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Brenda Melanie Birmann, Sc.D.

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Biography
awards and honors
2012
Young Scientist Award
2017
Channing Division of Network Medicine Juinor Faculty Award

Overview
overview
I am a cancer epidemiologist with a primary research focus on the etiology of multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. My active studies are based in the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study cohorts and include examinations of both lifestyle-related and biomarker-characterized risk factors. To date, we have evaluated body mass index and other anthropometric measures, physical activity, aspirin use and serologic biomarkers of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, insulin, interleukin (IL)-6 and adiponectin dysregulation and risk of multiple myeloma in local studies and in collaboration with external cohorts. A multi-cohort study to examine genetic susceptibility to multiple myeloma is in progress. My non-Hodgkin lymphoma studies have also examined obesity-related anthropometric measures, dietary factors and serologic markers of immune activation and inflammation, as well as of dietary fatty acids. I have enjoyed local collaborations on studies of multiple myeloma with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute SPORE in multiple myeloma (Kenneth C. Anderson, PI) and on studies of Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia (Irene M. Ghobrial, PI). I currently co-lead a large pooled study of time-varying non-genetic risk factors for multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and common histologic and tissue molecular subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in our local cohorts and three external cohorts. I have also led or collaborated on numerous studies in large international consortia, where I have also held leadership roles: the International Lymphoma Epidemiology (InterLymph) Consortium, the International Multiple Myeloma Consortium (IMMC, now the Myeloma Working Group of InterLymph) and the National Cancer Institute Lymphoid Malignancies Working Group. I also represent the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study in a large multi-site genome-wide association study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
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Research
research activities and funding
The research activities and funding listed below are automatically derived from NIH ExPORTER and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing items. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.
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  1. R01AA024770 (FERRARI, PIETRO) Aug 15, 2016 - Jul 31, 2021
    NIH
    A pooling project on alcohol use and risk of cancers with inconsistent prior evidence, with an emphasis in non-smokers.
    Role: Co-Investigator
  2. R01CA202712 (WANG, SOPHIA S) Aug 1, 2016 - Jul 31, 2021
    NIH
    Risk factors for molecular subtypes of NHL a prospective evaluation
    Role: Principal Investigator
  3. R21CA198239 (BIRMANN, BRENDA M) Sep 1, 2015 - Aug 31, 2018
    NIH
    Diet patterns, aspirin use, obesity and multiple myeloma: a prospective analysis
    Role: Principal Investigator
  4. R01CA149445 (BIRMANN, BRENDA M) Sep 1, 2011 - Jan 31, 2018
    NIH
    A prospective analysis of peripheral blood cytokines and non-Hodgkin lymphoma
    Role: Principal Investigator
  5. R01CA127435 (COLDITZ, GRAHAM A.) Aug 1, 2007 - Nov 30, 2012
    NIH
    Prospective evaluation of IGF and IL-6 Dysregulation and Multiple Myeloma
    Role: Co-Investigator

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selected publications
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© 2024 President and Fellows of Harvard College
Funded by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through its Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, grant number UL1TR002541.