Breast Cancer, Premature Puberty, and the Environment
Author Bio(s)
Jean Latimer, Ph.D., associate professor at NSU’s College of Pharmacy, earned her doctorate at the SUNY Roswell Park Cancer Institute. She completed postdoctoral fellowship training at University of California—San Francisco. Her work centers on the etiology of sporadic breast cancer and understanding its environmental causes, including those differentially present in women of distinct ancestries. As an independent researcher, Latimer developed a variation of a stem cell culture technique to create a tissue-engineering system for human breast tissue and tumors, which was published and patented. Her contributions include the generation of a large set of explants and cell lines (used in multiple U.S. laboratories), representing all stages of breast cancer, including normal breast epithelium. Latimer has participated in projects involving over 7 million dollars in funding, using these resources to train 37 undergraduates, 17 graduate students, and 8 fellows. Her work has generated 30 scientific papers and 2 patents.
Talk Description
In the arena of cancer research, there is much talk about gene-environment interactions. While genetics is the aspect most commonly discussed, only about 15% of breast cancers (the 2nd most common cancer in American women) are due to familial inheritance of a mutation. Reportedly, the other 85% of breast cancer cases are affected by environmental factors including diet. In addition, the phenomenon of premature puberty in industrialized countries is on the rise and is related to an increased risk for breast cancer. This talk will underscore the importance of the environment in breast cancer prevention and introduce steps that can be taken to improve our own environmental factors.
Recommended Citation
Latimer, Jean, "Breast Cancer, Premature Puberty, and the Environment" (2014). TEDxNSU. 7.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tedxnsu/7
