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Elizabeth Loehrer

Dr. Elizabeth Loehrer

About

My academic and professional journey has taken me to three continents, where I have been fortunate enough to work with colleagues from a range of professional and cultural backgrounds, providing me with a strong multidisciplinary and international orientation. Starting my education in Chicago with a Bachelor of Science in molecular genetics and minor in sociology from Loyola University, I continued as a research assistant in cancer genetics at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, before I obtained a Master of Science in epidemiology at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. These experiences provided the theoretical foundation enabling me to pursue my doctorate at Harvard University in molecular epidemiology. After a further year of postdoctoral work at Harvard, I returned to Rotterdam in May 2019 through a Marie Sklodowska-Curie LEaDing Fellows postdoctoral fellowship to join the Adam’s lab precision epidemiology group in the department of Clinical Genetics at Erasmus MC.

The bulk of my research has focused on the etiology, progression and prognosis of complex noncommunicable diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases and a particular emphasis on cancer. I have purposely curated my education and research experience to leverage a broad skill set, seeking to understand the multifaceted contributors to cancer risk and progression, to build theoretical and methodological bridges across disciplines, and to maximize the clinical relevance of my research.

My primary research within the Adam’s Lab is to establish the Population-based stem cell induction for complex diseases and large-scale experimentation (POPSICLE) project. Through this project, I utilize research techniques and methodologies from cell biology, genetics, and epidemiology with the overall aim to develop a robust and reliable framework for induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models for population-based studies. With my colleagues in the Adam’s Lab, I work on novel applications of cell free DNA analysis, and statistical power and potential clinical utility of polygenic risk scores. I also maintain collaboration with Harvard University on the study of medical-imaging derived body composition and cancer prognosis.

In addition to research, I am energized teaching. I have taught and co-taught numerous graduate courses during my pre- and postdoctoral work.  Ultimately, I hope to establish an academic career that allows me to teach and conduct collaborative research that translates into tangible clinical improvements, reduces cancer disparities throughout the clinical course, and informs policies and strategies towards cancer prevention and care.

 

Positions

  • Postdoctoral researcher, departments of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Publications

  • Loehrer, E. A., Giovannucci, E. L., Betensky, R. A., Shafer, A., & Christiani, D. C. (2020). Prediagnostic adult body mass index change and esophageal adenocarcinoma survival. Cancer medicine9(10), 3613–3622. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.3015
  • Knol, M. J., Loehrer, E. A., Wen, K. X., Bos, D., Ikram, M. K., Vernooij, M. W., Adams, H., & Ikram, M. A. (2020). Migraine Genetic Variants Influence Cerebral Blood Flow. Headache60(1), 90–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/head.13651
  • Loehrer, E., Betensky, R. A., Giovannucci, E., Su, L., Shafer, A., Hollis, B. W., & Christiani, D. C. (2019). Serum Levels of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D at Diagnosis Are Not Associated with Overall Survival in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology28(8), 1379–1387. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-18-1190
  • Brainstorm Consortium, Anttila, V., Bulik-Sullivan, B., Finucane, H. K., Walters, R. K., Bras, J., Duncan, L., Escott-Price, V., Falcone, G. J., Gormley, P., Malik, R., Patsopoulos, N. A., Ripke, S., Wei, Z., Yu, D., Lee, P. H., Turley, P., Grenier-Boley, B., Chouraki, V., Kamatani, Y., Loehrer, E., … Murray, R. (2018). Analysis of shared heritability in common disorders of the brain. Science (New York, N.Y.)360(6395), eaap8757. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap8757

Click here for all her publications.