DCEG News Updates
The latest news and research findings from the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.
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Jacqueline B. Vo Appointed Assistant Clinical Investigator
Dr. Jacqueline B. Vo was appointed assistant clinical investigator in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch. She is the first assistant clinical investigator nurse in NCI.
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Germline-Somatic Interactions, Telomere Biology Affect Myelofibrosis Risk
DCEG investigators have identified six germline susceptibility loci for the rare myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) myelofibrosis; four overlap with loci previously identified for overall MPN. The findings were published September 8, 2022, in Nature Communications.
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Investing in our Future: DCEG’s Path to Enhancing the Scientific Workforce
Enhancing the scientific workforce benefits everyone in an organization. DCEG is focused on recruitment, training, and retention, advancing health disparities research.
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Mustapha Abubakar Appointed Earl Stadtman Investigator
Dr. Mustapha Abubakar was appointed Ealr Stadtman tenure-track investigator in the Integrative Tumor Epidemiology Branch in September 2022. He integrates computational pathology methods with epidemiological studies to better understand the role of tissue ecosystem disruption in screen-detectable cancers.
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2022 Coleman Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Innovation Award Granted to Lauren Hurwitz
Dr. Hurwitz's project on serum organochlorine insecticide levels and risk of aggressive prostate cancer in African men will be supported by the NIMHD Coleman Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Award.
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2022 iCURE Scholars Welcomed to DCEG
DCEG welcomed three new scholars from the NCI Intramural Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (iCURE) Program in 2022: Muzzammil Ahmadzada, Maxwell Hogshead, and Jazmyn Bess for postbaccalaureate training. Dr. Corey Young has transitioned to a postdoctoral iCURE scholar.
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Inaugural Intramural Health Disparities Workshop
The Center for Cancer Research Health Disparity Steering Committee, DCEG Cancer Health Disparities Working Group, and Fellows Cancer Health Disparities Interest Group co-organized a workshop to communicate expectations of health disparity research, identify research resources, highlight opportunities for collaborations, and outline future directions.
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Sharon Savage Recognized by Her Undergraduate and Medical Schools
Dr. Sharon Savage received awards from her two alma maters, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine.
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Haoyu Zhang Appointed Earl Stadtman Investigator
Appointed in August 2022, Dr. Zhang will develop scalable statistical methods and software to analyze large-scale multi-ancestry genetic data to address questions related to health disparities and to advance genetic research in diverse populations.
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Early HPV Vaccination is Important in Reducing HPV 16/18 Prevalence
Using NHANES data, DCEG researchers found that HPV vaccination before sexual debut virtually eliminated HPV 16/18 in females but vaccination after debut only reduced HPV-16/18 prevalence by 40 percent compared to those unvaccinated. Only 59 percent of U.S. childhood HPV vaccinations occurred before sexual debut.
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Tobacco Smoke at Home Linked To Higher Mortality Across Diverse Group of Nonsmokers
Nonsmokers exposed daily to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at home had higher mortality risks than those unexposed in a nationally representative study of the US population. These findings were observed across population subgroups of race and ethnicity, education, and household income, according to a study led by Dr. Daniela Gutiérrez in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch.
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Largest GWAS Maps Variation in Human Height
The international consortium known as GIANT published results from the largest-known genome-wide association study (GWAS)—nearly 5.4 million people—and identified more than 12,000 genetic variants associated with variation in human height. Dr. Sonja Berndt played a major role in the study. These findings were published in Nature on October 12, 2022.
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Novel Potential Risk Factors Identified for Treatment-Related Thoracic Soft-Tissue Sarcomas
Drs. Lene Veiga and Amy Berrington in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch explored the risk of thoracic soft tissue sarcomas among breast cancer survivors in two U.S. cohorts. They identified a history of hypertension or diabetes as novel potential co-factors for radiation-induced angiosarcoma.
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Despite Recent Declines, Gastric Cancer Remains Leading Cause of Cancer Death in the Americas
Drs. Constanza Camargo, Christian Alvarez, and collaborators in Brazil, Peru, Mexico, and Spain, analyzed data from the NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program and the World Health Organization to provide the most up-to-date estimates on gastric cancer mortality trends at a country-specific level for Hispanic/Latino populations. Patterns differed by country, sex, and age, revealing potential for prevention.
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Stephen Chanock Recognized at Special Love Gala
Dr. Chanock received the Randy Schools Light of Love Award "in grateful recognition of his nearly 30 years as Camp Fantastic medical director and his commitment and compassion to the children and families of Special Love."
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Increased Meningioma Risk Following Treatments for Childhood Cancer
In the largest pooled study of childhood cancer survivors to date, Dr. Lene Veiga in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch and former fellow Dr. Diana Withrow, observed that meningioma risk increased linearly with the treatment radiation dose. Meningioma risk was higher for children treated before age 10 and persisted over 30 years after radiotherapy. Receiving the chemotherapy drug, methotrexate was also associated with increased risk of meningioma, but no dose-response relationship was observed.
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Diptavo Dutta Appointed Earl Stadtman Tenure-track Investigator
Diptavo Dutta, Ph.D., joined DCEG as an Earl Stadtman tenure-track investigator in the Integrative Tumor Epidemiology Branch and affiliate member of the Biostatistics Branch. Dr. Dutta will integrate genetic and ‘omics’ data to understand the contribution of ancestry and genetic factors to cancer etiology.
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Alexander Keil Appointed Earl Stadtman Investigator
Dr. Keil was appointed Earl Stadtman tenure-track investigator in the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch in May 2022. He studies occupational and environmental exposures that consider exposure across the life course as well as the complex interactions between exposures and health.
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2022 Summer Intern Program
DCEG welcomed 36 summer interns for the first-ever hybrid program. Support was provided by Diane Wigfield, program manager in the Office of Education, the NCI Training Directors, and 49 DCEG staff, including investigators, staff scientists, and trainees, who served as mentors.
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2022 IARC/NCI Joint Workshop on HIV and Cancer
Joint meeting of experts from IARC and the NCI to discuss HIV and cancer. Topics ranged from the state of the science, gaps in research, opportunities for future studies, and barriers and challenges in the field.