DCEG News Updates
The latest news and research findings from the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.
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The 2025 DCEG Fellows' Award for Research Excellence (DFARE) recognizes the outstanding scientific research performed by DCEG fellows and provides funding for travel to scientific meetings or conferences.
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Dr. Rena Jones was awarded scientific tenure by the NIH and promoted to senior investigator in the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch in October 2024. She studies the effects of environmental exposures on cancer risk.
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Tongwu Zhang, Batel Blechter, Thong Luong, and Maya Spaur received 2025 NCI Director’s Intramural Innovation Awards, which support the development of highly innovative approaches and technology aimed at significant cancer–related problems.
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A multidisciplinary panel of experts, convened by the Children’s Oncology Group, has published consensus guidelines for diagnostic evaluation and surgical management of pediatric melanocytic tumors.
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In the summer of 2024, 30 interns from 11 states and the District of Columbia, came to do research in every branch of DCEG as well as in the Trans-Divisional Research Program.
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Fellows are an integral part of the interdisciplinary teams conducting cutting-edge research in DCEG. Continually recruiting and training talented fellows is vital for optimizing the Division’s workforce. In early 2024, DCEG published four videos outlining some of the Division’s values and the advantages a DCEG fellowship offers, as expressed by fellows, investigators, and Division’s Office of Education staff.
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Multiple genetic loci are associated with lung cancer risk, but the underlying genetic mechanisms remain poorly understood. Dr. Jiyeon Choi from the Laboratory of Translational Genomics and her colleagues analyzed normal lung cells from ever- and never-smokers using single-cell multiomics. The data highlighted cell-type-specific gene regulation underlying lung cancer susceptibility.
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Dr. Michael Sargen, in collaboration with investigators in the Center for Cancer Research, compared the genomic landscape of benign and malignant sebaceous tumors to identify molecular changes that could potentially be diagnostic biomarkers or targeted for therapy.
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Dr. Debra Silverman will retire from the NCI after over 50 years of service and 16 years leading the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch. She dedicated her career to investigating occupational, environmental, and host factors associated with cancers of the bladder, lung, and pancreas. In addition, Dr. Silverman paved the way for other women to enter the field of biostatistics and epidemiology, shepherding junior investigators to leadership roles.
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Dr. Purdue is an internationally recognized expert in the study of cancer associations with occupational and environmental exposures to chlorinated solvents, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other agents, and the etiology of kidney cancer.
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Megan Clarke, former Earl Stadman investigator in the Clinical Genetics Branch, began a new position at the pharmaceutical firm Abbvie in September 2024. During her tenure in DCEG, she combined molecular, clinical, and population-based approaches to address etiology, prevention, and early detection of anogenital and endometrial cancers. Her discoveries advanced understanding of natural history, influenced clinical management guidelines, and address cancer disparities.
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NIH Intramural Research Program highlights Dr. Kitahara's research on the impact of photon and proton therapies among childhood cancer survivors and their risk of second cancer.
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Investigators in the Clinical Genetics Branch, led by senior investigator Lisa Mirabello and former research fellow Maísa Pinheiro, used deep targeted sequencing to look for hotspot somatic driver mutations resulting from persistent infection with one of the three most carcinogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV types 16, 18, and 45) in cells collected during routine screening for cervical cancer. These mutations may serve as a clinically meaningful biomarker of carcinogenesis in individuals with persistent HPV infection.
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Ten DCEG fellows won the NIH Fellows’ Award for Research Excellence (FARE), which recognizes outstanding scientific research performed by NIH intramural postdoctoral fellows.
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In August 2024, Dr. Danping Liu was awarded scientific tenure by the NIH and promoted to senior investigator in the Biostatistics Branch. Dr. Liu is recognized for his expertise in longitudinal data methodology, risk prediction modeling, biomarker data analyses, missing data methods, and cancer registry linkage.
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Researchers led by Dr. Diptavo Dutta conducted transcriptome- and proteome-wide association studies to increase understanding of genes and proteins associated with renal cell carcinoma and identify potential therapeutic targets.
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In an analysis led by Dr. Wayne Lawrence and colleagues, using data from 12,610 Black and White men and women living in the United States, low neighborhood socioeconomic status experienced during young to middle adulthood was associated with higher risk of premature mortality. The relationship was most pronounced among women.
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Jennifer McGee-Avila, Ph.D., M.P.H., C.H.E.S., C.P.H., postdoctoral fellow in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, received the 2024 Cancer Health Disparities Fellows' Research Award.
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Dr. Amber Hurson and colleagues found evidence to support etiologic heterogeneity by estrogen receptor (ER) subtype for some risk factors, which was consistent across racial and ethnic groups in a qualitative, scoping review of literature published between 1990-2022.
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Nicolas Wentzensen discusses the recent FDA approval of self-collection kits for use in clinics for cervical cancer screening. His interview was published in the NCI Cancer Currents Research Blog.