Dr. Beresford received BA and MA degrees in Mathematics from Cambridge University, U.K., MSc in Mathematical Statistics at the University of Sussex, and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of London. She served on the faculty of the University of London, Duke University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the University of Washington, where she is Professor of Epidemiology.
Dr. Beresford has more than forty years of experience in socio-medical and epidemiological research, designed to improve population health and to reduce health disparities. For more than 25 years she worked actively in the area of health effects of folic acid having significant impact in the mandatory fortification of enriched flour and grain products with synthetic folic acid. She played a leadership role in the Women’s Health Initiative – randomized controlled trials of interventions designed to reduce the risk of cancers and other chronic diseases in postmenopausal women. She has made many significant contributions in studies directly aimed to reduce health disparities, including secondary prevention of breast cancer in Latinas and in culturally appropriate interventions to reduce obesity disparities among the Navajo. Dr. Beresford has directed five different worksite randomized trials of community and individual interventions to improve dietary choices and reduce obesity, especially among blue collar worksites. Her work in socioeconomic disparities in obesity has contributed to her strong reputation in multilevel studies and in mediation analyses. She has published more than 250 articles on chronic disease with nutritional, behavioral or socio-behavioral areas of focus.