DCEG News Updates
The latest news and research findings from the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.
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Amy Berrington Departs DCEG for the U.K.
Dr. Berrington has been a major asset and made tremendous contributions through her robust research program, her superb leadership of the Radiation Epidemiology Branch, her vision in guiding DCEG through the process of developing the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, and outstanding mentorship. She exemplifies the highest standard of leadership in cancer epidemiology.
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A Healthy Lifestyle May Help Former Smokers Lower Their Risk of Death from All Causes
Findings from an analysis of a large group of former smokers who participated in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study showed that former smokers who adhered to evidence-based recommendations for body weight, physical activity, and alcohol intake had a lower risk of mortality than former smokers who didn't adhere to these recommendations.
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Steven Moore Awarded Scientific Tenure by the NIH
In September 2022, Steven Moore, Ph.D., M.P.H., was awarded scientific tenure by the NIH and promoted to senior investigator in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch. Dr. Moore is an internationally recognized expert on the role of physical activity in cancer etiology and the uses of metabolomics in epidemiologic research. His findings have contributed to evidence-based public health recommendations for physical activity and cancer prevention.
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Jacqueline Vo and Jennifer McGee-Avila Received AACR Scholar-in-Training Award for Health Disparities Meeting
Dr. Jacqueline Vo and Jennifer McGee-Avila received the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Scholar-in-Training Award for the 2022 AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved.
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In Memorium: Professor Dame Valerie Beral
Professor Dame Valerie Beral made tremendous contributions to the field of cancer epidemiology. She will be deeply missed by her colleagues and friends in DCEG.
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2022 HHS Hubert H. Humphrey Award for Service to America
Six DCEG staff were recognized by the department for their service at the southern border as part of Operation Artemis and Operation Allies Welcome, initiatives run by the Office of Refugee and Resettlement.
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2022 DCEG Cancer Health Disparities Award Winners
Drs. Jongeun Rhee and Charles Breeze, and Akemi Wijayabahu received funding for their projects. The DCEG Cancer Health Disparities Award aims to expand cancer disparities research within the Division by encouraging postdoctoral trainees to initiate new and highly innovative cancer disparity and/or minority health research projects that they will continue into their independent research careers.
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Tea Consumption Associated with Lower Risk of Death
Investigators found that drinking 2+ cups of tea per day was associated with lower risk of death in a study of nearly five million people in the United Kingdom, where black tea is common.
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Many Types of Leisure Time Activities May Lower Risk of Death for Older Adults
A study led by Dr. Eleanor Watts showed that older adults who participate weekly in many different types of leisure time activities, such as walking for exercise, jogging, swimming laps, or playing tennis, may have a lower risk of death from any cause, as well as death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
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HPV Vaccine Protection Outweighs Additional Risk of Cervical Lesions Caused by Non-Preventable HPV Types
In a study published June 2022 in Lancet Oncology, Jaimie Shing, Ph.D., M.P.H., and colleagues observed that HPV types not targeted by the vaccine cause cervical lesions more frequently in vaccinated populations than in unvaccinated populations. However, the number of prevented cervical lesions was considerably greater than the number of additional lesions attributed to non-preventable HPV types, thus confirming the efficacy of the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer prevention.
this study is the first to observe and evaluate clinical unmasking following HPV vaccination. -
Oral Microbiome Linked to Lung Cancer Risk
A study from Emily Vogtmann, Ph.D., M.P.H., senior investigator in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch, links the oral microbiome to lung cancer risk using data from three DCEG cohorts: the Agricultural Health Study, NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, and the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening trial.
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Testing for IBMFS Important for Treatment Decisions in Severe Aplastic Anemia
Individuals who receive hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) for treatment of severe aplastic anemia (SAA) can benefit from genetic testing prior to treatment initiation to determine if they have an unrecognized inherited bone marrow failure syndrome.
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Anil Chaturvedi Appointed DCEG Senior Advisor for Faculty Development
In this role, Dr. Chaturvedi will focus on implementing the recommendations of the Recruitment and Retention Task Force, which he co-chaired with Dr. Jackie Lavigne. He will work closely with the Office of Education, Associate Directors, Branch Chiefs, and the Promotion and Tenure Review Panel to enhance scientific and career development of investigators and staff and foster a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible work culture.
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Summer 2022 Fellow Awards
During the early summer of 2022, many fellows in DCEG were recognized for their outstanding research efforts. Dr. Cameron Haas received the Intramural AIDS Research Fellowship and Drs. Brittany Lord and Wayne Lawrence received the Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program 2022 Merit Award. Several postdoctoral fellows received the Fellows Award for Research Excellence.
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Interferon Treatment May Improve COVID-19 Outcomes in People with Certain Genetic Factors
Drs. Ludmila Prokunina-Olsson, Oscar Florez-Vargas, and Rouf Banday in the Laboratory of Translational Genomics investigated the role of OAS1 in COVID-19 severity in patients of European and African ancestries. This finding contributes to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of COVID-19 disease severity and may inform treatment options for COVID-19.
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Bringing the Pieces Together: CCR-DCEG FLEX Awards
To capitalize on the complementary research approaches of the Center for Cancer Research (CCR) and DCEG, the CCR-DCEG FLEX award was established in 2015 to fund collaborative projects. Seven years later, Drs. Constanza Camargo, Charles Rabkin, Eric Engels, Neelam Giri, and Laufey Amundadottir, discuss how their projects came about and their progress toward understanding the causes of cancer and the means of prevention.
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Advancing RASopathies Research: A Conversation with Drs. Gina Ney and Douglas Stewart
The lead investigators of the RASopathies study, Douglas Stewart, M.D., senior investigator, and Gina Ney, M.D., Ph.D., staff clinician in the Clinical Genetics Branch, discuss the goals of the study and reflect upon its inaugural year.
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Validation of a Low-cost, Rapid HPV DNA Genotyping Test for Cervical Cancer Prevention
A key deliverable of the Cancer Moonshot initiative to Accelerate Cervical Cancer Control is a rapid, mobile, simple, and affordable HPV DNA typing assay for risk-based screening and management in resource-limited settings where routine screening is logistically and cost prohibitive. Drs. Kanan Desai, Mark Schiffman, Silvia de Sanjose, and colleagues in the Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Clinical Genetics Branch, in cooperation with Atila Biosystems scientists, guided the redesign of an existing test for this purpose.
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Lesley Chapman Hannah and Brittany Lord Receive Eddie Méndez Scholar Award
Lesley Chapman Hannah, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow and iCURE scholar in the Clinical Genetics Branch, and Brittany Lord, Ph.D., M.S., M.P.H., Cancer Prevention Fellow in the Integrative Tumor Epidemiology Branch, have been selected as members of the fourth cohort of Eddie Méndez awardees by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The award recognizes outstanding postdoctoral fellows from backgrounds that are underrepresented in science.
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Radioactive Iodine Treatment for Thyroid Cancer Associated with Increased Risk of Second Cancers
Elisa Pasqual, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues found that RAI therapy for thyroid cancer among people younger than 45 was associated with increased risk of solid cancer and leukemia. The strength of this study lies in its size and length of follow up.