritchie E, Semmens EO, Park C, Fitzpatrick AL, Kaufman J, Hajat A. An examination of the joint effect of the social environment and air pollution on dementia in the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study. Environ Epidemiol. 2023 Jun;7(3):e250. DOI: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000250.
- Gavett BE, Ilango SD, Koscik R, Ma Y, Helfand B, Eng CW, Gross A, Trittschuh EH, Jones RN, Mungas D. Harmonization of cognitive screening tools for dementia across diverse samples: A simulation study. Alzheimers Dement. 2023 Apr;15(2):e12438. DOI: 10.1002/dad2.12438.
- Chen C*, Ilango SD*, Henneman LR, Casey JA, Benmarhnia T. The local impacts of coal and oil power plant retirements on air pollution and cardiorespiratory health in California: An application of generalized synthetic control method. Environ Res. 2023 Mar 11:115626. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115626. (*joint first authorship)
- Hajat A, Park C, Adam CE, Fitzpatrick AL, Ilango SD, Leary CS, Libby TE, Lopez O, Semmens EO, Kaufman JD. Air pollution and plasma amyloid beta in a cohort of older adults: Evidence from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory study. Environ Int. 2023 Feb 1;172:107800. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.107800
- Semmens EO, Leary CS, Fitzpatrick AL, Ilango SD, Park C, Adam CE, DeKosky ST, Lopez O, Hajat A, Kaufman JD. Air pollution and dementia in older adults in the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study. Alzheimers Dement. 2022 Apr 18;19(2):549-559. DOI: 10.1002/alz.12654.
Membership and Service
- Society of Epidemiologic Research
- International Society of Environmental Epidemiology