Melissa Troester

Background

About Melissa Troester

I am a molecular epidemiologist with expertise in biomarker development and validation, genomic methods, and epidemiology of benign breast and breast cancer. My transdisciplinary training includes basic research in molecular biology, observational pathology in large studies, and epidemiologic research methods. As PI on several major NIH and private grants, I have established a strong research program in molecular pathology and epidemiology, emphasizing breast cancer and normal breast. I currently lead two program projects (NCI U54 and SPORE projects) and a U01 NCI grant, focused on molecular epidemiology of breast cancer disparities. I am Principal Investigator on the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS), a study of breast cancer epidemiology and biology focused on understanding breast cancer disparities. I have experience working in consortia, including the African American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk (AMBER) consortium of breast cancer disparities and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. In the TCGA, I led coordination of histology, copy number, mutation, methylation, mRNA and microRNA expression data for the Normal Breast committee. I have published more than 150 papers in the last decade focused on breast cancer, breast microenvironment and stromal-epithelial interactions.