Elizabeth Cahoon Awarded Tenure by the NCI

In April, Elizabeth K. Cahoon, Ph.D., was awarded scientific tenure by the NIH and promoted to senior investigator in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB). Dr. Cahoon is an internationally recognized radiation epidemiologist whose work focuses on understanding how environmental sources of radiation exposure affect cancer risk.

Since becoming an NIH Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator in 2017, Dr. Cahoon has studied the cancer and precancer risks associated with ionizing radiation and ultraviolet radiation. Much of her research involves people exposed to radioactive fallout from the Chornobyl accident. She works with an international, interdisciplinary team to produce research that can help improve radiation safety standards in the event of a nuclear emergency. Her research on ultraviolet radiation focuses on rare or little-studied cancers, mechanisms of ultraviolet radiation-related cancer development, and cancer risks among individuals taking photosensitizing medications. Her ongoing studies aim to identify cancer sites that are linked to radiation exposure and populations that may be more vulnerable.

Dr. Cahoon earned a B.S.E. in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania; an S.M. from the Engineering Systems Division at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and an M.H.S. in biostatistics and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in REB.