Association between DNA damage response and repair genes and risk of invasive serous ovarian cancer.

Bayesian statistical modeling with application to problems in genetic
epidemiology and cancer research; models for epidemiological risk
assessment, including hierarchical methods for combining related
epidemiological studies; ascertainment corrections for high risk
family data; analysis of high-throughput genomic data sets.

Model uncertainty and choice in prediction and variable selection problems for linear, generalized linear models and multivariate models. Bayesian Model Averaging. Prior distributions for model selection and model averaging. Wavelets and adaptive kernel non-parametric function estimation. Spatial statistics. Experimental design for nonlinear models. Applications in proteomics, bioinformatics, astro-statistics, air pollution and health effects, and environmental sciences.

Dr. Moorman's research focuses on the epidemiology of women's health issues. Her work includes research on ovarian cancer, breast cancer and hysterectomy. Areas of particular interest include disparities in cancer risk factors and outcomes and the effects of hysterectomy on ovarian function.  As part of the Duke Evidence Synthesis group, she has also been involved in systematic reviews and meta-analyses related to ovarian cancer, breast cancer and infertility.

Outcome-based research on pathology of endometrial carcinoma, including prognostic significance of histologic features of endometrial carcinoma, variants of endometrial carcinoma, definitions of atypia and well-differentiated carcinoma, and collaborative studies of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in endometrial carcinoma.

Endometrial pathology, especially as it relates to molecular/genetic alterations in neoplasms.

Ovarian pathology, especially as it relates to molecular and genetic alterations in neoplasms.

Improving accuracy of radiographic screening for breast cancer, by careful patho-radiographic correlation and study of improved imaging techniques (especially ultrasound).

Use of electron microscopy as a diagnostic and research technique.

Objective measures of pathology resident performance.

I have been engaged in basic and applied cancer research for over 28 years beginning with my post-doctoral fellowship under Arnold Levine at Princeton. Since being appointed to the faculty in the Department of Surgery at Duke, my primary interest has been towards understanding breast and ovarian cancer. I am a charter member of the NCI-Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) and have been an integral scientist in the breast and gynecologic collaborative group for 15 years including leading this group for a 5 year period. I am also a major contributor to the Cancer Genome Atlas and have worked in this context for the past 4 years. My research interests are in the molecular etiology of these diseases and understanding how key genetic events contribute to their onset and progression. My work has been very multi-disciplinary incorporating quantitative, population, genetic, and behavioral approaches.  I consider my specialty to be in the area of using human breast and ovarian cancer as the primary and only authentic model system to understand these diseases.  

Dr. Andrew Berchuck is Director of the Duke Division of Gynecologic Oncology and holds the James M. Ingram Distinguished Professorship. He is a practicing oncologist who is actively involved in the surgical and chemotherapy management of women with ovarian, endometrial and lower genital tract cancers. This includes minimally invasive laparoscopic surgical approaches. He also has developed a research program that focuses on the molecular-genetic alterations involved in malignant transformation of the ovarian and endometrial epithelium. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers in these areas. The objectives of his research include 1) identification of ovarian cancer susceptibility polymorphisms through a population-based case-control molecular epidemiologic study, and 2) use of genomic approaches  to elucidate the molecular heterogenetity of ovarian cancer. Thirty fellows and residents have worked in his lab, several of whom are now funded investigators. His research efforts have been recognized nationally and he has received awards for best oral presentation at the annual meetings of both the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the International Gynecologic Cancer Society. Dr. Berchuck was awarded the Barbara Thomason Ovarian Cancer Research Professorship by the American Cancer Society in 2006. He has served as editor of several books in the field including Principles and Practice of Gynecologic Oncology. Dr. Berchuck also has a major commitment to national activities, and was President of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology in 2008. He served as chair of the scientific advisory committee of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (http://www.ocrf.org) in New York City. Finally, he is also head of the steering committee of the international Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC), a group of 50 case-control studies that are working together to identify ovarian cancer susceptibility polymorphisms (www.srl.cam.ac.uk/consortia/ocac/index.html).