Erin Bowles, MPH

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“At KPWHRI, we have access to extensive data on cancer care. I'm using the data to learn how to improve the experiences of cancer patients and their families.”

Erin Bowles, MPH

Director, Collaborative Science, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute

Twitter: @ErinJBowles


 

Biography

Epidemiologist Erin Bowles, MPH, is looking at cancer screening and treatment from many different perspectives. Her research brings new insight into cancer risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, while helping improve cancer care for patients and families.

Erin received an R50 mid-career research award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This award is given to cancer researchers who have demonstrated successes and contributions to cancer research as a non-principal investigator. As a key member of 2 large cancer collaborations — the NCI's Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium and the Health Care Systems Cancer Research Network (CRN) — Erin has developed diverse expertise that includes reading mammograms for breast density and using administrative data to understand patterns of care in cancer treatment.

Her current work includes:

  • Collaborating on a multi-site CRN study led by an investigator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to understand how obesity affects chemotherapy treatment dosing and risks of recurrence and toxicity in women with breast cancer
  • Helping investigators from Kaiser Permanente Northern California and the University of California (UC) San Francisco and UC Davis understand imaging trends in children and pregnant women, and subsequent risks of leukemia associated with ionizing radiation from imaging exams
  • Working with investigators from the NCI, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, and Kaiser Permanente Georgia to study how mammographic breast density, radiation treatment, and tissue biomarkers are associated with second cancers in women with previous breast cancer
  • Collaborating on several studies within the BCSC to understand how disparities and social determinants of health affect breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and surveillance
  • Helping investigators from the University of Wisconsin develop a model to predict thyroid cancer diagnosis and evaluate how health care utilization affects thyroid cancer detection and outcomes
  • Working with teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of Washington, and Multicare Health System to develop and validate questions about cancer screening for people eligible for breast, colorectal, cervical, and/or lung cancer screening for the National Health Interview Survey.

Erin’s experience working with large observational cohorts and collaborations with numerous study teams over the past 20 years has provided her with expertise in data collection and quality control for many subject areas. She is also a manager of the Collaborative Science Division at KPWHRI, providing leadership, supervision, mentorship, and support to junior faculty.

Research interests and experience

  • Cancer

    Breast cancer; colorectal cancer; multiple myeloma; thyroid cancer; pancreatic cancer; biostatistics; epidemiology; mammography; mammographic breast density; cancer treatment; cancer screening and surveillance; automated data collection; quality of care; medication use; care coordination; administrative data

  • Health Services & Economics

    Access to care; health disparities; health outcomes research; quality of life; measurement of change in health care systems; practice variation

  • Women's Health

    Menopause; hormone replacement therapy (HRT); breast cancer

  • Aging & Geriatrics

    Cognitive health and dementia; biostatistics; epidemiology; medication use; cancer

Recent publications

Aiello Bowles EJ, Buist DS, Chubak J, Yu O, Johnson J, Chestnut J, Boudreau DM. Endocrine therapy initiation from 2001 through 2008 varies by age of breast cancer diagnosis and tumor size. J Oncol Pract. 2012;8(2):113-20. PubMed

Delate T, Witt DM, Ritzwoller D, Weeks JC, Kushi L, Hornbrook MC, Aiello Bowles EJ, Schrag D. Outpatient use of low molecular weight heparin monotherapy for first-line treatment of venous thromboembolism in advanced cancer. Oncologist. 2012;17(3):419-27. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2011-0323. Epub 2012 Feb 14. PubMed

Trentham-Dietz A, Sprague BL, Wang J, Hampton JM, Buist DS, Aiello Bowles E, Sisney G, Burnside E, Hemming J, Hedman C. Phenol xenoestrogens and mammographic breast density.  Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2012;21(3):561-2. Epub 2012 Feb 15. PubMed

Buist DS, Walker R, Aiello Bowles EJ, Carney PA, Taplin SH, Onega T, Kerlikowske K, Clinton W, Miglioretti DL. Screening mammography use among current, former, and never hormone therapy users may not explain recent declines in breast cancer incidence. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2012 May;21(5):720-7. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-11-1115. Epub 2012 Feb 1. PubMed

McCahill LE, Single R, Aiello Bowles EJ, Feigelson HS, James TA, Barney T, Engel JM, Onitilo AA. Variability in the practice of re-excision following initial breast conservation for invasive breast cancer. JAMA. 2012 Feb 1;307(5):467-75. PubMed

Sprague BL, Trentham-Dietz A, Gangnon RE, Buist DS, Burnside ES, Bowles EJ, Stanczyk FZ, Sisney GS, Skinner HG. The vitamin D pathway and mammographic breast density among postmenopausal women.  Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2012 Jan;131(1):255-65. Epub 2011 Aug 17. PubMed

 

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