Julie R Palmer, ScD
Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health
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
Publications
- Published on 9/24/2024
Thomas CE, Lin Y, Kim M, Kawaguchi ES, Qu C, Um CY, Lynch BM, Van Guelpen B, Tsilidis K, Carreras-Torres R, van Duijnhoven FJ, Sakoda LC, Campbell PT, Tian Y, Chang-Claude J, Bézieau S, Budiarto A, Palmer JR, Newcomb PA, Casey G, Le Marchand L, Giannakis M, Li CI, Gsur A, Newton C, Obón-Santacana M, Moreno V, Vodicka P, Brenner H, Hoffmeister M, Pellatt AJ, Schoen RE, Dimou N, Murphy N, Gunter MJ, Castellví-Bel S, Figueiredo JC, Chan AT, Song M, Li L, Bishop DT, Gruber SB, Baurley JW, Bien SA, Conti DV, Huyghe JR, Kundaje A, Su YR, Wang J, Keku TO, Woods MO, Berndt SI, Chanock SJ, Tangen CM, Wolk A, Burnett-Hartman A, Wu AH, White E, Devall MA, Díez-Obrero V, Drew DA, Giovannucci E, Hidaka A, Kim AE, Lewinger JP, Morrison J, Ose J, Papadimitriou N, Pardamean B, Peoples AR, Ruiz-Narvaez EA, Shcherbina A, Stern MC, Chen X, Thomas DC, Platz EA, Gauderman WJ, Peters U, Hsu L. Characterization of additive gene-environment interactions for colorectal cancer risk. Epidemiology. 2024 Sep 24. PMID: 39316822.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/5/2024
Peeri NC, Bertrand KA, Na R, De Vivo I, Setiawan VW, Seshan VE, Alemany L, Chen Y, Clarke MA, Clendenen T, Cook LS, Costas L, Dal Maso L, Freudenheim JL, Friedenreich CM, Gierach GL, Goodman MT, La Vecchia C, Levi F, Lopez-Querol M, Lu L, Moysich KB, Mutter G, Naduparambil J, Negri E, O'Connell K, O'Mara T, Palmer JR, Parazzini F, Penney KL, Petruzella S, Reynolds P, Ricceri F, Risch H, Rohan TE, Sacerdote C, Sandin S, Shu XO, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Webb PM, Wentzensen N, Wilkens LR, Xu W, Yu H, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Zheng W, Guo X, Lipworth L, Du M. Understanding risk factors for endometrial cancer in young women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2024 Sep 05. PMID: 39235934.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/4/2024
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. medRxiv. 2024 Sep 04. PMID: 39281752.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 8/2/2024
Bigham Z, Holder EX, Rodday AM, Breeze J, Nelson KP, Palmer JR, Freund KM, Bertrand KA. Lifecourse growth and development determinants of mammographic density in Black women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024 Aug 02. PMID: 39093038.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 8/1/2024
Sun X, Verma SP, Jia G, Wang X, Ping J, Guo X, Shu XO, Chen J, Derkach A, Cai Q, Liang X, Long J, Offit K, Oh JH, Reiner AS, Watt GP, Woods M, Yang Y, Ambrosone CB, Ambs S, Chen Y, Concannon P, Garcia-Closas M, Gu J, Haiman CA, Hu JJ, Huo D, John EM, Knight JA, Li CI, Lynch CF, Mellemkjær L, Nathanson KL, Nemesure B, Olopade OI, Olshan AF, Pal T, Palmer JR, Press MF, Sanderson M, Sandler DP, Troester MA, Zheng W, Bernstein JL, Buas MF, Shu X. Case-Case Genome-Wide Analyses Identify Subtype-Informative Variants That Confer Risk for Breast Cancer. Cancer Res. 2024 Aug 01; 84(15):2533-2548. PMID: 38832928.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/18/2024
Titus L, Hatch EE, Bertrand KA, Palmer JR, Strohsnitter WC, Huo D, Curry M, Hyer M, Aagaard K, Gierach GL, Troisi R. Benign and Malignant Outcomes in the Offspring of Females Exposed In Utero to Diethylstilbestrol (DES): An Update from the NCI Third Generation Study. Cancers (Basel). 2024 Jul 18; 16(14). PMID: 39061214.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 6/27/2024
Tjader NP, Beer AJ, Ramroop J, Tai MC, Ping J, Gandhi T, Dauch C, Neuhausen SL, Ziv E, Sotelo N, Ghanekar S, Meadows O, Paredes M, Gillespie JL, Aeilts AM, Hampel H, Zheng W, Jia G, Hu Q, Wei L, Liu S, Ambrosone CB, Palmer JR, Carpten JD, Yao S, Stevens P, Ho WK, Pan JW, Fadda P, Huo D, Teo SH, McElroy JP, Toland AE. Association of ESR1 Germline Variants with TP53 Somatic Variants in Breast Tumors in a Genome-wide Study. Cancer Res Commun. 2024 Jun 27; 4(6):1597-1608. PMID: 38836758.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 6/3/2024
Habeshian TS, Peeri NC, De Vivo I, Schouten LJ, Shu XO, Cote ML, Bertrand KA, Chen Y, Clarke MA, Clendenen TV, Cook LS, Costas L, Dal Maso L, Freudenheim JL, Friedenreich CM, Gallagher G, Gierach GL, Goodman MT, Jordan SJ, La Vecchia C, Lacey JV, Levi F, Liao LM, Lipworth L, Lu L, Matias-Guiu X, Moysich KB, Mutter GL, Na R, Naduparambil J, Negri E, O'Connell K, O'Mara TA, Onieva Hernández I, Palmer JR, Parazzini F, Patel AV, Penney KL, Prizment AE, Ricceri F, Risch HA, Sacerdote C, Sandin S, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, van den Brandt PA, Webb PM, Wentzensen N, Wijayabahu AT, Wilkens LR, Xu W, Yu H, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Zheng W, Du M, Setiawan VW. Hypertension and Risk of Endometrial Cancer: A Pooled Analysis in the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium (E2C2). Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024 Jun 03; 33(6):788-795. PMID: 38530242.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 5/29/2024
Drew DA, Kim AE, Lin Y, Qu C, Morrison J, Lewinger JP, Kawaguchi E, Wang J, Fu Y, Zemlianskaia N, Díez-Obrero V, Bien SA, Dimou N, Albanes D, Baurley JW, Wu AH, Buchanan DD, Potter JD, Prentice RL, Harlid S, Arndt V, Barry EL, Berndt SI, Bouras E, Brenner H, Budiarto A, Burnett-Hartman A, Campbell PT, Carreras-Torres R, Casey G, Chang-Claude J, Conti DV, Devall MAM, Figueiredo JC, Gruber SB, Gsur A, Gunter MJ, Harrison TA, Hidaka A, Hoffmeister M, Huyghe JR, Jenkins MA, Jordahl KM, Kundaje A, Le Marchand L, Li L, Lynch BM, Murphy N, Nassir R, Newcomb PA, Newton CC, Obón-Santacana M, Ogino S, Ose J, Pai RK, Palmer JR, Papadimitriou N, Pardamean B, Pellatt AJ, Peoples AR, Platz EA, Rennert G, Ruiz-Narvaez E, Sakoda LC, Scacheri PC, Schmit SL, Schoen RE, Stern MC, Su YR, Thomas DC, Tian Y, Tsilidis KK, Ulrich CM, Um CY, van Duijnhoven FJB, Van Guelpen B, White E, Hsu L, Moreno V, Peters U, Chan AT, Gauderman WJ. Two genome-wide interaction loci modify the association of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with colorectal cancer. Sci Adv. 2024 May 31; 10(22):eadk3121. PMID: 38809988.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 5/13/2024
Jia G, Ping J, Guo X, Yang Y, Tao R, Li B, Ambs S, Barnard ME, Chen Y, Garcia-Closas M, Gu J, Hu JJ, Huo D, John EM, Li CI, Li JL, Nathanson KL, Nemesure B, Olopade OI, Pal T, Press MF, Sanderson M, Sandler DP, Shu XO, Troester MA, Yao S, Adejumo PO, Ahearn T, Brewster AM, Hennis AJM, Makumbi T, Ndom P, O'Brien KM, Olshan AF, Oluwasanu MM, Reid S, Butler EN, Huang M, Ntekim A, Qian H, Zhang H, Ambrosone CB, Cai Q, Long J, Palmer JR, Haiman CA, Zheng W. Genome-wide association analyses of breast cancer in women of African ancestry identify new susceptibility loci and improve risk prediction. Nat Genet. 2024 May; 56(5):819-826. PMID: 38741014.
Read At: PubMed
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