G. Burroughs Mider Lecture: Prospective cohort studies for environmental health research

Wednesday, September 20, 2023, 2:00 to 3:00pm

Lipsett Amphitheater, NIH Clinical Center (Building 10)

In this lecture, part of NIH's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS), IRP senior investigator Dale Sandler, Ph.D., will describe the wide range of research made possible by the Sister Study cohort established in 2003 to study environmental and genetic risk factors for breast cancer in a cohort of 50,000 women who have a sister with breast cancer. The prospective design and extensive questionnaire data, biological samples, and physiologic measurements at enrollment along with detailed follow-up questionnaires has allowed researchers to study lifecourse exposures associated with breast cancer as well other health endpoints. As the field has evolved, the study has incorporated newer technologies to study the role of epigenetics, metabolomics and exposomics. The cohort is now conducting research on climate factors and health disparities using individual level and geospatial measures of environmental, psychosocial, and socioeconomic factors.

For those unable to attend in person, the lecture will be broadcast on NIH Videocast.