Presentation title: Integrating Life Course and Molecular Epidemiologic Approaches to Advance Cancer Prevention in Women
Date & time: Friday, October 24 from 9-10 AM (PDT)
Location
- In-person: B104, School of Population and Public Health, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z3
- Online: Zoom. Please register to receive the meeting link: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tEc0Ax-UQf63goYf_ykr4w
About the speaker
Dr. Jennifer Ritonja is a Scientist in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the BC Cancer Research Institute. Dr. Ritonja’s research program specializes in identifying modifiable risk factors for cancer prevention in women using a variety of epidemiologic techniques. She holds an MSc and PhD in epidemiology from Queen’s University where she studied night shift work as a possible carcinogen, and conducted her postdoctoral training at McGill University, St. Mary’s Research Centre and CRCHUM examining lifestyle risk factors across the life course and ovarian cancer risk. Her work has been recognized with awards from CIHR and FRQS, and she is a recipient of the Cancer Research Society’s Next Generation of Scientists Award.
Summary
Cancer remains a major public health concern in Canada, with an estimated 1 in 2 individuals developing the disease in their lifetime. While recent decades have significantly advanced our understanding of cancer etiology, many causes remain poorly understood, limiting the effectiveness of current prevention strategies. Presently, only about 40% of cancer cases are considered preventable based on known lifestyle and environmental risk factors.
This challenge is compounded by cancer’s long induction periods and the dynamic nature of exposures over time. Identifying molecular markers of exposure, such as hormones and DNA methylation, offers a promising avenue to improve prevention efforts. Moreover, cancer is widely recognized as a disease of aging, and there is growing evidence that exposures earlier in life may influence future cancer risk.
In this seminar, Dr. Jennifer Ritonja will present her methodological approach to integrating life course and molecular epidemiology to deepen our understanding of cancer prevention. Drawing on findings from her graduate and postdoctoral research, she will demonstrate how this interdisciplinary framework can uncover actionable risk factors and biomarkers to inform more effective prevention strategies.