Research Summary

I have published widely on breast imaging and the epidemiology of invasive breast cancer, DCIS and breast density, and risk prediction models for invasive breast cancer. I have extensive experience, expertise, and leadership in large-scale multi-disciplinary NIH-funded efforts of breast cancer screening, risk factors, and risk, including the U01 San Francisco Mammography Registry (SFMR), P50 UCSF Breast Cancer SPORE, P01 Breast Density Program Project, and the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) P01 Risk-based Breast Cancer Screening Program Project. As PI or co-PI on several these grants, I have developed cohorts of women at risk for invasive breast cancer and DCIS and developed comprehensive databases that include breast imaging, pathologic, clinical, biomarker, and risk factor data, as well as follow-up for subsequent disease and death. In addition, I have successfully administered projects (e.g., staffing, research protections, budget), collaborated with other researchers, and produced many peer-reviewed publications from each project. I have a demonstrated record of successful and productive research projects in areas of high relevance for breast cancer screening, breast density, DCIS, and risk prediction.

Research Funding

  • June 1, 2026 - May 31, 2031 - Radiomic phenotypes for invasive and advanced breast cancer , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA305931
  • September 17, 2024 - August 31, 2029 - Evaluation of Commercial Mammography-Based Artificial Intelligence Algorithms for Breast Cancer Risk Prediction in U.S. Screening Populations , Co-investigator . Sponsor: NCI, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA292399
  • September 19, 2023 - August 31, 2028 - Clinical breast cancer risk prediction models for women with a high risk benign breast diagnosis , Co-investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA282725
  • March 8, 2023 - February 29, 2028 - Hawaii Pacific Islands Mammography Registry , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA263491
  • March 8, 2023 - February 28, 2028 - Hawaii Pacific Islands Mammography Registry , Co-Principal investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: 1R01CA263491
  • March 1, 2023 - February 28, 2028 - Evaluation of novel tomosynthesis density measures in breast cancer risk prediction , Co-Principal investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: 1R01CA275074
  • March 1, 2023 - February 28, 2028 - Evaluation of novel tomosynthesis density measures in breast cancer risk prediction , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA275074
  • July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2027 - Population-Based Evaluation of Artificial Intelligence for Mammography Prior to Widespread Clinical Translation , Co-investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA262023
  • September 16, 2022 - May 31, 2027 - Advancing Equitable Risk-based Breast Cancer Screening and Surveillance in Community Practice , Co-Principal investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P01CA154292
  • September 27, 2011 - May 31, 2027 - Advancing Risk-based Breast Cancer Screening and Surveillance in Community Practice , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P01CA154292
  • June 1, 2021 - May 31, 2026 - Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Breast Cancer Diagnostic Work Up and Outcomes , Co-investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA266377
  • March 1, 2020 - February 28, 2025 - Identifying Effective Risk-based Supplemental Ultrasound Screening Strategies for Women with Dense Breasts , Co-investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA248068
  • April 1, 2017 - March 31, 2022 - Radiomic phenotypes of breast parenchyma and association with breast cancer risk and detection , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA207084
  • September 1, 2013 - August 31, 2019 - Automated Density Measures for Estimating Breast Cancer Risk and Therapy Response , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA177150
  • April 1, 2010 - January 31, 2016 - Risk factors for breast cancer molecular subtypes , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA140286
  • August 10, 2006 - February 28, 2013 - Biological Basis of Breast Density and Cancer Risk , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P01CA107584
  • September 30, 2009 - August 31, 2012 - Comparative effectiveness of breast imaging strategies in community practice , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: UC2CA148577
  • June 1, 1994 - July 31, 2012 - San Francisco Mammography Registry-A Research Source , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01CA063740
  • September 30, 2009 - August 31, 2011 - Comparative effectiveness of breast imaging strategies in community practice , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: RC2CA148577

Education

Michigan State University, East Lansing, BS, 1978, Medical Technology
University of California, Berkeley, MS, 1984, Nutrition
University of California San Francisco, MD, 1988, Medicine
University of California San Francisco, 1988-1989, Medicine Internship
University of California San Francisco, 1989-1991, Primary Care Medicine Residency 
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, 1991-1993, Fellow in General Internal Medicine

Honors & Awards

  • 1975
    Tower Guard Award for Scholastic Achievement
  • 1975-77
    Honors College, Michigan State University
  • 1978
    Magna cum laude, Michigan State University
  • 1986
    Student Summer Research Fellowship, UCSF
  • 1987
    Alpha Omega Alpha
  • 1994-96
    American Cancer Society Award for Primary Care Physicians
  • 2009
    American Cancer Society Research Scholar
  • 2014
    SGIM Distinguished Professor in Cancer Research
  • 2016
    Journal of Women's Health Award for Outstanding Achievement in Women’s Health Research
  • 2023
    Elected Association of American Physicians

Selected Publications

  1. Chen S, Kerlikowske K, Su YR, Hubbard RA, Gard CC, Tice JA, Sprague BL, Ahern TP, Miglioretti DL. Performance of Statistical and Machine Learning Risk Prediction Models for Advanced Breast Cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2026 Aug 03; 35(8):1375-1385. View on PubMed
  2. Kaul M, Scott CG, Wadzinske A, Banerjee I, Hursh D, Norman A, Wu FF, Correa-Medero R, Couch F, Pruthi S, Kontos D, McCarthy AM, Olson J, Winham S, Kerlikowske K, Vachon CM. Performance of clinical breast cancer risk prediction models vs a mammography-based artificial intelligence risk model. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2026 Aug 01; 118(8):1485-1495. View on PubMed
  3. Rauscher GH, Alsheik N, Eavey J, Ichikawa L, Perry H, Lowry K, Kerlikowske K, Sprague BL. Comparison of supplemental breast cancer screening outcomes for automated versus hand-held ultrasound. J Am Coll Radiol. 2026 Jul 03. View on PubMed
  4. Zeeshan S, Shafqat G, Ali D, Afzal S, Gul A, Inam N, Kerlikowske K, Shamsi U. Outcomes of an Opportunistic Screening Mammography Program Using the Mobile Mammography Unit in Sindh, Pakistan. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2026 Jul 01; 27(7):2635-2641. View on PubMed
  5. Kerlikowske K, Lowry KP, Miglioretti DL. In what clinical settings are the MASAI trial results applicable? Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2026 May; 23(5):319-320. View on PubMed
  6. Tosteson ANA, Stout NK, Su YR, van Ravesteyn NT, Lowry KP, Abraham L, Alagoz O, DiFlorio-Alexander R, de Koning HJ, Hampton JM, Henderson L, Mandelblatt JS, Onega T, Schechter CB, Sprague BL, Stein S, Trentham-Dietz A, Miglioretti DL, Kerlikowske K, Lee CI. Outcomes of Density-Targeted Supplemental Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging Screening by Breast Cancer Risk: Long-Term Health and Economic Considerations. Ann Intern Med. 2026 Apr; 179(4):486-496. View on PubMed
  7. Lowry KP, Jeong HE, Kim KH, Hughes KS, Lee CI, Yala A, Kerlikowske K, Vachon CM. Current state of mammography-based artificial intelligence for future breast cancer risk prediction: a systematic review. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2026 Mar 01; 118(3):392-403. View on PubMed
  8. Sprague BL, Gard CC, Chen S, Tice JA, Tosteson ANA, Perry H, Lee CI, Miglioretti DL, Kerlikowske K. Advanced Versus Invasive Breast Cancer Risk in a Screening Population: Implications for Risk-based Prevention and Screening Strategies. J Gen Intern Med. 2026 Sep; 41(12):3329-3338. View on PubMed
  9. Leggat-Barr K, Lewis T, Tice JA, Tsopurashvili E, Sayaman R, Warner P, Malvin K, Sabacan L, Perry-Solomon A, Theiner S, Acerbi I, Griffin A, McGuire J, Lee V, Borowsky AD, Wisdom Study and Athena Breast Health Network Investigators and Advocate Partners, Eklund M, Kaplan C, Hiatt RA, Fiscalini AS, Kerlikowske K, Shieh Y, Esserman L, Van't Veer L. Breast cancer risk level and prediction of tumor aggressiveness in the Athena Breast Health Network. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2026 Jan 28; 215(3):65. View on PubMed
  10. Hyams B, Lowry KP, Kerlikowske K. Digital screening mammograms: current status and future prospects. Expert Rev Med Devices. 2026 Feb; 23(2):173-184. View on PubMed
  11. Alagoz O, Lu Y, Gil Quessep E, Kerlikowske K, Mandelblatt JS, Sprague BL, Trentham-Dietz A, Hampton J, Groeneweg R, de Koning HJ, Miglioretti DL, Schechter CB, van Ravesteyn NT, Tosteson ANA, Stout NK, Lowry KP. Five-Year Absolute Risk-Based and Age-Based Breast Cancer Screening in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2026 01 02; 9(1):e2552944. View on PubMed
  12. Kerlikowske K, Chen S, Sprague BL, Tice JA, Miglioretti DL, Hubbard RA. Effect of race and ethnicity on advanced breast cancer risk prediction model performance. NPJ Digit Med. 2025 Dec 14; 8(1):771. View on PubMed
  13. Murphy KA, Livaudais-Toman J, Kaplan CP, Kerlikowske K, Burke NJ, Karliner LS. Assessing Preparedness of Primary Care Physicians to Discuss the Breast Biopsy Process and Results after Abnormal Mammograms: A Cross-Sectional Survey. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2026 Jan; 35(2):144-151. View on PubMed
  14. Kerlikowske K, Sprague BL, Miglioretti DL. Stable False-Negative Rates for Mammography in the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium Over Time. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2026 Apr; 226(4):e2534200. View on PubMed
  15. Lee JM, Ichikawa L, Su YR, Noguchi N, Hubbard RA, Kerlikowske K, Specht JM, O'Meara ES, Henderson LM, Houssami N. Comparative Accuracy of Digital Breast Tomosynthesis and Digital Mammography for Surveillance After Breast Cancer Treatment. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2025 10 16; 23(11):445-452. View on PubMed
  16. Mahmoud MA, Winham SJ, Scott CG, Ehsan S, Norman AD, Jensen MR, Conant EF, Kerlikowske KM, Kontos D, Vachon CM, McCarthy AM. Interplay of BMI and volumetric breast density measures and breast cancer risk for black and white women. Breast Cancer Res. 2025 Sep 29; 27(1):167. View on PubMed
  17. Hyams B, Kerlikowske K, Redberg RF. New Mammography Tools - The Need for Clinically Meaningful Assessment Standards. N Engl J Med. 2025 Jul 17; 393(3):211-213. View on PubMed
  18. Li T, Su YR, Lee JM, O'Meara ES, Miglioretti DL, Kerlikowske K, Henderson L, Houssami N. Tomosynthesis vs Digital Mammography Screening in Women with a Family History of Breast Cancer. JAMA Oncol. 2025 Jul 01; 11(7):742-752. View on PubMed
  19. Kerlikowske K, Abraham L, Sprague BL, Sattayapiwat O, Nyante SJ, Tice JA, Miglioretti DL. Mammographic calcifications association with risk of advanced breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2025 Aug; 212(3):555-567. View on PubMed
  20. Foster VM, Trentham-Dietz A, Stout NK, Lee CI, Ichikawa LE, Eavey J, Henderson L, Miglioretti DL, Tosteson ANA, Bowles EA, Kerlikowske K, Sprague BL. Supplemental breast cancer screening after negative mammography in US women with dense breasts. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2025 Jun 01; 117(6):1271-1275. View on PubMed

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