Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Pharmaceutical Companies / 26.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ambry GeneticsRachid Karam, MD PhD Director, Ambry Translational Genomics Lab Ambry Genetics MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Standard DNA testing for hereditary cancer risk excludes large portions of DNA, thereby missing some mutations. In addition, DNA testing can produce inconclusive results and fail to determine that an error in our DNA increases cancer risk. These limitations impact patients and their families because doctors may not have the information needed to recommend appropriate preventive, early detection, or therapeutic steps. Additionally, relatives may not be referred for genetic testing and obtain the care they would otherwise have gotten if they had learned they had mutations. The study looked at how the addition of RNA genetic testing to standard DNA testing for hereditary cancer risk was able to increase diagnostic yield. The study looked at the first 2,500 patients that received Ambry Genetics +RNAinsight™, paired RNA and DNA genetic testing for hereditary cancer risk. The data from this study showed that the addition of RNA genetic testing to DNA testing (1) identified new mutations that would have been missed with DNA testing alone, and (2) clarified inconclusive results as disease-causing. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Osteoporosis / 26.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Pamela L. Lutsey, PhD Associate Professor Division of Epidemiology and Community Health University of Minnesota School of Public Health Minneapolis MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Warfarin is prescribed to atrial fibrillation (AF) patients for the prevention of cardioembolic complications. However, whether it adversely impacts bone health is controversial. With the availability of alternate direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) options, it is now possible to evaluate the comparative safety of warfarin in relation to fracture risk. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Colon Cancer, JAMA, Omega-3 Fatty Acids / 26.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: MINGYANG SONG, MD, ScD Assistant Professor, Epidemiology Harvard T.H. Chan School Of Public Health Assistant Professor of Medicine Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit Massachusetts General Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Increasing data indicate that high intake of omega-3 fatty acid may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Since effects of nutritional factors on risk of cancer, a slow-developing disease, typically emerge only after several years, it is useful to study the effect of preventive agents on cancer precursors such as colorectal polyps. Colorectal polyps are small growths on the lining of the colon or rectum. Most polyps are harmless, but some can become cancerous. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cannabis, JAMA, Pediatrics / 26.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bertha K. Madras PhD Director, Laboratory of Addiction Neurobiology Psychobiologist, Substance Use Disorders Division, Basic Neuroscience Division Professor of Psychobiology, Department of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Parent use of marijuana is rising, and I wondered whether this could be associated with offspring use of specific substances and across several substances
  • Several fathers have confided in me that they used marijuana to bond with their sons. They became horrified after witnessing their sons progress to using other drugs, especially heroin.
  • In general, living with a parent using substances or having substance use disorders is an explicit risk for use of substances among young offspring. Yet, few studies have directly examined whether parental marijuana use elevates the risk for opioid misuse among adolescent and young adults living with parents.  Most importantly and to the best of our knowledge, none of the existing research  simultaneously explored frequency of  parental marijuana use and whether it related to adolescent and young adult offspring’s marijuana, tobacco, alcohol use, and opioid misuse.
(more…)
Author Interviews, Ophthalmology, Thyroid Disease / 26.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Raymond S. Douglas, MD, PhD Ophthalmology Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The data presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) annual meeting on November 11, 2019 are integrated, pooled efficacy data from the Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials of teprotumumab for the treatment of active thyroid eye disease (TED) compared to placebo. The results support prior analyses of significant reductions in inflammation, proptosis (eye bulging) and diplopia (double vision), as well as improvements in quality of life (QoL). This presentation of the pooled analyses builds on the individual positive results of the Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical studies.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Rheumatology / 22.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Jianmin Fang, Ph.D. Founder, CEO & CSO RemeGen MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), known more commonly as lupus, is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. SLE can affect tissues like the skin, joints, kidneys, brain and other organs, resulting in a wide variety of signs and symptoms. With limited treatment options for lupus and the significant unmet medical needs in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, the Phase 2b study evaluated the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous RC18 (telitacicept), a potential new medicine for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) versus a placebo in combination with standard therapy in patients with SLE at 48 weeks. (more…)
Author Interviews, Thyroid Disease / 22.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Charit Taneja, MBBS Internal Medicine Resident Maria Brito, MD Co-Director, Mount Sinai’s Thyroid Center Assistant Professor, Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  There have been reports of seasonal fluctuations in thyroid function, however there are no standard guidelines for management of such fluctuations and their clinical implications. It is not a well-studied subject and there are insufficient guidelines around its clinical implications.  MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response:  Our patient had winter elevation of TSH and summer normalisation repeatedly over a course of three years, but remained largely asymptomatic despite the biochemical alterations.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Nature / 22.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Gary J. Nabel M.D., Ph.D. Chief Scientific Officer, Global Research and Development Sanofi MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The power of T cell co-stimulation in the immune system became apparent to the immunology community from basic studies on T cell activation and T cell receptor function dating back to the 1980’s and 1990’s.  As a professor at the University of Michigan and investigator at its Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the 1990’s, I became aware of this pathway through collaborations with Carl June and Craig Thompson in the 1990s.  When we stimulated T cells by engaging CD3 (a T cell receptor activation signal e.g. signal 1) and CD28 (a survival signal e.g. signal 2), we found that the co-stimulatory effect led to exceptional T cell proliferation. After our Sanofi team developed the trispecific antibody technology, we realized that it might be possible to engage CD3 and CD28 while targeting T cells to tumors with a third arm, CD38, which is highly expressed on myelomas, all interactions mediated by this one protein.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Surgical Research / 22.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ben Wheeler,MB ChB(Otago) DCH PhD CCE FRACP Paediatrician, Associate Department of Women's and Children's Health (Dunedin) University of Otag MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: All tongues have a frenulum, which is a small band of tissue that helps connect them to the floor of the mouth. Tongue tie (or ankyloglossia) is when this frenulum causes restriction to the movement of the tongue, and can interfere with successful breastfeeding in infants. This may be improved with an operation to cut the frenulum of the tongue (frenotomy). Internationally, tongue-tie diagnosis and treatment has increased substantially (reported at over 10-15% in some locations). This has led to growing concerns of potential overtreatment. The surgical treatment is often discussed as a minor surgery with little risk, but there is growing awareness this may not be the case. There is a paucity of studies examining moderate to severe complications following frenotomy. Therefore we aimed to determine rates of moderate to severe complications of tongue tie procedures presenting to hospital-based paediatricians in New Zealand, and describe this population. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Surgical Research / 21.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chayakrit Krittanawong, MD Section of Cardiology Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Transcatheter Aortic valve Implantation (TAVI) has emerged as equally effective alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) to treat severe aortic stenosis (AS) in all risk groups. In particular, less is known about the heart failure (HF) patients who undergo TAVI. Whether certain subtypes of HF respond differently after TAVI remains a mystery. In this study, we sought to assess and compare the incidence and predictors of in-hospital mortality among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFREF) versus heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF). (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Smoking, Tobacco, Tobacco Research / 21.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amy L. Nyman, MA Research Associate Georgia State University, School of Public Health Atlanta, GA 30303 Coauthors: Nyman, Huang, Weaver, Eriksen MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Though the negative health consequences of smoking combustible cigarettes have been well-established and widely accepted, there has been significant public debate about the health effects of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) use, and the extent to which use of ENDS may present less health risk to smokers than smoking combustible cigarettes. Many tobacco control researchers and scientists believe that ENDS use is safer than combustible cigarette smoking, though recent news of an expansive outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses and deaths has led to continued speculation. A prior study of perceived comparative harm of combustible cigarettes and ENDS revealed the proportion of US adults perceiving ENDS to be as harmful as, or more harmful than combustible cigarettes increased substantially between 2012 and 2017. Given recently proposed regulations and the escalating focus on the impact of ENDS use on youth in the past few years, our study assessed changes in perceived comparative harm of combustible cigarettes and ENDS among US adults since the prior study, between 2017 and 2018.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Biogen / 20.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aaron Deykin MD Vice President, Late Stage Clinical Development Biogen  MedicalResearch.com: What data support the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of VUMERITY™ (diroximel fumarate)? Response: The FDA approval of VUMERITY was based on a New Drug Application (NDA) submitted under the 505(b)(2) filing pathway. It included data from pharmacokinetic bridging studies comparing VUMERITY and TECFIDERA® (dimethyl fumarate) to establish bioequivalence, and relied, in part, on the FDA’s findings of safety and efficacy for TECFIDERA. The NDA submission also included interim exposure and safety findings from EVOLVE-MS-1, an ongoing, Phase 3, single-arm, open-label, two-year safety study evaluating VUMERITY in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Interim results from EVOLVE-MS-1 at the time of NDA submission included a low overall rate of VUMERITY treatment discontinuation due to adverse events (6.3 percent), and a rate of less than one percent of patients who discontinued VUMERITY treatment due to gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events. Additional exploratory efficacy endpoints in the ongoing EVOLVE-MS-1 study showed changes in clinical and radiological measures compared to baseline. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease / 20.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Matthew Budoff MD Professor of Medicine, UCLA Endowed Chair of Preventive Cardiology Lundquist Institute Torrance, CA 90502 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We present the nine-month interim analysis results from the EVAPORATE mechanistic study of Icosapent Ethyl, after benefits were seen with the REDUCE-IT Trial, demonstrating 25% event reduction. This trial was a serial multi-detector computed tomographic (MDCT) study to look at plaque progression between icosapent ethyl (4 gm/day) and matching placebo.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, HPV / 20.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ashish Deshmukh, PhD, MPH Assistant Professor UTHealth School of Public Health Houston MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Anal cancer is one of the six human papillomavirus associated cancers.  Rates of anal cancer are increasing in the US, but no prior study quantified the contemporary trends (i.e., increase in rates over time) in anal cancer incidence. It was unknown whether the rise is real or driven by increased screening in some high-risk populations. Incidence trends according to age and stage at diagnosis was also never comprehensively studied. Furthermore, it was unknown whether the rise in incidence has led to a rise in mortality. Our objective was to answer these questions. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, PTSD, Surgical Research / 20.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael A. Vella, M.D., M.B.A. Assistant Professor of Surgery Division of Acute Care Surgery and Trauma University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There is a lot of (appropriate) focus on the mortality statistics related to gun violence, but sometimes we forget about the large number of survivors of gunshot wounds.  We wanted to specifically look at the long term physical and mental health outcomes in this patient population. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Prostate Cancer / 20.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeffrey L. Anderson, MD FAHA FACC MACP Distinguished Research Physician Professor of Medicine with Tenure University of Utah School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Omega-3 supplements are widely used for cardiovascular prevention. However, a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (105:1132, 2013) reported as an incidental finding in a plasma bank study that the risk of prostate cancer increased with increasing levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and trended to increase with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE / 19.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, MD, MSc Vice Chair for Faculty Development Ellen Jacobson Levine and Eugene Jacobson Professor of OBGYN Director, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program Co-Director, CUMC Preterm Birth Prevention Center  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: ​Delayed cord clamping (DCC) at delivery has been associated with neonatal benefit.  Specially, it decreases the likelihood of anemia.  It became widely recommended as a practice for all deliveries even though the literature showing benefit to the neonates was largely only for low risk women with vaginal deliveries.  In theory, DCC could result in increased blood loss during a cesarean due to the blood loss encountered when cutting into a gravid uterus. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Thyroid Disease / 18.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Richard Birtwhistle, Professor Departments of Family Medicine and Community Health and Epidemiology Director of the Centre for Studies, Primary Care, Department of Family Medicine Queen’s University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Testing for thyroid dysfunction is a commonly done by primary care practitioners. While the Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) test is an easy blood test to perform results outside the normal range are often found and will revert to normal over time without treatment in patients without symptoms. We wanted to see if there was any clinical benefit to patients by screening for thyroid dysfunction.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Lipids, NEJM, Neurological Disorders, Stroke / 18.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Pierre Amarenco, MD Professor and Chairman Paris University, Paris, France INSERM Department of Neurology and Stroke Centre Bichat Hospital Paris, France MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The rationale of the Treat Stroke to target trial was that after we published the SPARCL trial in 2006 (atorvastatin 80 mg/day vs placebo in patients with stroke) which showed a 16% relative risk reduction of recurrent stroke, we performed several pre specified and post hoc analyses, showing that in SPARCL patients randomized with "atherosclerotic disease" the risk reduction for the primary endpoint was much higher (33%), and in in patients achieving a LDL cholesterol of less than 70 mg/dL as compared to those achieving a LDL cholesterol 100 mg/dL or higher, the risk reduction was 28%. Therefore to confirm this findings, we designed the TST trial, which was an investigator initiated trial funded by the french ministry of health,  and enrolled patients with an ischemic stroke due to atherosclerotic stenosis and randomized them to either a target LDL cholesterol of less than 70 mg/dL or a target LDL cholesterol of 90 to 110 mg/dL. To achieve these goals, the investigators could use any statin available on the market, and titrate the dosage of the statin to get to the assigned target. They could also use ezetimibe on top of statin therapy if a high dosage of statin was not sufficient to get to the target level assigned by randomization. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Gender Differences, Pediatrics / 17.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Markus Boos, MD, PhD Member of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology. Attending pediatric dermatologist Seattle Children's Hospital Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics University of Washington School of Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Our understanding of the cutaneous health of sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, intersex, nonbinary, etc.) remains nascent. This dearth of understanding of the unique needs of SGM children is even more pronounced. This 2-part review article provides practical advice on how to best engage with young SGM patients and serve the distinct needs of this minority population, with a specific emphasis on dermatologic conditions. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cannabis, Heart Disease, Stroke / 17.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rupak Desai, MBBS Research Fellow, Division of Cardiology Atlanta VA Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Amidst legalization of therapeutic and recreational use of marijuana/cannabis in the United States, cerebrovascular effects of marijuana use remain largely unknown, especially among young adults. We examined the association between cannabis use (18–44 years) among young adults and stroke events. The study analyzed pooled data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2016–2017)—a nationally representative cross-sectional survey collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, 13.6% of total 43,860 young adults (18-44 years) reported using cannabis recently (in the last month), with 63.3% of them being men. Compared with nonusers, marijuana users were often younger, non-Hispanic white or black, and with some college education. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, Melanoma / 17.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jennifer M. Gardner, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology University of Washington School of Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This study looked at age-specific differences of melanoma incidence in the United States. It was an observational study looking at population-based registry data extracted from the combined National Program of Cancer Registries-Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results United States Cancer Statistics (NPCR-SEER) database. The overall take home message from this study is that though melanoma incidence has continued to climb in the past decade for both men and women, most of the increase is seen in adults greater than age 40 years of age.  In contrast, melanoma incidence decreased in adolescents (ages 10-19 years of age) and young adults (ages 20-29) after peaking around 2004-2005. Melanoma is more common in males in older individuals (older than 50 years of age) but in younger individuals (<50 years of age), melanoma is more common in females.  According to a recently published JAMA-Otolaryngology paper by Bray and colleagues, there may be a subset of younger individuals where males are at a higher risk than females in regard to head and neck melanoma, and after that study was published we noted this to be true in our numbers, as well (we didn’t publish this in our study), further identifying a possibly “at risk” demographic within the younger age groups in addition to young women. (more…)
Abuse and Neglect, Electronic Records, Yale / 15.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Edward R. Melnick, MD, MHS Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Program Director, Yale-VA Clinical Informatics Fellowship Program Principal Investigator, EMBED Trial Network Yale School of Medicine New Haven, CT 06519  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We know that physicians are frustrated with their EHRs and that EHRs are a driver of burnout. This is the first study to measure these issues nationally. We included a standardized metric of technology from other industries (System Usability Scale, SUS; range 0-100) on the AMA’s 2017 physician burnout survey. This metric has been used in >1300 other studies so we can compare where the EHR’s usability is to other everyday technologies. We are also able to measure the relationship between physicians’ perception of their EHR’s usability and the likelihood they are burned out. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, JAMA, Mammograms / 15.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Elham Kharazmi, MD, PhD Co-Leader, Risk Adapted Prevention (RAD) Group Division of Preventive Oncology National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Germany MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer death in American women, exceeded only by lung cancer. Available evidence suggests that implementation of a screening program can decrease breast cancer mortality. Reductions in breast cancer mortality in Europe over the past two decades have been associated at least in part with the implementation of screening programs. Screening enables the detection of tumors at an early stage, when more treatment options are feasible and most effective. However, screening is associated with substantial risks, such as over-diagnosis, false-positive results, and physical and psychological harms, particularly when large numbers of women with low risk are frequently screened. (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews / 15.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christopher M. Bland, Pharm.D., FCCP, FIDSA, BCPS Clinical Associate Professor Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy University of Georgia College of Pharmacy Clinical Pharmacy Specialist St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System Savannah, GA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Nearly 10% of the United States population self-report a penicillin allergy. However 90% of these allergies are found to be false upon reconciliation which includes patient interview, graded challenge, direct challenge, or penicillin skin testing. This is crucial as patients labeled with a penicillin allergy often receive more expensive antibiotics that additionally cause more adverse effects. While reconciling penicillin allergies is an important antimicrobial stewardship goal, resources are often limited in various healthcare settings to accomplish several of these endeavors. Our study evaluated the use of pharmacy students to serve as patient interviewers to aid in reconciling penicillin allergies. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Melanoma, Ophthalmology / 15.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Mitchell Stark, B.App.Sc (Hons), PhD NHMRC Research Fellow The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute Woolloongabba, QLD MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Uveal nevi (moles) mimic the appearance of uveal melanoma and their transformation potential cannot be definitively determined without a biopsy. Moles or naevi in the eye are common but can be difficult to monitor because changes to their shape or colouring can’t always be seen as easily as on the skin. As naevi are difficult to biopsy, they are usually “monitored” at regular intervals. If there is a melanoma in the eye, then outcomes are poor for people if their cancer spreads to the liver. This study aimed to identify a “biomarker” that could be measured in patients’ blood that could be used as an early indicator of melanoma formation (from a mole) or progression to other body sites.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Technology, Vaccine Studies / 15.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sandra Crouse Quinn, PhD Professor and Chair, Department of Family Science Senior Associate Director, Maryland Center for Health Equity School of Public Health University of Maryland College Park, MDSandra Crouse Quinn, PhD Professor and Chair, Department of Family Science Senior Associate Director, Maryland Center for Health Equity School of Public Health University of Maryland College Park, MD  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Millions of Americans use Facebook (FB) for a variety of purposes, including seeking health information. However, it is difficult for FB users to discern what is credible and scientifically sound information on the platform.  Facebook ads also focus on health issues including vaccination, which is labelled by FB as an issue of national importance.  We were the first team to conduct a research study examining the FB Ad Archive and analyzed ads that contained vaccine content. (more…)
Author Interviews, Rheumatology / 14.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Benjamin Nowell, Ph.D. Director of Patient-Centered Research CreakyJoints, Principal Investigator of ArthritisPower  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are important indicators of treatment effectiveness, but little is known about which PRO measures that patients find the most important to track for their disease management and to evaluate treatment effectiveness and health outcomes. In this study, we used the ArthritisPower Research Registry to evaluate which PROs patients with rheumatological conditions voluntarily selected to understand their experience of disease.  (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Pediatrics / 13.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sairaman Nagarajan, MD Clinical Fellow at State University New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The impetus for this study came from our previous research linking asthma, hay-fever and overall cancer diagnoses using the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey database. The division of Allergy and Immunology at SUNY Downstate has also conducted two pilot studies on the relationship between parental cancer and childhood asthma in Brooklyn’s population; one from Lutheran Medical Center focusing on Hispanics and Asian patients, and the other on African-American and Afro-Caribbean patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, Gender Differences, JAMA / 13.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Shannon Ruzycki, MD, MPH, FRCPC, (she/hers) General Internist & Clinical Lecturer Department of Medicine Department of Community Health Sciences Cumming School of Medicine University of Calgary MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: After hearing about the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine 2018 report to congress on sexual harassment of women in academia, our Department Head asked myself and Dr. Aleem Bharwani to study experiences of gender inequity or equity in our Department. We conducted an in-depth, 18-month mixed methods study of women and men in our Department, including semi-structured interviews and survey. (more…)