My proposal requests five years of funding to develop pathologic and epidemologic research activities in cancer etiology and prevention. I have already received a Ph.D. degree in Preventive Medicine, just completed a four year residency in anatomic pathology with board certification, and recently received a joint junior faculty appointment in the Departments of Pathology and Preventive Medicine and Enviromental Health at the University of Iowa. I plan to center my research activities around the State Health Registry, which executes the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program for the State of Iowa. My basic research approach is based on two primary consideratins: 1) to explore a major area of enviromental epidemologic interest in greater depth; and 2) to bring my special expertise in pathology to bear on the analyses of these studies. The first research area will center around continued investigation of potential assocations between State of Iowa cancer incidence and drinking water contaminatin. The second research area will involve review and systematic recording of pathologic findings in tumorous tissue removed from incident cases participating in my cancer case-control research activities. These findings will initially include tumor characteristics such as level of invasion and grade, as well as host response factors such as degree of desomplasia and type and amount of inflammatory infiltrate. Because of its expense, this type of research activity has infrequently been pursured in cancer case-control studies. Given the time and funds associated with this award, I look forward to idenfiying assocations between risk factor exposures and these specific pathologic findings. Once these associations are found, proposals will be generated to further investigate their significance through more sophisticated pathologic methods such as tissue staining for specific cell markers. Teaching activities will be directed at medical students, graduate students, allied health students, and cancer epidemiology students, and emphasize cancer incidence and survival, risk factors, and preventive measures. Senior faculty members within the Deapartment of Pathology and Preventive Medicine and the Director of the Cancer Education Grant at the University of Iowa will serve as consultants and colleagues in the applicants accomplishment of these research and teaching activities.
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