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 collaborate with UCSF’s Brain Tumor Center Neuroepidemiology group, including recent lead roles on pilot studies to assess environmental exposures and risk for glioma using exposome methods, as well as statistical design and analysis support for clinical trials investigating strategies for improving cognition, quality-of-life, and palliative care of patients with glioma.  Other ongoing work involves statistical and analytic support for clinical studies of liver cancer,  the role of the microbiome in Kaposi's sarcoma outcomes in patients living with HIV, and for the AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource (ACSR), a multisite international 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

Honors & Awards

  • 2010
    Lymphoma Foundation of America Young Scientist Award

Selected Publications

  1. Vergara C, Ni Z, Zhong J, McKean D, Connelly KE, Antwi SO, Arslan AA, Bracci PM, Du M, Gallinger S, Genkinger J, Haiman CA, Hassan M, Hung RJ, Huff C, Kooperberg C, Kastrinos F, LeMarchand L, Lee W, Lynch SM, Moore SC, Oberg AL, Park MA, Permuth JB, Risch HA, Scheet P, Schwartz A, Shu XO, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Wolpin BM, Zheng W, Albanes D, Andreotti G, Bamlet WR, Beane-Freeman L, Berndt SI, Brennan P, Buring JE, Cabrera-Castro N, Campa D, Canzian F, Chanock SJ, Chen Y, Chung CC, Eliassen AH, Gaziano JM, Giles GG, Giovannucci EL, Goggins M, Goodman PJ, Hicks B, Hutchinson A, Jones MR, Katzke V, Kogevinas M, Kurtz RC, Laheru D, Lee IM, Malats N, Milne R, Mucci L, Neale RE, Orlow I, Patel AV, Peruchet L, Peters U, Porta M, Rabe KG, Real FX, Ricceri F, Rothman N, Sesso HD, Setiawan VW, Silverman D, Southey MC, Stampfer MJ, Tobias GS, Um C, Visvanathan K, Wactawski-Wende J, Wentzensen N, Willett WC, Yu H, Kraft P, Duggal P, Amundadottir LT, Klein AP. Novel Genetic Risk Loci for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Identified in a Genome-wide Study of African Ancestry Individuals. medRxiv. 2026 Apr 22. View on PubMed
  2. Benavente Y, Hermosa S, Papadimitriou N, Clay-Gilmour A, Brown EE, Hofmann JN, Rothman N, Lan Q, Berndt SI, Albanes D, Purdue M, Machiela MJ, Chanock SJ, Bhatti P, Cozen W, Norman A, Slager SL, Cerhan JR, Rajkumar V, Kumar SK, Vachon CM, Novak AJ, Habermann TM, Link BK, Salles G, Ghesquieres H, Bracci PM, Holly E, Griffin RG, Hildebrandt MAT, Vermeulen RCH, Kolijn PM, Hjalgrim H, Smedby KE, Jayasekara H, Cheah S, Monnereau A, Chen Y, Arslan A, Zhang Y, Camp NJ, Sborov DW, Osman AEG, Ziv E, De Vivo I, Joseph V, Teras LR, Patel AV, Kane E, Vajdic CM, Guilloteau A, Cocco P, Alemany L, Sainz J, McKay J, Birmann BM, Casabonne D. Circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and risk of multiple myeloma: An observational and Mendelian randomisation study. Br J Haematol. 2026 Mar 23. View on PubMed
  3. Keenan BP, Fan Z, Le BK, Harris Q, Chen J, Clark M, Lea A, Zhang L, Cheung A, Lara F, Gordan JD, Bracci P, Behr SC, Fong L, Venook AP, Kim EJ, Kelley RK. Phase II trial with nivolumab and sorafenib in HCC identified enrichment of immunosuppressive monocytes in patients with Child-Pugh B liver dysfunction. JHEP Rep. 2026 Mar 12; 101817. View on PubMed
  4. Zhang T, Hua X, Mohindroo C, Wang X, Dutta D, Liu J, Katta S, Li SA, Wang J, Antwi SO, Arslan AA, Beane Freeman LE, Bracci PM, Canzian F, Du M, Gallinger S, Goodman PJ, Katzke V, Kooperberg C, Le Marchand L, Neale RE, Patel AV, Perdomo S, Shu XO, Visvanathan K, Van Den Eeden SK, White E, Zheng W, Albanes D, Andreotti G, Bamlet WR, Brennan P, Buring JE, Chanock SJ, Chen Y, Darst B, Ferrari P, Giovannucci EL, Goggins M, Haiman C, Hassan M, Holly EA, Hung RJ, Jones MR, Kraft P, Kurtz RC, Malats N, Moore SC, Ng K, Oberg AL, Orlow I, Peters U, Porta M, Rabe KG, Rothman N, Sánchez MJ, Sesso HD, Silverman DT, Southey MC, Um CY, Yarmolinsky J, Yu H, Yuan C, Zhong J, Wolpin BM, Risch HA, Amundadottir LT, Klein AP, Yu K, Zhang H, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ. Different diabetes types and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a Mendelian randomization and pathway/gene-set analysis. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2026 Mar 01; 118(3):437-447. View on PubMed
  5. Goyal NA, Andrews JA, Oskarsson BE, Wiedau MH, Kasarskis EJ, Forrest BD, Zhang R, Bracci PM, Davis MW, Azhir A, McGrath MS. Quantitative Measures of Time to Loss of 15% Vital Capacity and Survival Extension in Slowly Progressive Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Patients Treated with the Immune Regulator NP001 Suggests an Immunopathogenic Subset of ALS. Biomedicines. 2025 Dec 12; 13(12). View on PubMed
  6. Officer A, Meng W, Spellman D, Martin J, Bracci PM, McGrath M, Huang Y, Gao SJ. Oral Microbiome and Inferred Functions Predict Kaposi's Sarcoma Progression. J Med Virol. 2025 Oct; 97(10):e70647. View on PubMed
  7. Han Y, Shaw VR, Byun J, Thrift AP, Zhu C, Li D, Hatia RI, Kelley RK, Cleary SP, Lok AS, Bracci PM, Permuth JB, Bucur R, Knox J, Yuan JM, Singal AG, Jalal PK, Ghobrial RM, Kono Y, Shah DP, Nguyen MH, Parikh ND, Kim R, Wu HC, El-Serag H, Chang P, Chun YS, Gu J, Huff C, Rashid A, Hwang LY, Klein AP, Khaderi SA, Kaseb AO, McGlynn KA, Roberts LR, Hassan MM, Amos CI. Linkage disequilibrium score regression identifies genetic correlations between hepatocellular carcinoma and clinically relevant traits. Int J Cancer. 2026 Mar 01; 158(5):1193-1203. View on PubMed
  8. Moore A, Kane E, Teras LR, Machiela MJ, Arias J, Panagiotou OA, Monnereau A, Doo NW, Wang Z, Slager SL, Vermeulen RCH, Vajdic CM, Smedby KE, Spinelli JJ, Vijai J, Giles GG, Link BK, Arslan AA, Nieters A, Bracci PM, Camp NJ, Salles G, Cozen W, Hjalgrim H, De Vivo I, Adami HO, Albanes D, Becker N, Benavente Y, Bisanzi S, Boffetta P, Brennan P, Brooks-Wilson AR, Canzian F, Clavel J, Conde L, Cox DG, Curtin K, Foretova L, Ghesquières H, Glimelius B, Habermann TM, Hofmann JN, Lan Q, Liebow M, Lincoln A, Maynadie M, McKay J, Melbye M, Miligi L, Milne RL, Molina TJ, Morton LM, North KE, Offit K, Padoan M, Piro S, Patel AV, Purdue MP, Ravichandran V, Riboli E, Severson RK, Southey MC, Staines A, Tinker LF, Travis RC, Wang SS, Weiderpass E, Weinstein S, Zheng T, Chanock SJ, Rothman N, Birmann BM, Cerhan JR, Berndt SI. Genetically determined body mass index is associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in polygenic and Mendelian randomization analyses. Int J Cancer. 2026 Jan 01; 158(1):45-59. View on PubMed
  9. Meng W, Das A, Sinha H, Naous R, Bracci PM, McGrath M, Huang Y, Gao SJ. Spatial Single-Cell Atlas Reveals KSHV-Driven Broad Cellular Reprogramming, Progenitor Expansion, Immune and Vascular Remodeling in Kaposi's Sarcoma. bioRxiv. 2025 Sep 05. View on PubMed
  10. Weyer-Jamora C, Brie MS, Bracci PM, Smith EM, Luks TL, Phan S, Braunstein SE, Oberheim-Bush NA, Butowski NA, Clarke JL, Gehring K, Aguilera A, de Groot J, Chang SM, Hervey-Jumper SL, Taylor JW. Tele-cognitive rehabilitation for adult lower-grade glioma: An interim prospective pilot feasibility study. Neurooncol Pract. 2026 Feb; 13(1):126-138. View on PubMed
  11. Nolan DJ, Fogel GB, DaRoza J, Rose R, Bracci PM, Lamers SL, McGrath MS. Indicators for Increased Likelihood of Epidemic Kaposi Sarcoma Progression After Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2025 Jul; 41(7):348-356. View on PubMed
  12. Cannataro VL, Bracci PM, Taylor JW, McCoy L, Rice T, Hansen HM, Heffernan AE, Wiemels J, Wiencke J, Wrensch M, Claus EB. Glioma mutational signatures associated with haloalkane exposure are enriched in firefighters. Cancer. 2025 Mar 15; 131(6):e35732. View on PubMed
  13. Kachuri L, Guerra GA, Nakase T, Wendt GA, Hansen HM, Molinaro AM, Bracci P, McCoy L, Rice T, Wiencke JK, Eckel-Passow JE, Jenkins RB, Wrensch M, Francis SS. Genetic predisposition to altered blood cell homeostasis is associated with glioma risk and survival. Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 14; 16(1):658. View on PubMed
  14. Li M, Hannan LM, Goyal L, Bocobo AG, Parks AL, Bauer K, Baiev I, Dinicola C, Gordan JD, Venook AP, Harris WP, Bracci P, Kelley RK. Changes in alpha-fetoprotein across the systemic therapy continuum in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma-a real-world, multicenter study. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2024; 16:17588359241297085. View on PubMed
  15. McGrath MS, Zhang R, Bracci PM, Azhir A, Forrest BD. Systemic Innate Immune System Restoration as a Therapeutic Approach for Neurodegenerative Disease: Effects of NP001 on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Progression. Biomedicines. 2024 Oct 16; 12(10). View on PubMed
  16. Forrest BD, Goyal NA, Fleming TR, Bracci PM, Brett NR, Khan Z, Robinson M, Azhir A, McGrath M. The Effectiveness of NP001 on the Long-Term Survival of Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Biomedicines. 2024 Oct 16; 12(10). View on PubMed
  17. Scholte LLS, Browne J, Nolan DJ, St John P, Tracy K, Thur RS, Li G, Lamers SL, Bracci P, McGrath MS, Bethony JM. Protocol for the simultaneous isolation of DNA, RNA, and miRNA from a single archived Kaposi sarcoma biopsy. STAR Protoc. 2024 12 20; 5(4):103365. View on PubMed
  18. Zhang R, Bracci PM, Leong A, Rapp C, McGrath MS. Utility of an Archival Dried Blood Spot (DBS) Collection from HIV-Infected Individuals with and without Cancer in a Resource-Limited Setting. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Sep 24; 25(19). View on PubMed
  19. Ni Z, Kundu P, McKean DF, Wheeler W, Albanes D, Andreotti G, Antwi SO, Arslan AA, Bamlet WR, Beane-Freeman LE, Berndt SI, Bracci PM, Brennan P, Buring JE, Chanock SJ, Gallinger S, Gaziano JM, Giles GG, Giovannucci EL, Goggins MG, Goodman PJ, Haiman CA, Hassan MM, Holly EA, Hung RJ, Katzke V, Kooperberg C, Kraft P, LeMarchand L, Li D, McCullough ML, Milne RL, Moore SC, Neale RE, Oberg AL, Patel AV, Peters U, Rabe KG, Risch HA, Shu XO, Smith-Byrne K, Visvanathan K, Wactawski-Wende J, White E, Wolpin BM, Yu H, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Zheng W, Zhong J, Amundadottir LT, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Klein AP. Genome-Wide Analysis to Assess if Heavy Alcohol Consumption Modifies the Association between SNPs and Pancreatic Cancer Risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024 Sep 03; 33(9):1229-1239. View on PubMed
  20. Taylor JW, Warrier G, Hansen HM, McCoy L, Rice T, Guerra G, Francis SS, Clarke JL, Bracci PM, Hadad S, Kelsey KT, Wrensch M, Molinaro AM, Wiencke JK. Oligodendroglioma patient survival is associated with circulating B-cells and age. Neurooncol Adv. 2024 Jan-Dec; 6(1):vdae143. View on PubMed

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