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Linkage Newsletter - News Updates

Longer-format articles that go in-depth on DCEG research or profile investigators. These articles are distributed three times each year as the DCEG Newsletter, Linkage.

    • Celebrating Fifty Years of SEER
      , by Elise Tookmanian, Ph.D.

      In 2023, the NCI SEER Program celebrates its 50th anniversary. DCEG is grateful for this incredible NCI resource which underpins nearly everything we do. Data from SEER are central to the day-to-day work of researchers in DCEG.

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    • Investing in our Future: DCEG’s Path to Enhancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
      , by Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P., Jackie Lavigne, Ph.D., M.P.H., Anil Chaturvedi, Ph.D.

      Enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) benefits everyone in an organization. DCEG is focused on recruitment, training, and retention of individuals from groups that are typically underrepresented in the scientific workforce, advancing health disparities research, weaving DEIA into the fabric of DCEG.

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    • Mustapha Abubakar Appointed Earl Stadtman Investigator
      , by Elise Tookmanian, Ph.D.

      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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    • Haoyu Zhang Appointed Earl Stadtman Investigator
      , by Maura Kate Costello, M.A.

      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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    • Diptavo Dutta Appointed Earl Stadtman Tenure-track Investigator
      , by Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P.

      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
      , by Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P.

      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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    • Bringing the Pieces Together: CCR-DCEG FLEX Awards
      , by Elise Tookmanian, Ph.D.

      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
      , by Justine E. Yu, Ph.D.

      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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    • Federal Cervical Cancer Collaborative for Safety-net Settings of Care
      , by Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P.

      DCEG has partnered with the Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women’s Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies and offices to bring cervical cancer prevention and management guidelines into safety-net settings of care, an offshoot of the Cancer Moonshot.

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    • With Big Data Come Big Responsibilities
      , by Elise Tookmanian, Ph.D.

      Data science provides a powerful transdisciplinary approach to data stewardship and analysis that allows researchers to take full advantage of the increasing scale of epidemiological data. DCEG investigators are implementing this approach across the Division by building collaborative data platforms and software tools for large-scale epidemiological research.

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    • Making Strides Toward Precision Medicine for Individuals with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome
      , by Maura Kate Costello, M.A.

      LFS research conducted in the Clinical Genetics Branch reveals nuanced cancer incidence patterns, key distinctions within the LFS population, and areas for improvement in TP53 variant classification and clinical management.

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    • Beyond the Signature: Exposing Mutational Patterns of Cancer
      , by Justine E. Yu, Ph.D.

      Mutational signature analysis is a powerful tool for natural history and etiologic studies and could identify high-risk populations that may benefit from tailored screening, treatment, and prevention strategies. DCEG scientists seek to uncover the relationship between these unique signature patterns and the internal processes or external exposures that caused a tumor to develop.

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    • COVID-19 Research: Cancer Screening, Mosaicism and Infection, Seroprevalence Data Visualization
      , by Sharon A. Savage, M.D., and Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P.

      Cancer screening in the context of the pandemic, clinical validation of SARS-CoV-2 assays, genetic mosaicism and respiratory infection risk, seroprevalence data visualization tools, and more. Learn about the latest research on SARS-COV-2 with DCEG.

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    • Director’s Update: Welcoming New Leaders to the NCI
      , by Stephen J. Chanock, M.D.

      Dr. Stephen Chanock welcomes the newest director-level scientist to NCI, Dr. Katrina Goddard, and reflects on DCEG’s participation in numerous collaborations across the NCI divisions which have yielded research innovations and foundational resources.

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    • Yei Eun Shin, New Tenure-track Investigator in Biostatistics
      , by Justine E. Yu, Ph.D.

      Yei Eun Shin was appointed tenure-track investigator in the Biostatistics Branch in Spring 2021. Dr. Shin will design complex models to study the impact of spatiotemporal exposures in epidemiological cohort studies such as physical activity and light exposures on risk of cancer and other diseases.

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    • Mentorship at DCEG: A Tradition of Excellence, ITEB
      , by Justine E. Yu, Ph.D.

      This is the second installment of the Mentorship at DCEG: A Tradition of Excellence series. Gretchen Gierach, Ph.D., M.P.H., Chief of the Integrative Tumor Epidemiology Branch, and mentees Brittny Davis Lynn, Ph.D., M.P.H., and Mustapha Abubakar, M.D., Ph.D., describe their training and mentoring experiences at DCEG.

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    • 2021 Intramural Research Awards

      DCEG Intramural Research Awards are competitive funding opportunities designed to foster creative, high-impact research by fellows and tenure-track investigators.

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    • Strategic Plan Outlines Research Priorities
      , by Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P.

      The five-year strategic plan outlines the critical elements to evaluate emerging exposures, including novel biomarkers, employing cutting-edge exposure assessment for a research program that utilizes the full potential of new analytic technologies and data sources. A key focus is a research program that reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S. population.

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    • Building A Robust Community for Fellows in the COVID-19 Era
      , by Maura Kate Costello, M.A.

      Jackie Lavigne, Ph.D., Diane Wigfield, and Cara Murray of the Office of Education have supported fellows during the work-from-home order. They have bridged the distance inflicted by COVID-19 through virtual events, on-line and telephone support, providing virtual professional development workshops, and more.

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    • COVID-19 Research Across the Division: DCEG Experts Address the Pandemic
      , by Sharon A. Savage, M.D., and Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P.

      Investigators have uncovered important differences in mortality patterns over the course of the pandemic, identified a novel isoform of ACE2, launched a hub to monitor seroprevalence, evaluated risks for cancer patients, and possible late effects of COVID-19, and more.

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