Cancer epidemiology, using epidemiologic tools to understand carcinogenesis at the population, individual, tissue and molecular levels to better prevent and control the disease risk and progression. Much of my work includes a focus on nutrition and alcohol. . Recent projects include examination of factors associated with mortality after a breast cancer diagnosis, a study of the breast microbiome and a study of DNA methylation in lung tissues from smokers, non-smokers and electronic cigarette users.
Jo Freudenheim, PhD, is a SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health. She received a doctorate degree in nutritional sciences and a master's degree in preventive medicine from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She subsequently came to UB for postdoctoral training in cancer epidemiology and then was appointed to the faculty in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health. Freudenheim is also adjunct professor of oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and affiliated scientist at the Research Institute on Addictions. Her research focuses on breast cancer epidemiology and prognosis including an examination of breast tumor characteristics, of factors related to disparities in breast cancer among Puerto Rican women (the Atabey study), the role of exposures including nutrition and alcohol during the life course and breast cancer risk (the WEB study), the role of the microbiome in cancer risk and research regarding alterations in lung tissue methylation with use of electronic cigarettes compared to smokers and never smokers.