Senior Epidemiologist
Optum Epidemiology
Dr. Amend joined Optum in 2007. She received a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 1997 and a PhD in epidemiology from University of Michigan School of Public Health in 2004. Prior to joining the Epidemiology group,
Dr. Amend was an assistant professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine with an appointment in the Department of Oncological Sciences. Her research focused primarily on the molecular epidemiology of breast cancer to improve the understanding of racial disparities among African-American and Caucasian women with the disease. At Optum she has led retrospective studies using claims data focused on eye conditions, influenza, asthma, rhabdomyolysis, PML
and vaccines.