Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch Fellows

Aileen Burke

Aileen Burke joined the HREB in September 2008 as a CRTA fellow. She graduated from University College Dublin, Ireland in 2004 with a BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology, and subsequently carried out molecular biological research at NCI, where she investigated factors influencing hormone receptor-DNA interactions using confocal microscopy, as well as signaling pathways in HTLV-1 positive cancer cells. Ms. Burke is currently working with Drs Jonine Figueroa, Mark Sherman and Nicolas Wentzensen on molecular genetic analyses of the Polish Breast Cancer Study, and with Drs Gretchen Gierach and Mark Sherman on the BREAST Stamp Project. She is completing an MPH in epidemiology at the George Washington University.

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.

Julia Gage

Julia Gage joined the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch as a pre-doctoral fellow in June 2005. 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. As a pre-doc she also worked with Dr. Jose Jeronimo to evaluate and improve visual diagnostic tools that detect cervical precancer, e.g. colposcopy. She earned a PhD in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins University in 2008 and currently is a post-doc following her interest in translational research by evaluating new HPV-based screen-and-treat strategies. With Dr. Schiffman and Dr. Phil Castle her major post-doctoral project is coordinating the Itoju (Itoju translates from Yorùbá to English as ‘care’) Study of HPV DNA Prevalence in Nigeria. Other areas of interest include improving cryotherapy that would allow women in low-resource settings to be immediately and inexpensively treated, examining how HPV persistence predicts absolute risk of subsequent precancer, and assessing 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.

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.