Ellen Freeman* BA MSc PhD

Biography

Ellen Freeman is a professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health and a scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

Dr. Freeman received her PhD in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health where she trained with Dr. Sheila West in the field of ocular epidemiology. During Dr. Freeman’s training, she was a recipient of a 4-year training award from the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Freeman then spent 9 years at the Université de Montréal where she was the recipient of two salary awards from the Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec.

Dr. Freeman’s research program focuses on the epidemiology of eye disease and vision loss. She currently is the principal investigator of a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research looking at the cognitive effects of age-related eye disease in a cohort of over 400 patients. She is also examining issues related to vision loss and aging in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, a cohort of over 30,000 people.

Dr. Freeman has published widely including papers in leading ophthalmology and aging journals.

Selected publications (students’ names are underlined):

1. A Grant, G Leung, MJ Aubin, MJ Kergoat, Gisele Li, EE Freeman.  Fine particulate matter and age-related eye disease: The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.  Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci., Accepted, July 2021.
2. Z Kahiel, MJ Aubin, R Buhrmann, MJ Kergoat, EE Freeman.  Visual impairment, eye disease, and the onset of balance problems:  The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.  American Journal of Ophthalmology, 2021 Jun 19: S0002-9394(21)00330-5.  Online ahead of print.
3. Z Kahiel, MJ Aubin, R Buhrmann, MJ Kergoat, EE Freeman.  The 3-year incidence of visual impairment and its risk factors in Canada:  The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.  Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2021 Feb 17:S0008-4182(21)00036-3.  Online ahead of print.
4. A Grant, I. Colman, EE Freeman.  Improper adjustment for age in research on age-related macular degeneration: An example using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, Ophthalmic Epidemiology, 2021 Feb;28(1):86-89.
5. A Grant, MJ Aubin, R Buhrmann, MJ Kergoat, EE Freeman.  Visual impairment, eye disease, and the incidence of depression:  The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.  Ophthalmic Epidemiology, 2021 Feb;28(1):77-85. 
6. Costanian C, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Freeman EE.  Interaction between postmenopausal hormone therapy and diabetes with cataract.  Menopause. 2020, Mar;27(3):263-268.   
7. Varin M, Kergoat MJ, Belleville S, Li G, Rousseau J, Roy-Gagnon MH, Moghadazadeh S, Freeman EE.  Age-related eye disease and cognitive function:  The search for mediators.  Ophthalmology. 2020 May;127(5):660-666.
8. Vafaei A, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Aljied R, Freeman EE.  The interaction of visual acuity and peripheral vascular disease with balance:  Baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. J Amer Geriatr Soc, 2018 Oct;66(10):1934-1939.
9. Aljied R, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Sabeti S, Freeman EE.  Prevalence and determinants of visual impairment in Canada:  Cross-sectional data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.  Canadian J Ophthalmol, 2018 Jun;53(3):291-297.
10. Varin M, Kergoat MJ, Belleville S, Li G, Rousseau J, Roy-Gagnon MH, Moghadazadeh S, Freeman EE.  Age-related eye disease and participation in cognitive activities.  Sci Rep. 2017 Dec 21;7(1):17980.