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, UNITED STATES
Katherine Reeves' research focuses on modifiable factors that may mediate breast cancer risk
Expertise (5)
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 (3)
University of Pittsburgh: Ph.D., Epidemiology
The Ohio State University: M.P.H., Epidemiology
Yale University: B.S., Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry
Links (4)
Select Recent Media Coverage (3)
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.
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.
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.
Select Publications (5)
The impact of COVID-19 on anxiety among breast cancer survivors before, during and after the pandemic.
Journal of Clinical Oncology2023 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.
Association between urinary phthalate biomarker concentrations and adiposity among postmenopausal women
Environmental Research2023 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.
Dietary patterns and urinary phthalate exposure among postmenopausal women of the Women's Health Initiative
Environmental Research2023 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).
Variability and performance of NHS England’s ‘reason to reside’criteria in predicting hospital discharge in acute hospitals in England: a retrospective, observational cohort study
BMJ open2022 Objectives NHS England (NHSE) advocates ‘reason to reside’ (R2R) criteria to support discharge planning. The proportion of patients without R2R and their rate of discharge are reported daily by acute hospitals in England. R2R has no interoperable standardised data model (SDM), and its performance has not been validated. We aimed to understand the degree of intercentre and intracentre variation in R2R-related metrics reported to NHSE, define an SDM implemented within a single centre Electronic Health Record to generate an electronic R2R (eR2R) and evaluate its performance in predicting subsequent discharge.
Phthalates and bone mineral density: a systematic review
Environmental Health2022 Exposure to endocrine disruptors, such as phthalates, may impact bone mineral density (BMD) through a variety of mechanisms. Studies of phthalate exposure and BMD in humans are scarce. To synthesize published data on the association between phthalate metabolites and BMD in humans and to provide methodological suggestions for future research. A single investigator searched PubMed for relevant studies, including observational studies of phthalate exposure and BMD in children and postmenopausal women. Twelve studies were screened with 5 meeting the eligibility criteria and included for review. A quality assessment form was used as a quality measure and key information was extracted from the included studies.
