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Richard Hayes Retires
Richard Hayes, Debra Silverman, and Joseph Fraumeni.
In January, Richard B. Hayes, D.D.S., Ph.D., retired from the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch after a 23-year career at NCI. “Dr. Hayes advanced research on occupational risk factors for cancer and forged new ground by incorporating molecular technology into epidemiologic research,” said Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr., M.D., Division Director.
Dr. Hayes was born and raised on Long Island, New York. After earning a B.S. in biology from Manhattan College and a D.D.S. from Columbia University, he worked in dentistry before pursuing interests in public health. He earned an M.P.H. and Ph.D. in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University, where his doctoral dissertation reported an increased risk of lung cancer mortality among workers at a chromium chemical production plant, resulting in the closure of the facility. Before joining NCI in 1985, he worked as an epidemiologist at the Dutch Cancer Foundation and the Medical School at Erasmus University
in Rotterdam.
While at NCI, Dr. Hayes published more than 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts and fostered a collegial work environment, collaborating with scientists all over the world and mentoring numerous young scientists. He was responsible for substantially increasing our understanding of the cancer hazards of benzene, formaldehyde, and other occupational exposures, including finding a dose-related association between benzene exposure and hematologic malignancies. In 1992, he began incorporating etiologic and early-marker studies into the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, transforming PLCO into an invaluable resource for cohort studies in molecular epidemiology. His scientific contributions have been instrumental in elucidating the role of genetic, nutritional, and behavioral risk factors for tumors of the prostate and large bowel, including cancers and adenomas. He also has been on the forefront of genetic research for prostate cancer as part of the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium and Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility project, providing insight into the reported association between KLK3 and other genetic variants and risk of prostate cancer. His achievements have been recognized with an array of awards, including the Alice Hamilton Science Award for Occupational Safety and Health, NCI and NIH Merit Awards, and the NCI Mentor of Merit Award.
Dr. Hayes leaves NCI to become the Director of the Division of Epidemiology, Department of Environmental Medicine, and Associate Director for Population Sciences at the New York University (NYU) Cancer Institute. He will continue investigating genetic and environmental risk factors for cancer, as well as their interactions, and will work to build a comprehensive cancer epidemiology and prevention research program at NYU.
—Sonja I. Berndt, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
