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Genitourinary Cancer Epidemiology Group

The Genitourinary Cancer Epidemiology Group is a dynamic group of students, researchers, faculty, and staff led by Dr. Lorelei Mucci. We investigate research questions focused on cancer etiology, mortality, and survivorship, particularly among individuals with prostate cancer and other genitourinary cancers.

Phone 617-432-1732
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Location

677 Huntington Ave,
Kresge Building, Office 920E
Boston, MA 02115

Our Team

The Genitourinary Cancer Epidemiology Group, led by Dr. Lorelei Mucci, is made up of a vibrant team of faculty members, postdoctoral research fellows, students, and research staff.

Faculty

Lorelei Mucci

My major area of research and teaching is cancer epidemiology. I am the director of the Cancer Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention Program in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; deputy associate director for population science for the Cancer Epidemiology Program at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), and director of strategic research partnerships at the American Cancer Society.

After receiving my doctoral degree in epidemiology at Harvard Chan School, I trained as a postdoctoral fellow in cancer epidemiology at the Karolinska Institutet. Since 2012, my primary faculty appointment has been at Harvard Chan School, where my research uses integrative molecular epidemiology approaches in U.S. and global cohorts to investigate questions on cancer etiology, mortality, and survivorship. I serve as co-Principal Investigator for the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and IRONMAN.

Ed Giovannucci

Education:
1992: ScD Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health
1988: MPH Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health
1984-1986: Residency in Pathology, University of Connecticut Health Center
1984: MD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
1980: BS Biology, Harvard University

Research Interests: My main research focuses on how nutritional, lifestyle, and genetic factors affect the risk of development and progression of cancers. A specific interest has been understanding etiologic mechanisms underlying the relation between diet, physical activity, body weight and composition, and metabolic dysfunction, and cancer risk.

Konrad H. Stopsack

Education:
2021: Postdoctoral training, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
2017: Residency in Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic
2014: MPH, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2013: MD, University of Freiburg

Research Interests: My main research interest is how potentially modifiable exposures cause solid tumors through genomic heterogeneity and influence cancer progression. I am passionate about combining state-of-the-art genomics and well-defined observational studies in order to inform primary prevention, risk stratification, and biomarker-guided treatment. My methodologic and teaching interests include the application of epidemiologic methods to biomarker and clinical studies.

Anna Plym

Education:
2019: PhD in Cancer Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet
2013: MSc in Public Health Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet
2007: MSc in Biomedical Sciences, Uppsala University

Research Interests: Genetic and lifestyle markers of aggressive prostate cancer

Postdoctoral Research Fellows

Anqi Wang

Education:
2018-2023: PhD in Epidemiology, University of Southern California
2016-2018: ScM in Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2011-2016: Bachelor in Medicine, Peking University, China

Research Interests: Genetic and molecular factors of prostate cancer

Claire Kim

Education:
2018-2022: PhD in Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
2013-2015: MPH in Community & International Health, NYU Global Institute of Public Health
2009-2013: BS in Science Preprofessional, University of Notre Dame

Research Interests: Molecular and lifestyle factors in prostate cancer etiology, mortality, and survivorship

Yuliya Leontyeva

Education: 
2019 – 2024 PhD in Biostatistics, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska
Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
2014 – 2018 ScM in Statistics, Stockholm University
1993 – 1998 ScM in Mathematics, IT, English, Murmansk State Pedagogical University (Russia)
 
Research interests: Survival epidemiology, estimation of life expectancy

Doctoral, MD/PhD, and Masters Students

Michelle Sodipo

Education:
2021-Present: PhD in Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2019-2021: MPH Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health
2013-2017: B.S. Biology and Community Health, Tufts University

Research Interests: Cancer health disparities/inequities; Interventions to decrease cancer disparities/inequities 

Colleen McGrath

Education:
2022-Present: PhD in Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 2020-2022: MS in Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2014-2018: BA Health and Societies, University of Pennsylvania

Research Interests: cancer survivorship, lifestyle factors and quality-of-life in cancer survivors

LeeAnn Lucas

Education:
2024 – Present: PhD in Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2022-2024: MS Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2021: BSPH Environmental Health Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Research Interests: Bladder cancer prevention, environmental risk factors for cancer

Emily Rencsok

Education:
2019-2023: PhD in Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2017-Present: MD, Harvard Medical School
2012-2016: BS in Biomedical Engineering, John Hopkins University

Research: Mechanisms underlying racial disparities of prostate cancer, increasing equity of patient and global center representation in clinical trials, patient experience and interactions with the medical system

Adviti Sarang

Education:
2023-Present: MS Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 
2016-2020: BSA Mathematics, University of Texas at Austin
 
Research Interests: genetic and lifestyle factors for prostate cancer

Research Team

Bailey Vaselkiv

Education:
2020: MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Boston University
2016: BS in Biology and Spanish, Gordon College

Research Interests: Early cancer detection and screening, quality of life in cancer survivors, disparities in prostate cancer

Hannah Guard

Education:
2023: MS in Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2021: BS in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Public Health Sciences, UMass Amherst

Research Interests: Aging in cancer survivors, quality of life in cancer survivors

Sinéad Flanagan

Education:
2020-2022: Basic Specialist Training in Histopathology, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
2021: MPH, University College of Cork, Ireland
2018: Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Obstetrics, University College Cork, Ireland
2014: BSc in Physiotherapy, University of Limerick, Ireland

Research Interests: cancer prevention and early detection, tumor biomarkers and patho-epidemiology, cancer survivorship

Megan Shanahan

Education:
2024: MPH, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2021: BS Chemistry, Boston College

Research Interests: Lifestyle risk factors and cancer prevention

Alumni

Caroline Himbert

Current Position: Assistant Professor at University of Utah

Education:
2017-2022: PhD, Population Health Sciences, University of Utah
2015-2017: Visiting Scholar, Hunstman Cancer Institute, Utah
2012-2015: Medicine, Hamburg University, Germany

Research Interests: Energy balance and cancer survivorship, cardiovascular disease prevention in cancer survivors

Naiyu Chen

Current Position: Health Economics and Outcomes Research Associate at Analysis Group

Education:
2020-2024: PhD in Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2017-2019: MPH Master’s in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Southern California
2014-2018: BS Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of Southern California

Research Interests: Cancer survivorship, built and social environments, causal inference methods

Bo Wu

Education:
2024: MPH, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2023: MD, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Research Interests: Cancer incidence and risk factors

Ilkania Chowdhury-Paulino

Current Position: Epidemiologist at Gradient

Education: 
2018-2023: PhD in Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2016-2018: MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health
2011-2015: AB in Health and Human Biology, Brown University

Research Interests: Drivers of cancer disparities