Julie Palmer
Profiles

Julie R Palmer, ScD

Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 734-6006
jpalmer@bu.edu
Talbot
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Biography

Dr. Palmer is a cancer epidemiologist based at the Slone Epidemiology Center, with research projects spanning cancer early detection, etiology, and survivorship. Her primary focus is on elucidating reasons for the disproportionately high incidence of hormone receptor negative breast cancer in U.S. Black women and on understanding and reducing racial disparities in breast cancer mortality. She is a founding leader of the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS), a prospective cohort study of 59,000 self-identified Black women who enrolled in 1995 and have been followed by biennial questionnaire since that time. Her breast cancer research within the BWHS includes work on risk prediction models for breast cancer in U.S. Black women, identifying differences in childbearing patterns as a contributing cause to the excess incidence of estrogen receptor negative breast cancer in Black women, and investigating the interrelationships of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and inflammation on breast cancer risk. Her current grants support work on somatic mutations, epigenetics, and gene expressions profiles in breast cancer tumors from African American women, setting the stage for a better understanding of the role of epidemiologic and genetic factors in etiology and prognosis. Dr. Palmer has served on many NIH and external advisory committees, including as Chair of the NIH Cancer, Cardiovascular, and Sleep Epidemiology Study Section, 2015-2017, and Co-Chair of a Working Group for the National Cancer Advisory Board, NCI, 2018-2019. Dr. Palmer was awarded the AACR Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in 2017. She has served as a Komen Scholar since 2018 and as a Breast Cancer Research Foundation Investigator since 2023.

Other Positions

  • Karin Grunebaum Cancer Research Professor, Medicine - Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Director, Slone Epidemiology Center - Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Co-Director, BU-BMC Cancer Center - Boston University
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research - Boston University
  • Member, Genome Science Institute - Boston University

Education

  • Harvard University, ScD Field of Study: Epidemiology
  • Boston University, MPH Field of Study: Epidemiology
  • Boston University, BS Field of Study: Nursing
  • Brown University, BA Field of Study: Religious Studies

Websites

Publications

  • Published on 9/16/2025

    Watling CZ, Petrick JL, Graubard BI, Zhang X, Barnett MJ, Buring JE, Chen Y, Eliassen AH, Gaziano JM, Hofmann JN, Huang WY, Kang JH, Koshiol J, Loftfield E, Lee IM, Moore SC, Mucci LA, Neuhouser ML, Newton CC, Palmer JR, Purdue MP, Rosenberg L, Sesso HD, Shrubsole M, Tinker L, Triplette M, Um CY, Visvanathan K, Watts EL, Wactawski-Wende J, Willett W, Wu F, Zheng W, Campbell PT, Barupal D, Mcglynn KA. Pre-diagnostic circulating bile acid concentrations and liver cancer risk: a nested case-control analysis of 12 cohorts. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2025 Sep 16. PMID: 40972035.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/2/2025

    Nair NM, Mendicino L, Fiorica PN, Omilian AR, Khoury T, Bshara W, Bandera EV, Hong CC, Abdou Y, Freudenheim JL, Hennis AJM, O'Brien KM, Zirpoli GR, Butler EN, Obafunwa JO, Weinberg CR, Huo D, Li B, Guo X, Palmer JR, Haiman CA, Zheng W, Yao S, Ambrosone CB. The African-Specific Variant in the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines Gene, CD8+ T-Cell Density, and Aggressive Breast Cancer Subtypes in Black Women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Sep 02; 34(9):1509-1515. PMID: 40627176.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/2/2025

    Peoples AR, Obón-Santacana M, Kim AE, Kawaguchi ES, Fu Y, Qu C, Moratalla-Navarro F, Morrison J, Lin Y, Arndt V, Berndt SI, Bien SA, Bishop DT, Bouras E, Brenner H, Buchanan DD, Campbell PT, Chan AT, Chang-Claude J, Conti DV, Corley DA, Devall MA, Dimou N, Drew DA, Gruber SB, Gunter MJ, Harlid S, Harrison TA, Hoffmeister M, Hsu L, Huyghe JR, Keku TO, Kundaje A, Lewinger JP, Li L, Lynch BM, Marchand LL, Martín V, Murphy N, Newton CC, Ogino S, Hardikar S, Ose J, Pai RK, Palmer JR, Papadimitriou N, Pardamean B, Pellatt AJ, Pinchev M, Platz EA, Potter JD, Rennert G, Ruiz-Narvaez EA, Sakoda LC, Schoen RE, Shcherbina A, Stern MC, Su YR, Thomas CE, Tian Y, Tsilidis KK, Um CY, van Duijnhoven FJB, van Guelpen B, Visvanathan K, Wang J, White E, Wolk A, Woods MO, Wu AH, Ulrich CM, Peters U, Gauderman WJ, Moreno V. Genetic risk factors modulate the association between physical activity and colorectal cancer. Res Sq. 2025 Sep 02. PMID: 40951278.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/26/2025

    Yao S, Wei L, Hu Q, Liu S, Manojlovic Z, Fiorica PN, Long M, Zirpoli GR, Cai Q, Long J, Ping J, Barnard ME, Jin Y, Murakami M, Wang J, Zhu Q, Davis W, Chen J, Ondracek RP, Khoury T, Gandhi S, Takabe K, Ko N, Sanderson M, Hong CC, Bandera EV, Craig DW, Ambrosone CB, Palmer JR, Zheng W, Carpten JD. Mutational landscape of triple-negative breast cancer in African American women. Nat Genet. 2025 Sep; 57(9):2166-2176. PMID: 40858906.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/26/2025

    Rothbard SM, Palmer JR, Chiu LS, Rosenberg L, Petrick JL. Fish Intake and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Relation to Colorectal Cancer Risk in the Black Women's Health Study. J Nutr. 2025 Aug 26. PMID: 40865871.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/13/2025

    Ping J, Jia G, Cai Q, Guo X, Wang J, Tao R, Li B, Bauer JA, Xie Y, Ambs S, Barnard ME, Chen Y, Choi JY, Gao YT, Garcia-Closas M, Gu J, Hu JJ, Iwasaki M, John EM, Kweon SS, Li CI, Matsuda K, Matsuo K, Nathanson KL, Nemesure B, Olopade OI, Pal T, Park SK, Park B, Press MF, Sanderson M, Sandler DP, Yao S, Zheng Y, Ahearn T, Brewster AM, Falusi A, Hennis AJM, Ito H, Kubo M, Lee ES, Makumbi T, Mapoko BSE, Noh DY, O'Brien KM, Ojengbede O, Olshan AF, Park MH, Reid S, Yamaji T, Zirpoli G, Butler EN, Huang M, Low SK, Obafunwa J, Weinberg CR, Zhang H, Zhao H, Ambrosone CB, Cote ML, Huo D, Haiman CA, Kang D, Palmer JR, Troester MA, Shu XO, Long J, Zheng W. Multi-Ancestry Transcriptome-wide Association Studies Uncover New Insights into Breast Cancer Genetics and Biology. medRxiv. 2025 Aug 13. PMID: 40832405.

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  • Published on 8/6/2025

    Barnard ME, Qin B, Emerson MA, Holder EX, Dunn MR, Sarkar S, Xu NN, Li Y, Ambrosone CB, Bandera EV, Palmer JR, Troester MA, Hyslop T. Associations between social drivers of health and breast cancer stage at diagnosis among U.S. Black women. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2025 Aug 06; 11(1):85. PMID: 40770199.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/14/2025

    Jia G, Ping J, Tao R, Long J, Liu L, Xu S, Munro HM, Ambs S, Barnard ME, Chen Y, Choi JY, Gao YT, Garcia-Closas M, Gu J, Hu JJ, Iwasaki M, John EM, Kweon SS, Matsuda K, Matsuo K, Nathanson K, Nemesure B, Olopade OI, Pal T, Park SK, Park B, Press MF, Sanderson M, Sandler DP, Yao S, Zheng Y, Adejumo PO, Ahearn T, Brewster AM, Hennis AJM, Ito H, Kubo M, Lee ES, Low SK, Makumbi T, Ndom P, Noh DY, O'Brien KM, Olshan AF, Oluwasanu MM, Park MH, Reid S, Yamaji T, Zirpoli G, Butler EN, Huang M, Ntekim A, Weinberg CR, Li B, Huo D, Kang D, Ambrosone C, Troester MA, Haiman CA, Shu XO, Palmer JR, Guo X, Zheng W. Integrating multi-ancestry genomic and proteomic data to identify blood risk biomarkers and target proteins for breast cancer genetic risk loci. Int J Cancer. 2025 Nov 15; 157(10):2071-2080. PMID: 40658085.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/1/2025

    O'Brien KM, House MG, Goldberg M, Jones ME, Weinberg CR, de Gonzalez AB, Bertrand KA, Blot WJ, DeHart JC, Couch FJ, Garcia-Closas M, Giles GG, Kirsh VA, Kitahara CM, Koh WP, Park HL, Milne RL, Palmer JR, Patel AV, Rohan TE, Schoemaker MJ, Swerdlow AJ, Teras LR, Vachon C, Visvanathan K, Yuan JM, Zheng W, Nichols HB, Sandler DP. Hormone therapy use and young-onset breast cancer: a pooled analysis of prospective cohorts included in the Premenopausal Breast Cancer Collaborative Group. Lancet Oncol. 2025 Jul; 26(7):911-923. PMID: 40609572.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/25/2025

    Zanti M, O'Mahony DG, Parsons MT, Dorling L, Dennis J, Boddicker NJ, Chen W, Hu C, Naven M, Yiangou K, Ahearn TU, Ambrosone CB, Andrulis IL, Antoniou AC, Auer PL, Baynes C, Bodelon C, Bogdanova NV, Bojesen SE, Bolla MK, Brantley KD, Camp NJ, Campbell A, Castelao JE, Cessna MH, Chang-Claude J, Chen F, Chenevix-Trench G, Conroy DM, Czene K, De Nicolo A, Domchek SM, Dörk T, Dunning AM, Eliassen AH, Evans DG, Fasching PA, Figueroa JD, Flyger H, Gago-Dominguez M, García-Closas M, Glendon G, González-Neira A, Grassmann F, Hadjisavvas A, Haiman CA, Hamann U, Hart SN, Hartman MBA, Ho WK, Hodge JM, Hoppe R, Howell SJ, Jakubowska A, Khusnutdinova EK, Ko YD, Kraft P, Kristensen VN, Lacey JV, Li J, Lim GH, Lindström S, Lophatananon A, Luccarini C, Mannermaa A, Martinez ME, Mavroudis D, Milne RL, Muir K, Nathanson KL, Nuñez-Torres R, Obi N, Olson JE, Palmer JR, Panayiotidis MI, Patel AV, Pharoah PDP, Polley EC, Rashid MU, Ruddy KJ, Saloustros E, Sawyer EJ, Schmidt MK, Southey MC, Tan VK, Teo SH, Teras LR, Torres D, Trentham-Dietz A, Truong T, Vachon CM, Wang Q, Weitzel JN, Yadav S, Yao S, Zirpoli GR, Cline MS, Devilee P, Tavtigian SV, Goldgar DE, Couch FJ, Easton DF, Spurdle AB, Michailidou K. Analysis of more than 400,000 women provides case-control evidence for BRCA1 and BRCA2 variant classification. Nat Commun. 2025 May 25; 16(1):4852. PMID: 40413188.

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