Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor
Dean, Population and Precision Health
Director, Institute for Population and Precision Health
Director, Chicago Center for Health and Environment
Associate Director of Population Research, Comprehensive Cancer Center
I am Dean for Population and Precision Health and Director of the Institute for Population and Precision Health. Trained in medicine, epidemiology, environmental health and genomics, my research expertise encompasses large-scale population-based studies assessing environmental disease risks and their modifying factors including social, biological and other disparity-related factors. My research interests focus on studying the inter-relationships between environmental and genomic factors in cancer and other diseases and exploiting information on these relationships at a population level in developing and evaluating prevention interventions in humans. Specifically, my research integrates the environmental, nutritional and life-style factors with measures of host factors and modern molecular genomics (involving DNA, RNA and protein variations) to understand the etiology, pathogenesis, prognosis and prevention of cancer and other disorders of national and international public health significance. In addition to applied and translational studies, my research directly addresses environmental health disparity and their prevention avenues. Findings from many of my environmental health studies have had EHS policy implications nationally and internationally. Currently, I lead the only NIEHS-funded Environmental Health Core Center in Chicago. I am leading a large team of scientists to establish a prospective multiethnic cohort in Chicago involving extensive environmental data and a biobank to address health disparity related research questions. As part of these responsibilities, I have built multidisciplinary multi-institutional teams, promoted collaborations, mentored junior and mid-level faculties, and managed large staff and budgets. I serve on numerous national and international panels including a current 4-year term on the NIEHS Advisory Board and a 3-year term on an NAS panel evaluating EPA policy on arsenic.
Columbia University
New York
Postdoc - Epidemiology
1995
University of Western Australia
Australia
MMedSc - Epidemiology
1992
University of Western Australia
Australia
PGDip - Public Health
1990
Institute for Postgraduate Medicine & Research, Dhaka University
Bangladesh
MBBS(MD) - Medicine
1988
Exposure to metal mixtures and telomere length in Bangladeshi children.
Exposure to metal mixtures and telomere length in Bangladeshi children. Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Jul 05.
PMID: 38973734
Molecular Profiling and the Interaction of Somatic Mutations with Transcriptomic Profiles in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (NMSC) in a Population Exposed to Arsenic.
Molecular Profiling and the Interaction of Somatic Mutations with Transcriptomic Profiles in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (NMSC) in a Population Exposed to Arsenic. Cells. 2024 Jun 18; 13(12).
PMID: 38920684
Assessment of unmeasured confounding in the association between perceived discrimination and mental health in a predominantly African American cohort using g-estimation.
Assessment of unmeasured confounding in the association between perceived discrimination and mental health in a predominantly African American cohort using g-estimation. Int J Epidemiol. 2024 Jun 12; 53(4).
PMID: 38961645
Diabetes and gastric cancer incidence and mortality in the Asia Cohort Consortium: A pooled analysis of more than a half million participants.
Diabetes and gastric cancer incidence and mortality in the Asia Cohort Consortium: A pooled analysis of more than a half million participants. J Diabetes. 2024 Jun; 16(6):e13561.
PMID: 38751364
Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and measures of central hemodynamics and arterial stiffness among multiethnic Chicago residents.
Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and measures of central hemodynamics and arterial stiffness among multiethnic Chicago residents. Environ Health. 2024 May 07; 23(1):47.
PMID: 38715087
Diabetes is associated with increased liver cancer incidence and mortality in adults: A report from Asia Cohort Consortium.
Diabetes is associated with increased liver cancer incidence and mortality in adults: A report from Asia Cohort Consortium. Int J Cancer. 2024 Sep 01; 155(5):854-870.
PMID: 38661292
Understanding of cervical cancer, acceptability of HPV self-collection, and prevalence of HPV in a semi-urban setting in Bangladesh.
Understanding of cervical cancer, acceptability of HPV self-collection, and prevalence of HPV in a semi-urban setting in Bangladesh. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2024; 4(4):e0003157.
PMID: 38656991
Family history and gastric cancer incidence and mortality in Asia: a pooled analysis of more than half a million participants.
Family history and gastric cancer incidence and mortality in Asia: a pooled analysis of more than half a million participants. Gastric Cancer. 2024 Jul; 27(4):701-713.
PMID: 38649672
Association of female reproductive and hormonal factors with gallbladder cancer risk in Asia: A pooled analysis of the Asia Cohort Consortium.
Association of female reproductive and hormonal factors with gallbladder cancer risk in Asia: A pooled analysis of the Asia Cohort Consortium. Int J Cancer. 2024 Jul 15; 155(2):240-250.
PMID: 38478921
Association of Microsatellite Instability and Gene Expression Profile in Colorectal Carcinoma and Potential Implications for Therapy.
Association of Microsatellite Instability and Gene Expression Profile in Colorectal Carcinoma and Potential Implications for Therapy. Medicina (Kaunas). 2024 Feb 20; 60(3).
PMID: 38541076
Member
ASCO Annual Meeting Planning Committee
2015 - 2017
Member
NAEHSC-National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council (NIEHS Council)
2015 - 2019
Member
NAS Scientific Panel on Toxicological Assessment of Arsenic
2012 - 2016
Associate Editor
Genetic Epidemiology
2006 - 2011