OB/GYN EPIDEMIOLOGY CENTER
Daniel W. Cramer, MD, ScD, Director
Karin B. Michels, ScD, PhD, Co-Director
Kathryn L. Terry, ScD
Bin Ye, PhD, Laboratory Director
MISSION
To conduct epidemiologic research of high quality that will lead to improvement in
women's health and to educate students and clinical faculty about epidemiologic methods
that will broaden their training.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN AY 2007-2008
Our faculty submitted 40 grants:
 Dr. Cramer completed an important milestone in his work on the early detection of
ovarian cancer, evaluating more than 50 different potential biomarkers on more than
800 specimens including 320 with clinically diagnosed ovarian cancer or benign
disease and 498 general population controls. This revealed that the top markers for
ovarian cancer included CA125, HE4 (human epidymal protein), CA 15.3, CA 72.4,
B7H4 (an immunologic marker), and HK6 (human kallikrein). These markers are
now being evaluated in serum taken months to years before clinical diagnosis from
women who participated in the PLCO Screening Trial. He also published a study that
talc may be found in the lymph nodes removed from women with ovarian cancer who
used body powders in genital hygiene.
 Dr. Michels was awarded a new grant from the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences on Epigenetic changes after intrauterine exposure to endocrine
disrupting chemicals. The samples are processed in her epigenetics lab. Dr. Michels
received a grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation on Global methylation,
gene expression, and loss of imprinting in breast cancer and was awarded a new
grant from the Department of Defense on Maternal diabetes and breast cancer in the
daughter. She continues her successful birth cohort collecting approximately 30 cord
blood and placenta samples per week.
 Dr. Terry has coauthored five scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals on
predictors of uterine leiomyoma, genetic susceptibility to endometrial cancer and
genetic susceptibility to ovarian cancer. Two of these were through work with a large
international collaboration involving 17 study sites. Recently her work on telomeres
received an award at the Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center Ovarian Cancer
Symposium.
 Dr. Bin Ye continues his research on Ginkgo biloba and ovarian cancer.
Over the course of this academic year, 16 manuscripts, chapters, and editorials were
published by or with the assistance of faculty from the Center:
 Dr. Cramer co-authored several papers with Center investigators. He was the senior
author on a paper describing the construction of standard specimen sets to evaluate
cancer biomarkers using the novel method of pooling disease cases.
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Dr. Michels authored or co-authored 12 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals
on epigenetic epidemiology, the intrauterine origin of cancer, the use and risks of
hormone replacement therapy and methodologic issues in epidemiology including
analyses of dietary data and validation of intrauterine exposures.
Dr. Terry co-authored two papers in collaboration with the international Ovarian
Cancer Association Consortium. She has published work on the MDM2 gene and
endometrial cancer risk as well as predictors of uterine leiomyoma.
ONGOING PROJECTS
 Along with collaborators at the National Cancer Institute and several other sites that
have SPORE grants, Dr. Cramer has a lead role in evaluating risk associated with
germ line genetic changes known as single nucleotide polymorphism. The approach,
Genome Wide Association Studies, uses Gen Chips that can evaluate more than
300,000 snps at one time.
 Dr. Michels, focused on her epigenetic epidemiology work, is establishing
methylation arrays and imprinting methods in her lab to examine epigenetic control of
gene expression in utero. She continues to work on analyses of body weight and
premenopausal breast cancer and early life risk factors for female cancers.
 Dr. Terry is assessing the role of telomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes in
ovarian cancer risk and how epidemiologic characteristics are related to telomere
length. She continues her work on genetic susceptibility to ovarian cancer by
evaluating polymorphisms in telomere-related genes, IGF genes and the MTHFR
gene and evaluating whether reproductive characteristics are predictive of risk for
uterine leiomyoma in the Nurses’ Health Study.
TEACHING AND MENTORSHIP
 Dr. Terry continues leadership of the Epidemiologic Research in Obstetrics and
Gynecology course at HSPH with Drs. Cramer and Michels and lectures on metaanalyses and survival analyses for the OB/GYN residents.
 Dr. Michels teaches her popular courses at the Harvard Faculty for Arts and
Sciences (Medical Detectives), Harvard College (You Are What You Eat) and
Harvard Extension School (Introduction to Epidemiology).
GOALS FOR AY 2007-2008
 Continue data analyses on the etiology and early detection of ovarian cancer,
predictors of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) success and risk factors for breast cancer
including induced abortion, obesity and menstrual cycle characteristics.
 Assist faculty, fellows, residents and HSPH students with ongoing and new studies.
 Preparation of new and competing continuation applications.
 Dr. Cramer: Continued funding of long term Case-Control Study of Ovarian Cancer
and his Ovarian Cancer SPORE and preparing for an External Advisor Committee
meeting for the DFCI/HCC SPORE.
 Dr. Michels: Expanding lab and establishing new techniques including methylation
microarrays and assessment of loss of imprinting in utero.