Senior Investigator
DCEG, NCI
I am a tenured Senior Investigator, cancer epidemiologist in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, where I have built a sustained research program focused on pancreatic cancer etiology and prevention using population-based and molecular epidemiologic approaches. I have led studies in prospective cohorts and large-scale consortia and developed multidisciplinary collaborations that integrate nutritional, genetic, and molecular biomarkers, including multiomics, in rigorously designed epidemiologic investigations. My work also addresses selected nutrition-related hypotheses relevant to chronic disease prevention.
I received a B.S. in nutrition and dietetics at the University of California, Davis, followed by a dietetic internship and M.Ed. in health science (nutrition) education at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and George Peabody School of Education, respectively. After this training, I worked as a registered dietitian for 10 years. I have an M.P.H. with concentrations in epidemiology and nutrition and a Ph.D., in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.I was a Cancer Prevention Fellow and subsequently became an investigator in DCEG. My education and training in dietetics, nutrition, and epidemiology, together with clinical experience as a registered dietitian, give me a distinctive perspective on the role of modifiable exposures, biology, and disease risk.
I have won several awards in recognition of her contributions to cancer research, including the 2008 NIH Merit Award for sustained and innovative work in elucidating nutritional, genetic, infectious, and other determinants of pancreatic cancer. I am an active mentor, working with graduate students, as well as postdoctoral fellows. I served on the editorial board of the American Journal of Epidemiology (2008-2021) and currently is on the editorial board of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention. I holds position as an adjunct Associate Professor at the Yale University School of Public Health, is a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology, and is an elected member of the American Society of Epidemiology.