Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences September 5, 2003

Update from Edward Trapido, Sc.D.
Associate Director, Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program (EGRP)

Dear Colleagues:

This is a brief message to let you know that we'll be at the annual meeting of the American College of Epidemiology (ACE) in Chicago, Sept. 7-9, and to tell you some recent news about our grantees and activities of the Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program (EGRP).

I'll be attending the ACE meeting along with Sandra Melnick, Dr.P.H., Chief of EGRP's Analytic Epidemiology Research Branch; Barbara Guest, Program Analyst; and Linda Anderson, Communications Director. We will have an exhibit and will be available to meet with you. On Tue., Sept. 9, I'll be moderating the symposium "Challenges and Solutions to Conducting Epidemiologic Studies in the Current Era." Sandra will present on issues in epidemiologic studies of gene-environment interactions; David Sly, Ph.D., of the University of Miami, on telephone, internet, or other survey approaches; Jack Leiss, Ph.D., of Contella Health Services, on probabilistic record linkage; and Timothy Johnson, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Chicago, on implications of survey nonresponse for epidemiologic research.

EGRP plans to hire two new Health Scientist Adminstrators (Program Directors). These individuals will help plan, coordinate, and evaluate the cancer epidemiology research program, including manage portfolios of grants in cancer epidemiology and organize workshops and meetings to define new research opportunities. The positions will be at either a GS-13 or GS-14 level. The formal position announcements will be sent after they are advertised by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), but in the meantime, if you, or someone you know, is interested, we will be available at ACE.

In other EGRP news:

• Grantee Larry Kolonel, M.D., Ph.D., received an NCI MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award that provides an additional five years of funding to support his Multiethnic Cohort Study. Larry is Deputy Director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii and Director of its Cancer Etiology Program, and is internationally recognized for his research in nutritional epidemiology and cancer. MERIT Awards are long-term awards given to support investigators whose competence and productivity are distinctly superior and who are highly likely to continue to perform in an outstanding manner. Recipients are investigators who have Research Project Grants (R01), and are nominated by NCI staff and approved by the National Cancer Advisory Board.

  Since 1993, Larry has been principal investigator of the EGRP-funded Multiethnic Cohort Study, which is evaluating the role of diet in various cancers among the multiethnic populations of Hawaii and Los Angeles. The cohort is unique in its ethnic diversity, large size, and representation of minority populations. It is the only cohort in the United States that has substantial numbers of Latinos, African Americans, Japanese Americans, and Native Hawaiians of both sexes.

• Congratulations also to Graham Colditz, Dr. P.H., M.D., of Harvard School of Public Health, who received this year's American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) DeWitt S. Goodman Memorial Lecture Award. The lectureship, which is awarded to a scientist who has made significant contributions to the fields of cancer prevention and nutrition and cancer, was given at the organization's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., this summer. {Roberta, could you insert his photo: from:

  Graham is principal investigator of an EGRP-funded program project that includes the Nurses' Health Study I (NHS I), which investigates dietary and hormonal determinants of risk for breast, colorectal, and ovarian cancers in women. The NHS I is a cohort comprised of 121,700 registered female nurses who were between the ages of 30 and 55 at the time of recruitment in 1976. EGRP has funded the cohort since its beginning.

• NCI is interested in facilitating development of consortia of cohort and case-control studies in order to accelerate research on gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in the etiology of cancer. This summer, the Institute launched a new initiative to pool data and biospecimens from 10 large cohorts to conduct research on gene and environment interactions. The initiative is the first research project of the Consortium of Cohorts, a group formed by NCI two years ago to address the need for large-scale collaborations in genetic epidemiology.

  Eight of the 10 cohorts are participating through EGRP-funded cooperative agreements. The principal investigators and cohorts are: David Hunter, M.D., Sc.D., of Harvard University, Physicians' Health Study I and II, Nurses' Health Study, Health Professionals Follow-up Study, and Women's Health Study; Michael Thun, M.D., of the American Cancer Society, American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study-II; Elio Riboli, M.D., of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition; and Brian Henderson, M.D., of the University of Southern California at Los Angeles, Multiethnic Cohort Study.

  Two cohorts are part of NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), which is an intramural research program: the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, led by Richard Hayes, D.D.S., Ph.D., and the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study, led by Demetrius Albanes, M.D.

  The investigative teams who oversee the cohorts will collaborate on studies of hormone-related gene variants and environmental factors involved in the development of breast and prostate cancer. A goal is to show that pooling data and biospecimens across large-scale studies through consortia arrangements is an effective approach to research on genes and the environment. NCI Press Release

  Such consortia arrangements can make possible study of less common cancers and cancers of high lethality for which it is difficult, if not impossible, for individual investigators to recruit sufficient study participants. Investigators are welcome to contact EGRP to discuss potential cohort and case-control consortia arrangements for study of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions.

  For more information on the Consortium of Cohorts, access http://ospahome.nci.nih.gov/cohort, and on some of the largest EGRP-funded cohorts, access http://epi.grants.cancer.gov/ResPort/cohorts.html.

In closing, several weeks ago we sent an announcement about the appointment of Robert Croyle, Ph.D., as our new Director of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), of which EGRP is a part. On a personal note, I'd like to say that Bob's appointment is a real boost for extramural research in epidemiology, and that Bob will be a strong supporter and great partner to work with.

Additional information about Bob.

Wishing you success this fall with your research endeavors,

Ed Trapido