Research Summary
My research interests focus on the relationships among immunology and cancer risk, early diagnosis, development and prognosis especially as it relates to modifiable lifestyle factors/exposures, host and tumor genetics, molecular markers and the microbiome. I have more than 20 years of experience conducting population-based studies of pancreatic cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), including extensive analyses of data generated from these projects. Through active involvement in international consortia for pancreatic cancer and NHL, large pooled analyses that include the epidemiological and genetic data from the UCSF studies have allowed us to continue to test hypotheses and contribute new findings to better understand risk and susceptibility for these cancers. More current work includes development of an electronic registry of UCSF patients with pancreatic cysts with a goal to better understand the progression of cysts to pancreatic cancer. In addition, I provide statistical and analytic support for epidemiological and clinical studies of gliomas, liver cancer, and Kaposi's sarcoma in patients living with HIV as well as for the AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource (currently the Director of the ACSR's Hub for Informatics and Research Support), an NCI-funded HIV malignancy biorepository that supports HIV and cancer research.
Research Funding
April 17, 2014 - March 31, 2017 - Pancreatic cystic lesions: descriptive epidemiology and natural history , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03CA179681
September 17, 2010 - August 31, 2013 - Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in women: reproductive, hormonal and genetic factors , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03CA150037
July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2013 - Energy balance and nutrigenetic analysis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03CA143947
September 29, 2005 - June 30, 2012 - Molecular Epidemiology of Pancreatic Cancer , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA109767
Education
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, BA, Mathematics and Zoology
Boston University, Boston, MA, MPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, MS, Biostatistics
University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, PhD, Epidemiology