Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch
Current Fellows
Meet the current fellows in the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch and learn about research training opportunities.
Clara Bodelon, M.P.H., Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Clara Bodelon joined DCEG as a postdoctoral fellow in January 2011. She received her Ph.D. in mathematics from Boston University in 2001. From 2002 to 2006, Dr. Bodelon did postdoctoral research at The Salk Institute (La Jolla, CA) attempting to understand the dynamics of visual processing. In 2009, Dr. Bodelon received a Master of Science degree in epidemiology from the University of Washington. While working on this degree, she examined the association between the use of analgesics and the risk of endometrial cancer. She also studied relationships between hormonally-related factors and esophageal cancer and the immunogenetic susceptibility of cervical and vulvar cancers. In her current appointment within the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB), she is working with Nicolas Wentzensen, M.D., Ph.D., investigator, on projects related to the molecular epidemiology of ovarian cancer.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Cher Dallal, M.P.H., Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Cher Dallal joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) as a NCI Cancer Prevention Fellow in September, 2009. Dr. Dallal received her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health where she was involved in studies of estrogen metabolites and breast cancer. Dr. Dallal has a B.A. in molecular and cell biology from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.P.H. with a concentration in chronic disease epidemiology from Yale University and an M.S. in applied biostatistics and epidemiology from the University of Southern California (USC). Her master theses involved assessing the relationships of obesity and breast cancer survival in a cohort of white and African American women (Yale) and physical activity and breast cancer risk in the California Teachers Cohort (USC). Dr. Dallal’s research interests include the study of hormonal and lifestyle factors as they relate to carcinogenesis of the breast, endometrium, and ovary as well as understanding racial disparities in disease incidence and survival. She is currently working with Dr. Louise Brinton, Chief and senior investigator HREB,and Dr. Gretchen Gierach, tenure-track investigator, on projects assessing the relationships of adipokines to endometrial cancer risk and endogenous estrogens and metabolites to breast cancer risk in the Fracture Intervention Trial Follow-up Study.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Sarah Daugherty, Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Sarah Daugherty, a post-doctoral fellow, received her B.A. from Carleton College, a dual Masters degree in epidemiology and health behavior and health education from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in genetic epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Dr. Daugherty's work has focused on urological cancers, including prostate and bladder cancer, with an emphasis on chemoprevention and personalized medicine. Dr. Daugherty has given multiple presentations at professional conferences such as the Society for Epidemiological Research, the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), and the AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention, and has published her research in journals such as Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, the American Journal of Epidemiology, and Cancer Prevention Research. Dr. Daugherty is the principal investigator on a large and comprehensive follow-up study within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial that aims to identify genetic biomarkers and other epidemiological factors that are related to prostate cancer recurrence and progression among men initially diagnosed with clinically localized disease.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Jennifer Drahos, M.P.H., Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Jennifer Drahos joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) as a NCI Cancer Prevention Fellow in September 2011. She earned a B.S. in economics and microbiology with Honors from the University of Iowa and received her Ph.D. in microbiology from Columba University, where she focused on the innate immune response in picornavirus-infected cells. Prior to being awarded the Cancer Prevention Fellowship from the National Cancer Institute in 2010, she was a senior analyst at a healthcare research firm specializing in improving healthcare delivery at hospitals. During her M.P.H. training at the Harvard School of Public Health she concentrated in quantitative methods and researched the incidence and survival variability by ethnicity of pediatric patients with treatment-induced acute myeloid leukemia. Dr. Drahos is interested in applying epidemiologic methods to investigate the role of chronic inflammation and microbial infection in carcinogenesis, as well as sex differences in cancer pathogenesis. She is currently working with Dr. Michael Cook (HREB) and Dr. Mahboobeh Safaeian (IIB) to elucidate the etiology of the distinct stages of esophageal adenocarcinoma as well as investigate the serologic response to HPV natural infection and vaccination.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Ashley Felix, M.P.H., Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Ashley Felix joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) as a Cancer Prevention Fellow in August, 2011. Prior to joining the branch, Dr. Felix received a B.A. in public health from Johns Hopkins University, an M.P.H. in epidemiology from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Her doctoral dissertation focused on tumor-stromal interactions in Type I and Type II endometrial cancers, with a specific focus on the roles of two pathways: CXCL12/CXCR4 and HGF/c-Met/bFGF. Dr. Felix’s research interests include the molecular epidemiology of gynecologic malignancies as a means to identify biomarkers related to etiology and survival outcomes. During her fellowship in HREB, Dr. Felix is continuing to pursue her interests in the etiologic heterogeneity of endometrial cancer as well as expanding her expertise to a variety of tissue markers for endometrial, ovarian, and breast cancers. She is working with several HREB investigators, including Dr. Louise Brinton (Chief and senior investigator), Dr. Nicolas Wentzensen (tenure-track investigator), and Dr. Gretchen Gierach (tenure-track investigator).
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Armen Ghazarian, M.P.H. - Predoctoral Fellow
Mr. Armen Ghazarian joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) as a predoctoral fellow in September 2012 as part of the collaborative doctoral training partnership in cancer epidemiology with The George Washington University. Prior to joining the Branch, he worked in NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) as an environmental epidemiology CRTA fellow. Mr. Ghazarian attended the University of Maryland, College Park where he received a B.S. in Biological Sciences in 2008 followed by an M.P.H. in Epidemiology in 2011. His master’s thesis focused on socioeconomic disparities of esophageal adenocarcinoma using data from NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. His research interests include cancer and environmental epidemiology, gene and environment interactions, endocrine disruptors, social determinants of health, and hormonally-related cancers including prostate and testicular. He will be working with Dr. Katherine McGlynn (senior investigator) and Dr. Britton Trabert (research fellow) on studies of male cancers.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Hisani Horne, M.P.H., Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Hisani Horne joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) as a Cancer Prevention Fellow in September, 2011. Dr. Horne received her Ph.D. in pathology in 2010 from Duke University where her doctoral research focused on identifying and characterizing genetic and epigenetic markers for the early detection, prognosis and prediction of breast and ovarian cancer. While at Duke University, Dr. Horne was awarded a pre-doctoral Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health. In 2011 Dr. Horne completed her M.P.H. at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she trained in epidemiology and biostatistics and received a Certificate in Health Disparities and Health Inequality. Her master’s research focused on examining the utility of a health coordinator in increasing cancer screening rates among disparate populations. Dr. Horne also holds a B.S. in Biology from Hampton University. At HREB, Dr. Horne is continuing to explore her interests in breast and ovarian cancer biology through molecular epidemiologic studies working primarily with Dr. Jonine Figueroa.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Lauren Houghton, M.Sc. - Predoctoral Fellow
Ms. Lauren Houghton is a predoctoral fellow in the Wellcome Trust-NIH Graduate Partnership Program. She is progressing through her dissertation research, entitled the ABBY (Adrenarche among Bangladeshi and British Youth) Project, with mentors Drs. Bob Hoover, Hormuzd Katki, Rebecca Troisi and Regina Ziegler in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program at NCI; and supervisors Prof. Gillian Bentley, Drs. Mark Booth and Kate Hampshire in the Department of Anthropology at Durham University, UK. ABBY explores associations between the early life environment and breast cancer risk by focusing on hormonal variation before puberty in Bangladeshi and British girls. Lauren received her M.Sc. from Durham University in biological anthropology for which she evaluated field-based methodology and measured correlations between salivary and serum steroid hormones in women. She continues to be involved in assay development for measuring steroid hormones. For the past two years, she has been conducting fieldwork with over 500 school-aged girls living in London, England and Sylhet, Bangladesh to gather biomarker and ethnographic data from populations with markedly different breast cancer rates. Her research takes a life course approach to understanding the intersection of environmental and hormonal factors in breast cancer carcinogenesis. These factors differ between and within populations as more children are growing up in nutritionally and epidemiologically transitioned environments. This research will contribute to understanding how developmental environments affect reproductive health and related diseases.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Zeina Khodr, M.P.H., Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Zeina Khodr joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) as a postdoctoral fellow in February 2012. She has previously earned a B.A. in sociology, with a minor in biology, at Trinity University in 2004; a M.S. in human genetics at Tulane University in 2005; a M.P.H. in epidemiology at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 2006; and a Ph.D. in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health in 2012. Previous thesis research included a meta-analysis of the association between age and survival in oral cavity cancer patients. Her Ph.D. dissertation research focused on two areas of prevention of birth defects: the relationship between Hispanic acculturation and gastroschisis, and the identification of predictors for preconceptional folic acid supplementation. Dr. Khodr’s research interests include women’s health and breast cancer epidemiology. She is currently working under the mentorship of Drs. Jonine Figueroa and Gretchen Gierach, focusing on the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate genes, for age at menarche and age at menopause, with terminal duct lobular unit (TDLU) involution.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Tricia Luhn, Ph.D., M.P.H. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Tricia Luhn joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch as a Cancer Prevention Fellow in September of 2010. She received her Ph.D. from Emory University in the Biochemistry Cell and Developmental Biology Program in 2006 where her work focused on the regulation of protein-protein interactions in signal transduction pathways. Following her graduate work, she transitioned to clinical research in her first postdoctoral fellowship where her project focused on the identification of serum proteomic profiles that could distinguish women at high risk of developing breast cancer. From this position, she joined the Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program where she received an M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in May 2010. Currently, Dr. Luhn’s research interests are in molecular epidemiology and biomarker discovery and validation. During her fellowship, she is working with Dr. Nicolas Wentzensen looking at biomarkers, such as methylation, in cervical cancer and precancerous lesions.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Sarah Nyante, M.S.P.H., Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Sarah Nyante joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch as a postdoctoral fellow in November 2009. She received her M.S.P.H. and Ph.D. degrees in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For her doctoral dissertation, Dr. Nyante worked with Dr. Robert Millikan to assess relationships between single nucleotide polymorphisms in adipocytokine and estrogen-related genes and the basal-like and luminal A breast cancer subtypes in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study. As a fellow in DCEG, Dr. Nyante’s research focuses on identification of breast cancer risk factors, and the relationship of these risk factors to different breast cancer types. Collaborations include: an analysis of common genetic variation and breast cancer risk in the Polish Breast Cancer Study under the mentorship of Dr. Jonine Figueroa; an investigation of whether declines in mammographic density are associated with improved outcomes among ER-positive breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen, with Drs. Gretchen Gierach and Amy Berrington de González; and analysis of risk factors for different histologic subtypes of breast cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, with Drs. Cher Dallal and Louise Brinton.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Daphne Papathomas, B.S. - Post-baccalaureate Fellow
Ms. Daphne Papathomas joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) as a post-baccalaureate CRTA fellow in September 2012. She received her B.S. in biological sciences, with minors in Spanish and international area studies, from Drexel University in June of 2012. As an undergraduate, Daphne carried out research at Drexel University’s Biomedical Engineering Department and as a summer fellow at the Spanish National Cancer Centre (CNIO) in Madrid, Spain. At the CNIO, she investigated the role of fatty acid synthase (FASN) as a regulator of the Warburg effect in breast tumorigenesis. This research experience stimulated her interest in the breast cancer field, and led her to join the HREB team of investigators studying the molecular epidemiology of breast cancer. Currently, she is working with Drs. Jonine Figueroa and Gretchen Gierach on the Komen Tissue Bank and BREAST Stamp Projects.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Vikrant Sahasrabuddhe, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., Dr.P.H. - Associate Investigator
Dr. Vikrant Sahasrabuddhe is an associate investigator in the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) and is currently detailed to the NCI from the faculty at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Sahasrabuddhe previously served in HREB as a guest scientist as part of the NIH-ORISE Research Participation Fellowship Program. He received his medical training from the University of Pune in India, and his Master’s and Doctorate degrees in public health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Sahasrabuddhe’s global health research has focused on the prevention of cervical cancer among disadvantaged women. He has worked with ministries of health, academic institutions, research organizations, and non-profit agencies in Asia and Africa to develop, implement, and evaluate cervical cancer prevention services for women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This interdisciplinary collaborative work has expanded the evidence on the high burden of cervical neoplasia and the diversity of human papillomaviruses (HPV), the utility of simplified 'see-and-treat-or-refer' prevention protocols, and the need for undertaking innovative health care delivery approaches for women with HIV who are living longer as a result of access to affordable antiretroviral therapy.
At HREB, Dr. Sahasrabuddhe is working with Dr. Louise Brinton (Chief and senior investigator, HREB), Dr. Nicolas Wentzensen (investigator, HREB), and Dr. Katherine McGlynn (Deputy Chief and senior investigator, HREB) on various intramural studies of molecular epidemiology and etiopathogenesis of cervical, anogenital, and hepatobiliary cancers, with a goal of clarifying etiologies and informing cancer prevention practices.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Britton Trabert, Ph.D., M.S., M.S.P.H., Research Fellow
Dr. Britton Trabert joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) as a Sallie Rosen Kaplan Postdoctoral Fellow in October 2009 and was subsequently promoted to Research Fellow in March 2011. She received her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Washington in 2009, a Master of Science in biostatistics from the University of Michigan in 2005 and a Master of Science in Public Health in epidemiology from Emory University in 2003. Her dissertation research focused on genetic variability related to hormone metabolism and whether genetic variants modify the association between dietary and environmental risk factors for endometriosis risk. Dr. Trabert's research interests include the study of early life exposures, hormonal factors and inflammation markers as they relate to ovarian, endometrial and testicular cancers as well as gaining a better understanding of the etiology of testicular and ovarian dysgenesis syndromes. During her fellowship in HREB, Dr. Trabert is involved in projects evaluating the influences of pre- and post-natal risk factors of testicular cancers, assessing infertility-related gynecologic conditions and cancer risk, and exploring the relationships of inflammation-related biomarkers and risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers with several investigators, including Dr. Katherine McGlynn, Dr. Louise Brinton and Dr. Nicolas Wentzensen.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Cindy Zhou, BMed - Predoctoral Fellow
Ms. Cindy Zhou joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) as a predoctoral fellow in October 2012. In 2010, she received her Bachelor of Medicine (B.Med.) in preventive medicine from the West China Center of Medical Sciences, Sichuan University, China. For her B.Med. research project, Ms. Zhou examined socioeconomic and behavioral factors in breast cancer screening among women in southwest China. In 2008 – 2009, she served as a resident in the West China Hospital, Sichuan, China, rotating through the Departments of Oncology, Rehabilitation, Gerontology and General Medicine. In the summer of 2009, Ms. Zhou was an intern with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Zigong, China working on the HIV/AIDS Sentinel Surveillance program. She has been a Ph.D. student in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services since August 2010. In 2011, she worked with Ann Hsing, Ph.D., formerly a senior investigator in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, on several projects related to prostate cancer. For her doctoral dissertation, Ms. Zhou is working with HREB investigator Michael Cook, Ph.D., on research pertaining to the etiology of prostate cancer.
DCEG Publications (text and abstracts from our publications)
Learn about research training opportunities in the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch.