Marian Neuhouser, PhD, RD
On October 1, 2017, nutritional epidemiologist Marian Neuhouser, PhD, RD, became head of the Cancer Prevention Program in the Public Health Sciences Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch). She replaces Acting Program Head Johanna Lampe, PhD, RD, Associate Director of the Public Health Sciences Division, who assumed that role after Polly Newcomb, PhD, MPH, stepped down from the position in early 2016.
“I am thrilled and honored to lead the Cancer Prevention Program,” Dr. Neuhouser said. “Cancer prevention is critical to reducing the overall morbidity and mortality of cancer and it saves millions of health care dollars. The Fred Hutch Cancer Prevention Program is one of the strongest in the nation; our faculty’s innovative research has the potential to reach millions of people to reduce the incidence of cancer around the globe.”
Focus of Research
Dr. Neuhouser’s research focuses on the role of nutrition and energy balance in cancer prevention and survivorship, particularly breast and prostate cancers. She also studies ways to improve methods of diet and physical-activity assessment and the extent to which biologic markers of food intake can improve upon measures of self-report, such as keeping a food journal or filling out a food questionnaire—methods that are known to have substantial measurement error.
At Fred Hutch, she is the scientific advisor for the Nutrition Assessment Shared Resource within the Cancer Prevention Program, which makes it possible for investigators without nutrition training and expertise, or who don’t have the time and funding, to incorporate state-of-the-art dietary data–collection methods in their research studies.
She is principal investigator or co-investigator of multiple National Institutes of Health–funded grants and contracts ranging from controlled-feeding trials to large, population-based studies, including those focused on special populations such as minorities, the elderly, and people experiencing health disparities. ■
