Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch Fellows

Victoria Chia

Victoria Chia joined HREB as a Sallie Rosen Kaplan post-doctoral fellow in May 2007. She completed her M.P.H. in epidemiology from Emory University, where her thesis focused on differences in colorectal cancer survival by microsatellite instability status. While in Atlanta, she also worked as a study coordinator at the American Cancer Society. In 2006, she received her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Washington. Her doctoral research examined the effects of leptin and insulin-like growth factors (IGF) on colorectal adenoma risk. Other research she conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center included investigating the role of calcium supplements in breast and colorectal cancers, hormonal risk factors in relation to endometrial cancer survival, and the joint effects of smoking and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use on colorectal cancer risk. During her post-doctoral fellowship, Dr. Chia would like to pursue her interests in molecular epidemiology and growth hormones as risk factors for cancer. She plans to work with Dr. Katherine McGlynn examining risk factors for testicular cancer, with projects assessing the associations between testicular cancer risk and the role of genetic variation in the IGF axis and perturbations in circulating IGF concentrations. She will also work with Dr. Jim Lacey, preparing and analyzing data from a large cohort study of women, and investigating hormonal risk factors for endometrial and colon cancer.

Michael B. Cook

Michael B. Cook joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) as a post-doctoral fellow in 2007. His initial interest in cancer etiology was stimulated by his first degree in Genetics at The University of Nottingham, England. He subsequently undertook a Ph.D. at The University of Leeds under the supervision of Professors David Forman and Chris Wild and Dr. Laura Hardie. His thesis was entitled ‘Sex differences in Barrett’s esophagus in relation to the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma’. During his time at Leeds, Dr Cook also completed a postgraduate certificate in health sciences, tutored ‘Individuals & Populations II’ module to undergraduates and won second prize in the Royal Society’s Young Epidemiologist of the Year Award 2005. Dr. Cook’s inter-disciplinary training enabled him to secure his current position in HREB where his primary mentor is Dr. Katherine McGlynn. He retains an interest in esophageal cancer whilst his activities have now diversified into testis and liver cancers. Dr. Cook’s current focus is with certain analyses of the Servicemen’s Testicular Tumor Environmental and Endocrine Determinants (STEED) Study. Dr Cook aims to hone his skills further in gene and environment analysis of hormonally-related malignancies, enabling him to build a diverse but cohesive research profile.

Kim Danforth

Kim Danforth joined HREB as a Sallie Rosen Kaplan post-doctoral fellow in July 2006. She received her Sc.D. in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health with minors in biostatistics and cancer prevention. Her dissertation research focused on the relationship between hormones, lifestyle factors, and ovarian cancer using data from the Nurses' Health Studies.

During her post-doctoral fellowship, Dr. Danforth will be mentored by both Drs. Ann Hsing and James Lacey. With Dr. Hsing, Dr. Danforth will explore new areas of research, conducting molecular, genetic, and lifestyle studies focused on prostate cancer. With Dr. Lacey, Kim will continue to pursue her interest in lifestyle and modifiable factors for ovarian cancer.

Jonine Danya Figueroa

Jonine Danya Figueroa has been a NCI Cancer Prevention Fellow since June 2004 and a member of HREB since November of 2005. She earned a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and microbiology from Stony Brook University in May 2004. At Stony Brook, her dissertation work focused on the development of cellular assays in order to determine the role of signal transduction proteins in cell proliferation, differentiation, and transformation. Dr. Figueroa also has experience developing screening assays from her employment at Janssen Pharmaceutica and DuPont.

In May 2005, she received a Masters in Public Health at Columbia University where she worked with Drs. Mary Beth Terry and Wong-Ho Chow in order to transition to molecular epidemiology. Dr. Figueroa's goal is to combine her background in basic research and current training in molecular epidemiology, in order to delineate the role of molecular pathways in cancer genetic susceptibility, etiology, treatment, and prevention.

Dr. Figueroa has primarily worked under the guidance of Dr. Montserrat Garcia-Closas, analyzing data in the Spanish bladder cancer study. She has evaluated the role of genetic variation in DNA repair pathway genes and bladder cancer risk for which her work has earned her a Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE), and is planning to expand this work to include cellular phenotype assays. In addition to DNA repair, she is developing proposals to use her training in hormone signal transduction pathways, which have potent actions on cell growth, differentiation, and homeostasis, and determine their role in cancer etiology and prevention.

Julia Gage

Julia Gage joined HREB as a pre-doctoral fellow in June 2005. She earned a PhD in Epidemiology from The Johns Hopkins University in 2008. Under the guidance of Dr. Mark Schiffman her research focused on adapting new HPV screening technologies to affordable and effective cervical cancer prevention programs for low resource settings. She also worked with Dr. Jose Jeronimo to evaluate and improve visual diagnostic tools that detect cervical precancer, e.g. colposcopy. Dr. Gage currently follows her interest in translational research with Dr. Schiffman and Dr. Phil Castle in projects involving new HPV-based screen-and-treat strategies, anal cancer screening in HIV-infected men, and the diagnostic utility of endocervical curettage.

Gretchen L. Gierach

Gretchen L. Gierach joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch as a NCI Cancer Prevention Fellow in 2006. Dr. Gierach earned both her Masters in Public Health (2004) and Ph.D. (2006) degrees in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh with a focus in cancer epidemiology and women’s health and a B.S. in Biobehavioral Health from the Pennsylvania State University (1998). Since joining HREB, Dr. Gierach has worked with Drs. Louise Brinton and Mark Sherman to launch the Breast Radiology Evaluation and Study of Tissues (or “BREAST”) Stamp Project, a pilot study within the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. Within the BREAST Stamp Project as well as other studies, Dr. Gierach is investigating hormonal and molecular determinants of mammographic density, an intermediate marker of breast cancer risk. Dr. Gierach’s other current projects include examining whether mammographic density differs between women at high and low genetic risk of developing breast cancer, and assessing overall and disease-specific mortality risk associated with gynecologic surgery within the Breast Cancer Detection and Demonstration Project. In 2008 she was awarded the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics Molecular Epidemiology Research Funding Award and the NCI Merit Award in Cancer Prevention Research Training.

Mahboobeh Safaeian

Mahboobeh Safaeian joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch as a Sallie Rosen Kaplan Postdoctoral Fellow in April 2006. She recently completed her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She trained with Drs. Patti Gravitt and Ronald Gray at the Johns Hopkins University, examining human papillomavirus (HPV) natural history in an HIV-endemic population in Rakai, Uganda. Her thesis was entitled "Utility of self-collected vaginal swabs for studying the epidemiology of HPV infection." Dr.Safaeian is working with Dr. Philip Castle and Dr. Mark Schiffman on new diagnostic technologies for HPV and cervical cancer and on the natural history of HPV infection.

Hannah Yang

Hannah Yang is a pre-doctoral fellow in HREB, and a doctoral candidate at the Johns Hopkins University. For her doctoral dissertation, Hannah is working with Dr. Montserrat Garcia-Closas on examining the association between estrogen metabolites and endometrial cancer risk (in the Polish Breast, Ovarian, and Endometrial Study). The unifying hypothesis of the dissertation is that an environmental factor and a genetic factor (inter-individual variation in estrogen metabolizing genes) may shift the balance of the estrogen metabolites and thus alter an individual’s endometrial cancer risk. Hannah received her undergraduate training in Biology and History and Sociology of Science from University of Pennsylvania and her Master of Science in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University.

Nicolas Wentzensen

Nicolas Wentzensen joined HREB as a visiting fellow in August 2007. He received his MD from the University of Heidelberg, Germany in 2000. His MD thesis was focused on the role of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) integration in the carcinogenesis of cervical cancer. After completing his internship in surgery, Dr. Wentzensen joined the Division of Applied Tumor Biology at the Institute of Pathology, University of Heidelberg where he conducted basic and translational research mainly in the field of HPV associated disease and cervical cancer prevention. Dr. Wentzensen was primarily involved in the transfer of new molecular tools developed in the Heidelberg group to clinical diagnostic or screening applications.

He has gained further research experience in the field of colorectal cancer evaluating new disease markers identified in a differential gene expression analysis. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Wentzensen supervised a diagnostic service in the field of cervical cancer prevention. He is currently completing a Master of Epidemiology Program at the University of Mainz. His habilitation thesis (PhD equivalent) is entitled “The pathogenesis of Papilloma Virus-associated disease and the evaluation of related biomarkers”. During his time at the HREB, Dr. Wentzensen would like to transfer his practical experience with biomarkers to large epidemiological studies conducted at the NCI. He is interested in deepening his knowledge of HPV related cancers, but also broadening his research field to different cancer entities.

Dr. Wentzensen will work with Dr. Mark Schiffman, Dr. Sophia Wang, and Dr. Philip Castle on studies aiming at identifying and evaluating new biomarkers for initiation and progression of HPV related cancers.