Research Projects

Study why diets high in vegetables and fruit protect against the development of cancer.

• Currently we are studying the effects of diets differing in vegetable and fruit content on biomarkers of disease risk in a population of women either at high risk for breast cancer or its recurrence.
  
• Two questions dominate our current research agenda: 1) what intake of vegetables and fruit is adequate to confer protection, and 2) from which botanical families of vegetables and fruit are the most potent protective effects derived.

Study how reducing caloric intake or increasing physical activity can lead to a reduction in risk for cancer.

• Our current focus is on the use of caloric restriction and exercise to prevent breast cancer.
  
• Caloric restriction is the most powerful, physiological, non detrimental approach to cancer prevention that has ever been identified.
  
• Physical inactivity has recently been implicated as a major factor influencing cancer risk in human populations around the world.
  
• We are determining the chemical basis underlying the potent preventive activity of weight control and physical activity so that we can use the knowledge to develop practical, safe and effective approaches to prevent cancer and other diseases.

Study whether daily consumption of a dietary supplement containing selenium reduces the risk

• Two clinical trials are ongoing. One is in a population of men at increased risk for lung cancer and the other is in a population of women at risk for breast cancer because of a family history of the disease.

Identify modifiable risk factors for cancer that can be monitored periodically to follow changes in cancer risk.

• We are currently working with three populations of women who are at low, intermediate, and high risk for breast cancer. Efforts are ongoing to identify circulating chemicals that reflect an individual’s risk for cancer. We will then proceed to target the gene(s) involved in the production of these chemicals with drug-based intervention tailored to reduce cancer risk.