Katherine Reeves

Professor of Epidemiology and Associate Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies, School of Public Health and Health Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Amherst MA

Katherine Reeves' research focuses on modifiable factors that may mediate breast cancer risk

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University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Expertise

Forever Chemicals
Endocrine Disruption
Breast Cancer
Women's Health
Cancer Epidemiology

Biography

Katherine Reeves studies modifiable risk factors for breast cancer, with the ultimate goal of preventing breast cancer and reducing breast cancer deaths. She investigates how hormonal pathways, depression, obesity and metabolic disease, as well as endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates, may impact breast cancer risk. Reeves is researching whether women’s exposure to BPA through their diet increases estrogenic activity and breast cancer risk.

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Education

University of Pittsburgh

Ph.D.

Epidemiology

The Ohio State University

M.P.H.

Epidemiology

Yale University

B.S.

Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry

Select Recent Media Coverage

UMass professors working to revolutionize PFAS research

Western Mass News  tv

2024-12-16

In a television news report, Katherine Reeves discusses her research finding a correlation between exposure to PFAS or “forever chemicals,” and lower bone density levels, and Chang Liu, associate professor of biomedical engineering, describes his discovery of a new method to make testing for PFAS more affordable and accessible.

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How to avoid potentially dangerous PFA ‘forever chemicals’ in day-to-day life

Western Mass News  tv

2024-05-22

Latherine Reeves, professor of epidemiology; comments on how people are exposed to PFAS and how to avoid these “forever chemicals” in day-to-day life. “I think limiting your exposure to these types of chemicals, things like PFAs, phthalates, BPA, parabens is reasonable…but not getting yourself so worked up about it because I think it can be really stressful,” says Reeves.

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Do ‘forever chemicals’ increase breast cancer risk? Researchers at UMass Amherst launch study

Boston 25 News  online

2023-08-30

“Our overall goal is to understand if PFAS contribute to breast cancer development,” says Katherine Reeves, associate dean of graduate and professional studies and professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences.

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Select Publications

The impact of COVID-19 on anxiety among breast cancer survivors before, during and after the pandemic.

Journal of Clinical Oncology

2023

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented stressors on the mental health of patients with cancer as well as with cancer survivors. Little is known regarding anxiety among breast cancer survivors during and following the pandemic. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study evaluating the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on a cohort of breast cancer survivors (n = 1333). Between January and March 2022, participants enrolled in the Rays of Hope Breast Cancer Research Registry were invited to complete an online study questionnaire.

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Association between urinary phthalate biomarker concentrations and adiposity among postmenopausal women

Environmental Research

2023

Background
Obesity is a leading risk factor for chronic diseases, potentially related to excess abdominal adiposity. Phthalates are environmental chemicals that have been suggested to act as obesogens, driving obesity risk. For the associations between phthalates and adiposity, prior studies have focused primarily on body mass index. We hypothesize that more refined measures of adiposity and fat distribution may provide greater insights into these associations given the role of central adiposity in chronic disease risk.

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Dietary patterns and urinary phthalate exposure among postmenopausal women of the Women's Health Initiative

Environmental Research

2023

Background
Phthalates are endocrine-disrupting chemicals linked to a higher risk of numerous chronic health outcomes. Diet is a primary source of exposure, but prior studies exploring associations between dietary patterns and phthalate exposure are limited.
Objectives
We evaluated the associations between dietary patterns and urinary phthalate biomarkers among a subset of postmenopausal women participating in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI).

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