DCEG News Updates
The latest news and research findings from the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.
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Acid Reflux Disease Associated with Increased Risk of Esophageal and Laryngeal Cancers
Christian Abnet, Ph.D., chief of the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch (MEB) and colleagues, found gastroesophageal reflux disease was associated with a two-fold increased risk of esophageal or laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas, using data from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.
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COVID-19 Research Across the Division: DCEG Experts Address the Pandemic
Investigators have uncovered important differences in mortality patterns over the course of the pandemic, identified a novel isoform of ACE2, launched a hub to monitor seroprevalence, evaluated risks for cancer patients, and possible late effects of COVID-19, and more.
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Laufey Aumundadottir Receives 2021 CCR-DCEG FLEX Award
Dr. Amundadottir, senior investigator in the Laboratory of Translational Genomics, and Dr. Efsun Arda from the NCI Center for Cancer Research, are collaborating on a project to characterize cell type resolved effects of genetic variation on pancreas cancer risk.
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Mentorship at DCEG: A Tradition of Excellence
Over the years, DCEG has trained hundreds of epidemiologists who have contributed to advancements in public health. Investing in mentorship and training has been essential to the Division’s success and longevity as a premier research program of cancer epidemiology and genetics. Past and present mentor-mentee pairs describe their training and mentoring experience at DCEG.
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COVID-19 Research by DCEG Featured in NCI Cancer Currents Blog
Researchers in DCEG have applied their expertise to address various aspects of the coronavirus pandemic, from volunteering in the NIH staff testing program to investigations of the underlying biology of coronavirus infections. Read about some of those activities and the work of other NCI scientists on the Cancer Currents blog.
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Subsequent Cancer Risk in Retinoblastoma Survivors
Sara Schonfeld, Ph.D., in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB) and colleagues, find that survivors of hereditary retinoblastoma have an increased long-term risk of certain subsequent epithelial cancers and of developing multiple subsequent cancers.
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NCI Director’s Award Ceremony 2020, DCEG Staff Recognized
Several DCEG staff were honored at the 2020 NCI Director’s Awards ceremony for their efforts in assessing radiation-related cancer risk at the Trinity site in New Mexico; for development of a suite of tools to streamline business processes in DCEG; and for years of continued service to the NCI.
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Gretchen Gierach Appointed Chief of Integrative Tumor Epidemiology Branch
Gretchen Gierach, Ph.D., M.P.H., was appointed as Chief of the Integrative Tumor Epidemiology Branch (ITEB) in January 2021. Dr. Gierach is an expert in the etiology of hormone-related female malignancies, with particular focus on breast cancer.
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2021 Coleman Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Innovation Award Granted to Six DCEG Fellows
Six DCEG postdoctoral fellows have received the 2021 William G. Coleman Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Innovation Award for projects addressing disparities in cancer survivorship, breast cancer treatment, and exposure to air pollution.
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Aimée Kreimer Elected Women Scientist Advisor
Aimée Kreimer, Ph.D., senior investigator in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, was elected Women Scientist Advisor in January 2021 for a three-year term.
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AI Tools Provide Picture of Cervical Health: Artificial Intelligence Simplifies Cervical Cancer Screening
I Am Intramural Blog describes DCEG research to develop artificial intelligence to create a fast, inexpensive, and easy to use method of identifying possible signs of cervical cancer using nothing more than a smartphone.
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Definition of Breast Cancer Genes for Panel Testing
An international team of scientists, known collectively as the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC), conducted an analysis of more than 113,000 women to define the genes that are most clinically useful for inclusion in panel testing and provide precise risk estimates for genetic counseling.
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2021 Sallie Rosen Kaplan Fellowship Recipients and Diversity Career Development Program Selections
Katelyn Connelly, Ilona Argirion Kabara, and Daniela Sarahi Gutierrez Torres received the 2021 Sallie Rosen Kaplan Fellowship. Sabine Naudin was selected for the 2021 Diversity Career Development Program.
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Trans-Divisional Research Program (TDRP) Established
The mission of the TDRP is to conduct and facilitate trans-divisional research on cancer epidemiology, genetics, and prevention across DCEG. The Program is expected to increase cross-branch research initiatives, data sharing and analytics capacity.
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Racial Disparities May Decrease with Life-Gained Approach to Lung Cancer Screening
Postdoctoral fellow Rebecca Landy, Ph.D., predoctoral fellow Corey Young, M.S., and senior investigator Hormuzd Katki, Ph.D., in the Biostatistics Branch found that the draft 2020 lung cancer screening guidelines by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) may increase racial/ethnic disparities. However, augmenting the guidelines to include people eligible according to the Life-Years From Screening-Computed Tomography model may reduce disparities.
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Katelyn Connelly Awarded Sallie Rosen Kaplan Fellowship for 2021
Dr. Connelly was awarded a Sallie Rosen Kaplan (SRK) Postdoctoral Fellowship for 2021. The goal of the SRK program is to help prepare female postdoctoral fellows at the NCI for the transition to independent biomedical research careers. Fellows receive additional mentoring and networking opportunities and attend seminars and workshops designed to strengthen leadership, time management, and self-promotional skills.
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Birth Defects Associated with Increased Risk of Cancer in Adulthood
Rebecca Troisi, Sc.D., staff scientist in the Trans-Divisional Research Program, and collaborators examined cancer incidence associated with chromosomal and non-chromosomal congenital anomalies in a large Nordic population-based case-control study. Findings were published in BMJ on December 2, 2020.
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Allan Hildesheim Retires From DCEG
Allan Hildesheim, Ph.D., senior investigator and former chief of the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch (IIB) built a multidisciplinary research program focused on the interplay of infection, immunity, and inflammation on cancer risk and helped translate those findings into important advances in cancer prevention, risk stratification, and screening.
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SeroHub Launched: Interactive Dashboard Comparing COVID-19 Seroprevalence Studies
The COVID-19 Seroprevalence Studies Hub (SeroHub) was developed by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, parts of the National Institutes of Health, to provide an interactive dashboard to compare COVID-19 seroprevalence studies across the country.
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Welcoming New iCURE Scholars to DCEG
The NCI Intramural Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (iCURE) program offers mentored research experiences to qualified individuals and aims to support the career progress of its scholars toward research independence, as well as foster and sustain diversity in the biomedical research pipeline. In 2020, DCEG welcomed six new iCURE scholars.