Jonine D. Figueroa, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Senior Investigator

Integrative Tumor Epidemiology Branch

NCI/DCEG

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9609 Medical Center Dr.
Room SG/7E226
Rockville, MD 20892

+1 240 276 5260

jonine.figueroa@nih.gov

Research Topics

Dr. Jonine Figueroa is an internationally recognized expert in breast cancer epidemiology. As a leader of integrative molecular epidemiologic research, she investigates risk factors associated with cancer incidence and mortality.

Leveraging Data and Technology for Health Innovation

A core aspect of her research is the strategic use of routinely collected health data and emerging technologies to generate actionable insights that inform cancer prevention and treatment strategies. By utilizing diverse data resources, such as the NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) cancer statistics program and electronic health records collected via the Connect for Cancer Prevention Study, her research team seeks to inform health systems changes to prioritize prevention and early intervention. These resources, in combination with cutting-edge technologies, allow her to integrate molecular and epidemiological data, improving understanding of the natural history of cancer and chronic diseases, especially those that have a high morbidity and mortality. By addressing the molecular and social determinants of health, her studies contribute to the development of innovative, evidence-based interventions that can help reduce cancer incidence, mortality, and the burden of chronic diseases across the U.S.

Molecular Epidemiology of Aggressive Breast Cancer and Chronic Disease Prevention

In alignment with the vision of reducing health differences, recent studies have focused on molecular subtypes of breast cancer, as well as the intersection of chronic diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes and measures of comorbidities with cancer risk. Understanding how social and area-level determinants—including measures of rurality—influence health outcomes enables the identification of at-risk groups, particularly those with higher rates of aggressive cancers or chronic conditions that may increase disease risk and progression. By integrating molecular pathology and advanced statistical models, the research efforts are informing more effective strategies for public health risk reduction and treatment approaches to target populations with high morbidity and mortality.

Biography

Dr. Figueroa received a B.S. in genetics and developmental biology from the Pennsylvania State University, State College, a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and microbiology from Stony Brook University, and an M.P.H. from Columbia University, both in New York. Most recently, Dr. Figueroa was tenured Professor and Chair of Molecular Epidemiology and Global Cancer Prevention at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, where she is an Honorary Fellow. She completed her postdoctoral training in DCEG as an NCI Cancer Prevention Fellow and was promoted to a tenure-track investigator position before leaving for the United Kingdom.

Dr. Figueroa is the first researcher selected through the DCEG pilot of the Multi-Principal Investigator Search (MPIS). She has also been selected for the NIH Distinguished Scholars Program.

Selected Publications

  1. Figueroa JD, Brinton LA. Unraveling genes, hormones, and breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2012;104(9):641-2.
  2. Figueroa JD, Garcia-Closas M, Humphreys M, Platte R, Hopper JL, Southey MC, Apicella C, Hammet F, Schmidt MK, Broeks A, Tollenaar RA, Van't Veer LJ, Fasching PA, Beckmann MW, Ekici AB, Strick R, Peto J, dos Santos Silva I, Fletcher O, Johnson N, Sawyer E, Tomlinson I, Kerin M, Burwinkel B, Marme F, Schneeweiss A, Sohn C, Bojesen S, Flyger H, Nordestgaard BG, Benítez J, Milne RL, Ignacio Arias J, Zamora MP, Brenner H, Müller H, Arndt V, Rahman N, Turnbull C, Seal S, Renwick A, Brauch H, Justenhoven C, Brüning T, GENICA Network, Chang-Claude J, Hein R, Wang-Gohrke S, Dörk T, Schürmann P, Bremer M, Hillemanns P, Nevanlinna H, Heikkinen T, Aittomäki K, Blomqvist C, Bogdanova N, Antonenkova N, Rogov YI, Karstens JH, Bermisheva M, Prokofieva D, Gantcev SH, Khusnutdinova E, Lindblom A, Margolin S, Chenevix-Trench G, Beesley J, Chen X, kConFab AOCS Management Group, Mannermaa A, Kosma VM, Soini Y, Kataja V, Lambrechts D, Yesilyurt BT, Chrisiaens MR, Peeters S, Radice P, Peterlongo P, Manoukian S, Barile M, Couch F, Lee AM, Diasio R, Wang X, Giles GG, Severi G, Baglietto L, Maclean C, Offit K, Robson M, Joseph V, Gaudet M, John EM, Winqvist R, Pylkäs K, Jukkola-Vuorinen A, Grip M, Andrulis I, Knight JA, Mulligan AM, O'Malley FP, Brinton LA, Sherman ME, Lissowska J, Chanock SJ, Hooning M, Martens JW, van den Ouweland AM, Collée JM, Hall P, Czene K, Cox A, Brock IW, Reed MW, Cross SS, Pharoah P, Dunning AM, Kang D, Yoo KY, Noh DY, Ahn SH, Jakubowska A, Lubinski J, Jaworska K, Durda K, Sangrajrang S, Gaborieau V, Brennan P, McKay J, Shen CY, Ding SL, Hsu HM, Yu JC, Anton-Culver H, Ziogas A, Ashworth A, Swerdlow A, Jones M, Orr N, Trentham-Dietz A, Egan K, Newcomb P, Titus-Ernstoff L, Easton D, Spurdle AB. Associations of common variants at 1p11.2 and 14q24.1 (RAD51L1) with breast cancer risk and heterogeneity by tumor subtype: findings from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Hum Mol Genet. 2011;20(23):4693-706.
  3. Rothman N, Garcia-Closas M, Chatterjee N, Malats N, Wu X, Figueroa JD, Real FX, Van Den Berg D, Matullo G, Baris D, Thun M, Kiemeney LA, Vineis P, De Vivo I, Albanes D, Purdue MP, Rafnar T, Hildebrandt MA, Kiltie AE, Cussenot O, Golka K, Kumar R, Taylor JA, Mayordomo JI, Jacobs KB, Kogevinas M, Hutchinson A, Wang Z, Fu YP, Prokunina-Olsson L, Burdett L, Yeager M, Wheeler W, Tardón A, Serra C, Carrato A, García-Closas R, Lloreta J, Johnson A, Schwenn M, Karagas MR, Schned A, Andriole G Jr, Grubb R 3rd, Black A, Jacobs EJ, Diver WR, Gapstur SM, Weinstein SJ, Virtamo J, Cortessis VK, Gago-Dominguez M, Pike MC, Stern MC, Yuan JM, Hunter DJ, McGrath M, Dinney CP, Czerniak B, Chen M, Yang H, Vermeulen SH, Aben KK, Witjes JA, Makkinje RR, Sulem P, Besenbacher S, Stefansson K, Riboli E, Brennan P, Panico S, Navarro C, Allen NE, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, Trichopoulos D, Caporaso N, Landi MT, Canzian F, Ljungberg B, Tjonneland A, Clavel-Chapelon F, Bishop DT, Teo MT, Knowles MA, Guarrera S, Polidoro S, Ricceri F, Sacerdote C, Allione A, Cancel-Tassin G, Selinski S, Hengstler JG, Dietrich H, Fletcher T, Rudnai P, Gurzau E, Koppova K, Bolick SC, Godfrey A, Xu Z, Sanz-Velez JI, D García-Prats M, Sanchez M, Valdivia G, Porru S, Benhamou S, Hoover RN, Fraumeni JF Jr, Silverman DT, Chanock SJ. A multi-stage genome-wide association study of bladder cancer identifies multiple susceptibility loci. Nat Genet. 2010;42(11):978-84.
  4. Figueroa JD, Flanders KC, Garcia-Closas M, Anderson WF, Yang XR, Matsuno RK, Duggan MA, Pfeiffer RM, Ooshima A, Cornelison R, Gierach GL, Brinton LA, Lissowska J, Peplonska B, Wakefield LM, Sherman ME. Expression of TGF-beta signaling factors in invasive breast cancers: relationships with age at diagnosis and tumor characteristics. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2010;121(3):727-35.
  5. Figueroa JD, Malats N, Rothman N, Real FX, Silverman D, Kogevinas M, Chanock S, Yeager M, Welch R, Dosemeci M, Tardón A, Serra C, Carrato A, García-Closas R, Castaño-Vinyals G, García-Closas M. Evaluation of genetic variation in the double-strand break repair pathway and bladder cancer risk. Carcinogenesis. 2007;28(8):1788-93.

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This page was last updated on Tuesday, March 25, 2025