Our group works at the intersection of genetic, molecular, and environmental epidemiology. We are interested in how genetic variation influences or alters the effects of environmental exposures and biomarkers on human health and biology. Areas of ongoing research include (1) dynamic features of the genome that are biomarkers of aging, exposure, and disease risk, (2) genetic susceptibility and response to exposure to arsenic, a known carcinogen (3) methods for assessing causal relationships among risk factors, biomarkers, and disease phenotypes, and (4) genetic contributors to prostate cancer disparities. The long-term goals of our work are to understand toxicity mechanisms and disease biology and to improve our ability to predict disease and target interventions to high-risk sub-populations.
Several ongoing projects are described below:
• Arsenic and the Human Genome: Over 100 million people worldwide consume arsenic-contaminated drinking water, which increases risk for a wide array of health conditions, including cancer. The goal of this project is to identify features of the human genome, both inherited (i.e., SNPs) and acquired/dynamic (i.e., telomere length, DNA methylation, somatic mutations), that reflect susceptibility to arsenic toxicity or response to arsenic exposure, using data from a large arsenic-exposed cohorts in Bangladesh and the U.S. Achieving these goals will reveal biological mechanisms of toxicity and susceptibility and provide strategies for identifying high risk individuals.
• Telomere Length and and DNA methylation in Diverse Human Tissue Types: Age-related telomere shortening may play a critical role in susceptibility to common age-related diseases, including cancer. Using tissue samples from the NHGRI’s Gene-Tissue Expression project (GTEx), Dr. Pierce’s team characterizing determinants of telomere length measurements taken across many cancer-prone tissues. Dr. Pierce's team is also studying DNA methylation features in these diverse tissue types, characterizing the effects of exposures, aging, and inherited genetic variants.
• Identifying DNA Methylation Features That Underlie Prostate Cancer Disparities: In light of racial disparities in prostate cancer incidence and mortality in the U.S., Dr. Pierce is leading a project to determine if DNA methylation patterns in prostate tissue differ between African American and Caucasian patients and how such differences are related to clinical features, as well as genetic and environmental factors. This work will contribute to the identification ethnicity-specific biomarkers for prostate cancer aggressiveness.
University of Washington
Seattle
PhD - Public Health Genetics
2008
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis
MS - Genetic Epidemiology
2004
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis
BA - Biology
2002
Differential DNA Methylation in the Benign and Cancerous Prostate Tissue of African American and European American Men.
Differential DNA Methylation in the Benign and Cancerous Prostate Tissue of African American and European American Men. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Mar 03; 34(3):428-438.
PMID: 39699292
Genome-wide association study of prostate-specific antigen levels in 392,522 men identifies new loci and improves prediction across ancestry groups.
Genome-wide association study of prostate-specific antigen levels in 392,522 men identifies new loci and improves prediction across ancestry groups. Nat Genet. 2025 Feb; 57(2):334-344.
PMID: 39930085
Characterization of DNA methylation clock algorithms applied to diverse tissue types.
Characterization of DNA methylation clock algorithms applied to diverse tissue types. Aging (Albany NY). 2025 Jan 03; 17(1):67-96.
PMID: 39754638
Differential DNA methylation in the benign and cancerous prostate tissue of African American and European American men.
Differential DNA methylation in the benign and cancerous prostate tissue of African American and European American men. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024 Dec 19.
PMID: 39699292
Alternative splicing induces sample-level variation in gene-gene correlations.
Alternative splicing induces sample-level variation in gene-gene correlations. BMC Genomics. 2024 Dec 11; 23(Suppl 4):867.
PMID: 39658796
Genome-wide association study of prostate-specific antigen levels in 392,522 men identifies new loci and improves cross-ancestry prediction.
Genome-wide association study of prostate-specific antigen levels in 392,522 men identifies new loci and improves cross-ancestry prediction. medRxiv. 2024 Aug 20.
PMID: 37961155
DNA methylation correlates of chronological age in diverse human tissue types.
DNA methylation correlates of chronological age in diverse human tissue types. Epigenetics Chromatin. 2024 Aug 08; 17(1):25.
PMID: 39118140
An integrative multi-context Mendelian randomization method for identifying risk genes across human tissues.
An integrative multi-context Mendelian randomization method for identifying risk genes across human tissues. Am J Hum Genet. 2024 Aug 08; 111(8):1736-1749.
PMID: 39053459
The Impact of Inherited Genetic Variation on DNA Methylation in Prostate Cancer and Benign Tissues of African American and European American Men.
The Impact of Inherited Genetic Variation on DNA Methylation in Prostate Cancer and Benign Tissues of African American and European American Men. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024 Apr 03; 33(4):557-566.
PMID: 38294689
Integrative cross-omics and cross-context analysis elucidates molecular links underlying genetic effects on complex traits.
Integrative cross-omics and cross-context analysis elucidates molecular links underlying genetic effects on complex traits. Nat Commun. 2024 Mar 16; 15(1):2383.
PMID: 38493154
RIVER Outstanding Investigator Award (Revolutionizing Innovative, Visionary Environmental Health)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
2017
Finalist for the Brian MacMahon Early Career Epidemiologist Award
Society for Epidemiologic Research
2015
Young Investigator Award
Cancer Research Foundation
2012
Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) Award
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
2011