Title:

Senior Epidemiologist,
Slone Epidemiology Center

Associate Professor of Epidemiology,
Boston University School of Public Health

Education:

M.P.H., 1987, Boston University School of Public Health
D. Sc., 1996, Boston University School of Public Health

Research Interests:

Dr. Coogan’s research has focused on cancer etiology, particularly the influence of environmental factors and the role of medications on cancer risk. Early in her career she was involved in the Upper Cape Cod Cancer Incidence Study, which evaluated the role of environmental factors in observed increases in the incidence of cancer on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. She has been Principal Investigator of the Case Control Study of Statin Use and Large Bowel Cancer, a population-based case-control study conducted in Massachusetts. Currently, she is co-investigator of the Case-Control Surveillance Study of Medication Use and Cancer, a hospital-based case-control study designed to allow for the evaluation of multiple hypotheses about medication use and cancer risk. Based on these studies she has published extensively on the relation of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, statins, antidepressants, and other drugs to the risk of colorectal, breast, and other cancers. Most recently, Dr. Coogan received funding to evaluate the effect of neighborhood urban form, in terms of physical factors that influence walking, on physical activity and obesity in the Black Women’s Health Study, a cohort of African-American women. Dr. Coogan also has a keen interest in the history of public health and has taught a course on this subject at the Boston University School of Public Health.