DCEG News Updates
The latest news and research findings from the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.
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DCEG Researchers Featured in Fifty Years of the National Cancer Act Commemoration
Aimée Kreimer, Ph.D., Joseph Fraumeni, Jr., M.D., Francine S. Baker, M.S., and Ludmila Prokunina-Olsson, Ph.D., and Frank J. Colón-Matos, B.S., share their research and personal experiences as part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the National Cancer Act.
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NCI Study Highlights Pandemic’s Disproportionate Impact on Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Latino Individuals
The global COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Latino individuals in the United States, causing more deaths by population size, both directly and indirectly, in these groups compared with White or Asian individuals. The findings, from a large surveillance study led by Meredith Shiels, Ph.D., appeared October 5, 2021, in Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Corey Young and Brittany Lord Receive AACR Scholar-in-Training Award for Health Disparities Meeting
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) recognized the work of Corey Young, M.S., and Brittany Lord, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S., with financial support to attend the 2021 AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved.
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June Peters Recognized by the National Society of Genetic Counselors
Ms. Peters, founding genetic counselor (retired), in the Clinical Genetics Branch, received the most distinguished honor, the Natalie Weissberger Paul National Achievement Award, at the 2021 NSGC annual meeting.
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Gastric and Esophageal Cancers Largely Attributable to Preventable Exposures
Christian Abnet and colleagues found that several modifiable risk factors contribute to a large proportion of cases of esophageal and gastric cancers in the U.S., representing critical targets for cancer prevention efforts.
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Estrogen Receptor-Negative Breast Cancer Trends Vary by Location, Race, and Ethnicity
Research led by Gretchen Gierach and Philip Rosenberg found variability by age, race and ethnicity, and geographic location for estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer trends in the United States, despite an overall decline in incidence.
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2021 Informatics Tool Challenge Winners Announced
Four projects were funded through the 2021 DCEG Informatics Tool Challenge that seek to advance research on the microbiome, expand our knowledge of descriptive and molecular cancer epidemiology, identify target genes and pathways from GWAS, and improve harmonization of heterogenous data.
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Ask a Researcher: Working in a Cancer Research Lab
Francine Baker, M.S., postbaccalaureate fellow and iCURE scholar and Ludmila Prokunina-Olsson, Ph.D., Chief and senior investigator of the Laboratory of Translational Genomics give a behind-the-scenes look inside a cancer research lab, and discuss their career paths, mentorship, and more.
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Sarah Jackson Selected for Sexual and Gender Minority Health Researcher Spotlight
Sarah S. Jackson, Ph.D., independent research scholar in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, was selected for the Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Health Researcher Spotlight in September 2021.
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NIH Intramural Blog Highlights Finding on Cell Age and Transplant Outcomes
Drs. Rotana Alsaggaf and Shahinaz Gadalla in the Clinical Genetics Branch discuss their research which shows that molecular markers of cellular aging may be more accurate predictors of hematopoietic stem cell transplant success than chronological age alone.
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Age at Menarche Associated with Seven Cancers
Steven C. Moore and colleagues found that women who experienced menarche at younger ages had an increased risk of seven cancers in middle age: endometrial cancer, liver cancer, melanoma, bladder cancer, and cancers of the colon, lung, and breast.
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Choonsik Lee, Matt Mille Recognized at 2021 Health Physics Society Meeting
Dr. Choonsik Lee delivered the prestigious Dade Moeller Lectureship and Dr. Matthew Mille was recognized with the 2021 Elda Anderson Award for excellence in research/development, discovery/invention, devotion to health physics, and significant contributions to the profession of health physics. Both were given at the Health Physics Society Annual Meeting.
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NIH Study Illuminates Origins of Lung Cancer in Never Smokers
A genomic analysis of lung cancer in people with no history of smoking has found that a majority of these tumors arise from the accumulation of mutations caused by natural processes in the body. This study describes for the first time three molecular subtypes of lung cancer in people who have never smoked.
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Steve Simon Receives 2021 Health Physics Society Award
Dr. Simon was recognized for his career publication record and contributions to the science of radiation protection with the 2021 Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award.
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Jill Barnholtz-Sloan Awarded Scientific Tenure by the NIH
Dr. Barnholtz-Sloan is a biostatistician with multi-disciplinary training in epidemiology, population genetics, human genetics, and bioinformatics/informatics. She joined the NCI in summer 2021 as Associate Director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology with a joint appointment in DCEG.
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Lesley Chapman Selected for Human Genetics Scholar Initiative Program
Dr. Chapman, postdoctoral fellow in the Clinical Genetics Branch was selected for the two-year program with the goal of increasing diversity and inclusion in the field of human genetics provided by the American Society of Human Genetics, in partnership with industry leaders and the National Human Genome Research Institute.
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Physical Activity May Lessen the Effects of Chemobrain, Study Finds
A study found that people with breast cancer who met the minimum national physical activity guidelines before and during chemotherapy had better cognitive function immediately and 6 months after chemotherapy than people who did not meet the guidelines. The results were published August 18 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Yei Eun Shin Receives Career Development Award from Korean International Statistics Society
Dr. Shin received the award at the 2021 Joint Statistical Meeting. As a tenure-track investigator in the Biostatistics Branch, she develops statistical methods to analyze cancer risk and health outcomes associated with different spatiotemporal exposures and improve estimation or validation of risk models for epidemiological studies.
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Grace Hong Awarded Scientific Tenure by the NIH
In August 2021, Dr. Hong was awarded scientific tenure by the NIH and joined DCEG as a senior investigator in the Biostatistics Branch (BB). As a statistical scientist, she focuses on the development of cutting-edge statistical methods for analyses of complex large-scale datasets (e.g., high-dimensional censored data and longitudinal data), and applying these methods to the fields of public health, medicine, health policy research, and cancer.
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Risk-Based Oral Cancer Screening Can Cut Costs While Maintaining High Sensitivity
Li Cheung, Ph.D., staff scientist in the Biostatistics Branch finds risk-based oral cancer screening may improve the efficiency of screening programs and still maintain high sensitivity. Findings have public health implications for low-resource settings.