Rebecca Graff, ScD

Rebecca E. Graff, ScD

Associate Professor, University of California, San Francisco, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, San Francisco, CA

Cancer Center Program Membership

Prostate Cancer

[email protected]

Box 0560, UCSF
San Francisco, CA 94143-0560

UCSF Profiles

Research Summary

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Broadly speaking, my research interests reside in population-based cancer epidemiology. More specifically, my research at present focuses on: 1) discerning the shared genetic basis of seemingly distinct cancer types; 2) discerning the shared genetic basis of cancer and other chronic diseases; 3) leveraging genetic information to improve prostate-specific antigen screening; 4) determining the metabolomic basis of lethal prostate cancer; 5) examining the role of lifestyle factors in prostate cancer survivorship; and 6) examining the role of lifestyle factors in kidney cancer risk and survivorship. My work has afforded me the opportunity to gain expertise in a variety of study designs and in both established and novel analytical methods.

In addition to research, I am deeply committed to educating the next generation of scientists. As such, I direct Designing and Conducting Research at the School of Medicine, co-teach EPI 207 in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and mentor trainees in a variety of programs.

Education

University of California, Berkeley, (Berkeley, CA) BA, 05/2006, Statistics
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, (Boston, MA) ScD, 05/2014, Cancer Epidemiology
University of California, San Francisco, (San Francisco, CA) Postdoctoral, 09/2018, Genetic Cancer Epidemiology

Honors & Awards

  • 2006
    Phi Beta Kappa with High Distinction in General Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley
  • 2011
    Distinction in Methods on the Written Qualifying Exam, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology
  • 2012
    Best of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
  • 2012
    Invited Attendee of the Society for Epidemiologic Research Student Dissertation Workshop
  • 2013
    American Association for Cancer Research Scholar-in-Training Award
  • 2015
    Invited Attendee of the American Association for Cancer Research Integrative Molecular Epidemiology Workshop
  • 2016
    Winner of the NCI's Up for a Challenge competition
  • 2017
    Selected for the NCI's Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program Research Highlights
  • 2021
    Selection for the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program Research Highlights National Cancer Institute
  • 2022
    Selection for the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program Research Highlights National Cancer Institute
  • 2023
    Selection for the Emerging Cancer Scholars Speaker Exchange Program UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Selected Publications

  1. Hoffmann TJ, Graff RE, Madduri RK, Rodriguez AA, Cario CL, Feng K, Jiang Y, Wang A, Klein RJ, Pierce BL, Eggener S, Tong L, Blot W, Long J, Goss LB, Darst BF, Rebbeck T, Lachance J, Andrews C, Adebiyi AO, Adusei B, Aisuodionoe-Shadrach OI, Fernandez PW, Jalloh M, Janivara R, Chen WC, Mensah JE, Agalliu I, Berndt SI, Shelley JP, Schaffer K, Machiela MJ, Freedman ND, Huang WY, Li SA, Goodman PJ, Till C, Thompson I, Lilja H, Ranatunga DK, Presti J, Van Den Eeden SK, Chanock SJ, Mosley JD, Conti DV, Haiman CA, Justice AC, Kachuri L, Witte JS. Genome-wide association study of prostate-specific antigen levels in 392,522 men identifies new loci and improves prediction across ancestry groups. Nat Genet. 2025 Feb; 57(2):334-344.  View on PubMed
  2. Middha P, Kachuri L, Nierenberg JL, Graff RE, Cavazos TB, Hoffmann TJ, Zhang J, Alexeeff S, Habel L, Corley DA, Van Den Eeden S, Kushi LH, Ziv E, Sakoda LC, Witte JS. Unraveling the genetic landscape of susceptibility to multiple primary cancers. HGG Adv. 2025 Feb 04; 100413.  View on PubMed
  3. Kachuri L, Hoffmann TJ, Jiang Y, Berndt SI, Shelley JP, Schaffer KR, Machiela MJ, Freedman ND, Huang WY, Li SA, Easterlin R, Goodman PJ, Till C, Thompson I, Lilja H, Van Den Eeden SK, Chanock SJ, Haiman CA, Conti DV, Klein RJ, Mosley JD, Graff RE, Witte JS. Author Correction: Genetically adjusted PSA levels for prostate cancer screening. Nat Med. 2025 Feb 03.  View on PubMed
  4. Middha P, Kachuri L, Nierenberg JL, Graff RE, Cavazos TB, Hoffmann TJ, Zhang J, Alexeeff S, Habel L, Corley DA, Van Den Eeden S, Kushi LH, Ziv E, Sakoda LC, Witte JS. Unraveling the genetic landscape of susceptibility to multiple primary cancers. medRxiv. 2024 Oct 30.  View on PubMed
  5. Hoffmann TJ, Graff RE, Madduri RK, Rodriguez AA, Cario CL, Feng K, Jiang Y, Wang A, Klein RJ, Pierce BL, Eggener S, Tong L, Blot W, Long J, Goss LB, Darst BF, Rebbeck T, Lachance J, Andrews C, Adebiyi AO, Adusei B, Aisuodionoe-Shadrach OI, Fernandez PW, Jalloh M, Janivara R, Chen WC, Mensah JE, Agalliu I, Berndt SI, Shelley JP, Schaffer K, Machiela MJ, Freedman ND, Huang WY, Li SA, Goodman PJ, Till C, Thompson I, Lilja H, Ranatunga DK, Presti J, Van Den Eeden SK, Chanock SJ, Mosley JD, Conti DV, Haiman CA, Justice AC, Kachuri L, Witte JS. Genome-wide association study of prostate-specific antigen levels in 392,522 men identifies new loci and improves cross-ancestry prediction. medRxiv. 2024 Aug 20.  View on PubMed
  6. Deng Z, Graff RE, Batai K, Chung BI, Langston ME, Kachuri L. Polygenic score for body mass index in relation to mortality among patients with renal cell cancer. Int J Obes (Lond). 2024 Dec; 48(12):1735-1740.  View on PubMed
  7. Li J, Deng Z, Soerensen SJC, Kachuri L, Cardenas A, Graff RE, Leppert JT, Langston ME, Chung BI. Ambient air pollution and urological cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological evidence. Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 15; 15(1):5116.  View on PubMed
  8. Chen DM, Dong R, Kachuri L, Hoffmann TJ, Jiang Y, Berndt SI, Shelley JP, Schaffer KR, Machiela MJ, Freedman ND, Huang WY, Li SA, Lilja H, Justice AC, Madduri RK, Rodriguez AA, Van Den Eeden SK, Chanock SJ, Haiman CA, Conti DV, Klein RJ, Mosley JD, Witte JS, Graff RE. Transcriptome-wide association analysis identifies candidate susceptibility genes for prostate-specific antigen levels in men without prostate cancer. HGG Adv. 2024 Jul 18; 5(3):100315.  View on PubMed
  9. Simon John Christoph Soerensen, Katherine Lin, John T. Leppert, Marvin E. Langston, Iona Cheng, Rebecca E. Graff, Benjamin I. Chung. MP51-12 KIDNEY CANCER INCIDENCE IN CALIFORNIA: TEMPORAL TRENDS AND SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC PATTERNS FROM 1988 THROUGH 2019. Journal of Urology. 2024 May 1; 211(5S):e846.  View on PubMed
  10. Liu VN, Van Blarigan EL, Zhang L, Graff RE, Loeb S, Langlais CS, Cowan JE, Carroll PR, Chan JM, Kenfield SA. Plant-Based Diets and Disease Progression in Men With Prostate Cancer. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 05 01; 7(5):e249053.  View on PubMed
  11. San Luciano M, Oehrn CR, Wang SS, Tolmie JS, Wiltshire A, Graff RE, Zhu J, Starr PA. Protocol for combined N-of-1 trials to assess cerebellar neurostimulation for movement disorders in children and young adults with dyskinetic cerebral palsy. BMC Neurol. 2024 Apr 29; 24(1):145.  View on PubMed
  12. San Luciano M, Oehrn CR, Wang SS, Tolmie JS, Wiltshire A, Graff RE, Zhu J, Starr PA. Protocol for combined N-of-1 trials to assess cerebellar neurostimulation for movement disorders in children and young adults with dyskinetic cerebral palsy. Res Sq. 2024 Apr 01.  View on PubMed
  13. Andemeskel G, Palmer NR, Pasick R, Van Blarigan EL, Kenfield SA, Graff RE, Shaw M, Yu W, Sanchez M, Hernandez R, Washington SL, Shariff-Marco S, Rhoads KF, Chan JM. Engaging communities to inform the development of a diverse cohort of cancer survivors: formative research for the eat move sleep study (EMOVES). Res Involv Engagem. 2023 Dec 11; 9(1):117.  View on PubMed
  14. Deng Z, Hajihosseini M, Moore JX, Khan S, Graff RE, Bondy ML, Chung BI, Langston ME. Lifetime Body Weight Trajectories and Risk of Renal Cell Cancer: A Large U.S. Prospective Cohort Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 11 01; 32(11):1651-1659.  View on PubMed
  15. Van Blarigan EL, Kenfield SA, Olshen A, Panchal N, Encabo K, Tenggara I, Graff RE, Bang AS, Shinohara K, Cooperberg MR, Carroll PR, Jones LW, Winters-Stone K, Luke A, Chan JM. Effect of a Home-based Walking Intervention on Cardiopulmonary Fitness and Quality of Life Among Men with Prostate Cancer on Active Surveillance: The Active Surveillance Exercise Randomized Controlled Trial. Eur Urol Oncol. 2024 Jun; 7(3):519-526.  View on PubMed
  16. Wang J, Sims KD, Ackley SF, Chen R, Kobayashi LC, Hayes-Larson E, Mayeda ER, Buto P, Zimmerman SC, Graff RE, Glymour MM. Association of cancer history with structural brain aging markers of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias risk. Alzheimers Dement. 2024 02; 20(2):880-889.  View on PubMed
  17. Wang J, Buto P, Ackley SF, Kobayashi LC, Graff RE, Zimmerman SC, Hayes-Larson E, Mayeda ER, Asiimwe SB, Calmasini C, Glymour MM. Association between cancer and dementia risk in the UK Biobank: evidence of diagnostic bias. Eur J Epidemiol. 2023 Oct; 38(10):1069-1079.  View on PubMed
  18. Xiong F, Dai Q, Zhang S, Bent S, Tahir P, Van Blarigan EL, Kenfield SA, Chan JM, Schmajuk G, Graff RE. Diabetes and incidence of breast cancer and its molecular subtypes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2024 Jan; 40(1):e3709.  View on PubMed
  19. Michalek IM, Graff RE, Sanchez A, Choueiri TK, Cho E, Preston MA, Wilson KM. Evaluation of statin use and renal cell carcinoma risk identifies sex-specific associations with RCC subtypes. Acta Oncol. 2023 Sep; 62(9):988-993.  View on PubMed
  20. Xiong F, Wang J, Nierenberg JL, Van Blarigan EL, Kenfield SA, Chan JM, Schmajuk G, Huang CY, Graff RE. Diabetes mellitus and risk of breast cancer: a large-scale, prospective, population-based study. Br J Cancer. 2023 09; 129(4):648-655.  View on PubMed

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