Introduction
Dr. Olufunmilayo "Funmi" Knutson is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at the University of St. Thomas. She earned her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her research spans environmental, perinatal, and infectious disease epidemiology, with a focus on how air pollution exposure impacts perinatal and infectious disease outcomes. With prior experience in data science consulting and applied epidemiology, she integrates her expertise in data science, epidemiology, and statistical analysis to investigate and address complex health issues.
Dr. Knutson has received several internal grants in support of her teaching, curriculum innovation, and research projects. She also mentors undergraduate students and has guided many in successfully securing competitive faculty-mentored research grants. In 2025, Dr. Knutson was awarded a faculty fellowship with the Luann Dummer Center for Women to support an interdisciplinary, collaborative research project investigating the relationship between environmental exposures, lifestyle factors, and perinatal health outcomes.
At the university, Dr. Knutson teaches across the public health curriculum and works to create engaging learning environments and enriching research experiences for students.