Research Interest Area: Cancer Epidemiology
Focuses on studying cancer prevention, causes and control, as well as factors affecting trends in cancer incidence, mortality, screening and treatment.
Overview
The global burden of cancer is increasing and with it the need for cancer epidemiologists to study its causes and how to prevent it, detect it earlier, treat it better, and intervene to improve quality of life for cancer survivors.
Students with the following interests and are encouraged to explore these research interest areas:
- cancer etiology
- cancer prevention and control
- disease surveillance
- clinical epidemiology
- immunology, molecular biology
- occupational and environmental epidemiology
- cancer survivorship
Faculty
Faculty members primarily working in this area
- Charles Lynch
- Elizabeth Chrischilles
- Mary Charlton
- Michael O’Rorke
- Sarah Nash
- Anjali Desphande
- Paul Romitti
- Robert Wallace
- James Torner
Collaborating faculty
- R. William Field
- Qian Xiao
- Barcey Levy
- Richard Hoffman
- James Cerhan
- Natoshia Askelson
- Mary Schroeder
- Brian Link
Curriculum
Featured Courses
- EPID:6700 Cancer Epidemiology and Control
- EPID:5560 Introduction to Molecular Epidemiology
- EPID:5540 Public Health Surveillance Mechanisms, Applications and Data
- EPID:6200 Environmental/Occupational Epidemiology
Learning Objectives
Students interested in cancer epidemiology are preparing for a career in which they will:
- Stay abreast of and contribute innovations to changing cancer surveillance methods and data
- Generate original ideas, data, and analyses of a quality that will influence public health practice or cancer epidemiological science
- Inform public health and healthcare practice and policy by incorporating cancer prevention and control information
- Collaborate and lead multidisciplinary teams to design and conduct observational and interventional research
- Be competent in a family of related research fields including: molecular biology, exposure assessment, clinical epidemiology, and outcomes research.
- Understand the pathobiology of cancer
- Understand known risk factors and gaps in knowledge for the major cancers
- Communicate cancer information to diverse audiences
Centers and Resources
Centers and Institutes
- Iowa Cancer Registry
- Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center (HCCC), Cancer Epidemiology Program and Population Science Core
- Health Effectiveness Research Center
- NIOSH, Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety
- NIEHS, Environmental Health Sciences Research Center (EHSRC)
- Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC)
- Prevention Research Center
Research Resources
- SEER Data Resources/Groups (SEER-Medicare Users Group, SEER Patterns of Care/Quality of Care Group, SEER*Stat)
- Iowa Residual Tissue Repository
- Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER) Registries (breast, genito-urologic, lymphoma, melanoma, multiple myeloma, pancreatic, biliary and GI, sarcoma)
- Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN)
- Epidemiology Resource Core
Major Research Projects
Funding Opportunities
- Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety – Heartland Pilot Grants
- Environmental Health Science Research Center – EHSRC Pilot Grants
- Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC) – Seed Grants
- Iowa Cancer Consortium – Grants