Meira Epplein
Professor in Population Health Sciences
Overview
Meira Epplein is a cancer epidemiologist interested in modifiable risk factors in under-served populations. She is a Professor in Population Health Sciences and in Medicine, and currently serves as Co-Leader of the Cancer Risk, Detection, and Interception research program of the Duke Cancer Institute. Previously, she was a tenured faculty member at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, after two years as a post-doctoral fellow with the Multiethnic Cohort Study at the University of Hawaii. Prior to earning her PhD in epidemiology from the University of Washington, she completed an MA in international studies, and spent five years as a program officer for the Asian research think tank, the National Bureau of Asian Research.
Dr. Epplein’s research program is focused on the prevention of infection-associated cancers, and has specifically centered around the bacteria Helicobacter pylori, a spiral, gram-negative bacterium that infects approximately 50% of the world’s population, and is the leading carcinogenic infectious agent according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Her research seeks to determine the most toxigenic forms of the bacteria so to identify the highest risk populations which can then be targeted for antibiotic therapy, which has been shown to be effective for risk reduction. At the same time, she is committed to furthering our understanding of the co-factors involved in both H. pylori-associated disease risk and benefit, as the bacteria has inhabited the stomachs of humans for over 100,000 years, and so very likely also confers certain biological advantages to its hosts.
She has been PI of four grants from the NIH focusing on a greater understanding of the diversity of Helicobacter pylori and host response to infection and the association with gastrointestinal cancers. Through this work she has established the importance of the understanding of H. pylori as a heterogeneous exposure, identifying bacteria-specific blood biomarkers of increased cancer risk, and finding that these biomarkers interact with other potentially modifiable factors such as diet and aspirin use, in their association with the development of gastric cancer. She has also found significant differences in H. pylori prevalence and antibody response by self-reported race within the US, and have begun local initiatives to understand the prevalence of H. pylori in the community and clinic and to move towards eradication trials for high-risk individuals.
Area of expertise: Epidemiology
Positions
Professor in Population Health Sciences in the School of Medicine
2023 School of Medicine
Professor in Medicine in the School of Medicine
2023 School of Medicine
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute in the School of Medicine
2017 School of Medicine
Education
M.A. 1997
1997 University of Washington
M.S. 2005
2005 University of Washington
Ph.D. 2007
2007 University of Washington
Publications, Grants & Awards
- Grants (7)
- Academics Articles (66)
- Conference Pages (23)
- Book Sections (1)
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
Emerson Collective
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
Gastric Cancer
Cancer Causes Control
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
The Lancet. Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Gastroenterology
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology : the Official Clinical Practice Journal of the American Gastroenterological Association
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Gastroenterology
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Gastro Hep Advances
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Gut Microbes
Journal of Nutritional Science
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Microorganisms
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Gastroenterology
Bmc Gastroenterology
Cancer Causes Control
Gastroenterology
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Dig Dis Sci
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
Cancer Science
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Nutr Cancer
Cancer Causes Control
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
The Journal of Nutrition
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Cancer Causes Control
Cancer Causes Control
Cancer Prev Res (Phila)
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Infect Dis Clin North Am
American Journal of Epidemiology
Obstet Gynecol
Cancer Causes Control
American Journal of Epidemiology
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention : a Publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, Cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology
Ann Epidemiol
Breast Cancer Res
Cancer Causes Control
American Journal of Epidemiology
American Journal of Epidemiology
American Journal of Epidemiology
Cancer Causes & Control : Ccc
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Journal of Clinical Oncology : Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention : a Publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, Cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology
Journal of Clinical Oncology : Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Annals of Surgical Oncology
Annals of Surgical Oncology
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention : a Publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, Cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology
American Journal of Gastroenterology
American Journal of Gastroenterology
Cancer Prev Res (Phila)
Helicobacter
Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology
Cancer Research
Cancer Research
Cancer Research
Cancer Research
Cancer Research
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Encyclopedia of Cancer
Offices & Contact
Durham, NC
27705 DUMC 2715
Durham, NC
27710