Biography

Dr. Cross received a B.Sc. in Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, U.K. in 1997 and a Ph.D. in nutrition and cancer from the University of Cambridge, U.K. in 2002. She joined the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) of NCI as a post-doctoral fellow in 2003 and became a research fellow in 2005 and an investigator in 2006. Dr. Cross is principal investigator (PI) of the CONCeRN study and co-PI, with Arthur Schatzkin, of the Polyp Prevention Trial. She established and leads a colorectal cancer working group and is a member of the Office of Education Advisory Group and a mentor for the Yale University–NCI Partnership Training Program. Since joining NCI, she has received the DCEG award for Outstanding Research Paper by a Fellow, the DCEG Fellowship Achievement award for outstanding accomplishments and the NIH Fellows award for research excellence; in addition, she received the Molecular Epidemiology Group and the American Association for Cancer Research Scholar-in-Training award.

Research Interests

• Lower gastrointestinal cancers
• Developing exposure assessment tools
• Etiologic studies of meat and cancer risk

Keywords

Colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, meat, N-nitroso compounds, heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, DNA adducts

Selected Publications

• Cross AJ, Leitzmann MF, Subar AF, Thompson FE, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A. A prospective study of meat and fat intake in relation to small intestinal cancer. Cancer Res 2008 Nov 15;68(22):9274-9.
• Schatzkin A, Park Y, Leitzmann MF, Hollenbeck AR, Cross AJ. Prospective study of dietary fiber, whole grain foods, and small intestinal cancer. Gastroenterology 2008 Oct;135(4):1163-7.
• Cross AJ, Leitzmann MF, Gail MH, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A, Sinha R. A prospective study of red and processed meat intake in relation to cancer risk. PLoS Med 2007 Dec;4(12):e325.
• Hosgood HD 3rd, Baris D, Zahm SH, Zheng T, Cross AJ. Diet and risk of multiple myeloma in Connecticut women. Cancer Causes Control 2007 Dec;18(10):1065-76.
• Cross AJ, Greetham HL, Pollock JR, Rowland IR, Bingham SA. Variability in fecal water genotoxicity, determined using the Comet assay, is independent of endogenous N-nitroso compound formation attributed to red meat consumption. Environ Mol Mutagen 2006 Apr;47(3):179-84.
• Cross AJ, Gunter MJ, Wood RJ, Pietinen P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D, Sinha R. Iron and colorectal cancer risk in the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study. Int J Cancer 2006 Jun 15;118(12):3147-52.
• Cross AJ, Ward MH, Schenk M, Kulldorff M, Cozen W, Davis S, Colt JS, Hartge P, Cerhan JR, Sinha R. Meat and meat-mutagen intake and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: results from a NCI-SEER case-control study. Carcinogenesis 2006 Feb;27(2):293-7.
• Cross AJ, Peters U, Kirsh VA, Andriole GL, Reding D, Hayes RB, Sinha R. A prospective study of meat and meat mutagens and prostate cancer risk. Cancer Res 2005 Dec 15;65(24):11779-84.
• Cross AJ, Pollock JR, Bingham SA. Haem, not protein or inorganic iron, is responsible for endogenous intestinal N-nitrosation arising from red meat. Cancer Res 2003 May 15;63(10):2358-60.

Collaborators

DCEG Collaborators

• Mary Ward, Ph.D., Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon, Ph.D., Michael Alavanja, Dr.P.H., Richard Hayes, D.D.S., Unhee Lim, Ph.D., Rashmi Sinha, Ph.D., Arthur Schatzkin, M.D., Dr.P.H., Christian Abnet, Ph.D.

Other NCI Collaborators

• Amy Subar, Ph.D., Fran Thompson, Ph.D., Victor Kipnis, Ph.D.

Other Scientific Collaborators

• Richard Wood, Tufts University
• Volker Mai, Ph.D., University of Maryland
• Andrew Flood, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
• Philip Schoenfeld, M.D., University of Michigan
• Brooks D. Cash, M.D., FACP, National Naval Medical Center
• James Harnly, Ph.D., U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Marc Gunter, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY

International Collaborators

• Sheila Bingham, Ph.D., MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit / University of Cambridge, U.K.
• Denis Corpet, National Veterinary School, Toulouse, France
• Françoise Guéraud, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Toulouse, France
• Fabrice Pierre, National Veterinary School, Toulouse, France
• Cinzia Stella, Ph.D., Imperial College, London, U.K.
• David Shuker, Ph.D., Open University, U.K.
• Max Bingham, Ph.D., University of Reading, U.K.
• Glenn Gibson, University of Reading, U.K.