Arash Etemadi, M.D., Ph.D.
NCI Shady Grove | Room 6E340
Biography
Dr. Arash Etemadi received his M.D., M.P.H., and Ph.D. in epidemiology from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, where he investigated genetic polymorphisms involved in the metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and DNA repair. He subsequently served as an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Tehran University of Medical Sciences before joining DCEG as a postdoctoral visiting fellow. Dr. Etemadi was promoted to research fellow in 2015 and became a staff scientist in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch (MEB) in 2018.
Dr. Etemadi has received multiple honors, including the DCEG Fellows Award for Research Excellence, the DCEG Fellowship Achievement Award, the Intramural Research Award, and the NCI Director’s Career Development Innovation Award. He serves on the Steering Committees of the International Health Cohorts Consortium and the NCI Cohort Consortium.
Research Interests
As a molecular epidemiologist, Dr. Etemadi’s research focuses on population-based studies exploring the molecular basis of cancer etiology, early detection, and prevention.
Molecular basis of carcinogenesis
Dr. Etemadi investigates molecular markers of exposures to carcinogens and toxicants from tobacco and non-tobacco sources (e.g. ambient air and household pollution) in several studies and research collaborations. As products of burning organic material, tobacco smoke and pollutants share pathways contributing to different chronic diseases. He uses biomarkers to explore common pathways between chronic diseases and across different populations with various exposures, to improve risk stratification, prevention, and early detection.
Long-term consequences of opioids
The number of people using opioids over extended periods of time has been increasing, raising concern as to the long-term health effects of this exposure. However, studying these health effects is challenging due to the lack of longitudinal data, difficulties in following opioid users over extended periods of time, and the lack of information about the best way to characterize and measure long-term opioid use. Dr. Etemadi leverages unique data resources and collaborations to address these challenges for the study of long-term effects of various forms of opioids and prescription opioid medications, including the harm and benefit and potential consequences among individuals with cancer.
Upper gastrointestinal cancers
Dr. Etemadi studies upper gastrointestinal tract cancers (i.e. cancers of the esophagus and stomach) and helps coordinate MEB’s broad portfolio of international field studies across Asia and Africa. He is a member of the DCEG Upper Gastrointestinal (UGI) Cancer Research Group and several large field studies of UGI cancers in high-incidence areas. In addition, Dr. Etemadi serves on the Executive Committee of International Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Consortium.