Dr. Gaudet joined the department at the beginning of 2008.  Her primary interest areas are genetic susceptibility, hormonal pathways, and risk of breast and endometrial cancers.  She is conducting research in biological mechanisms mediating the association between breast and endometrial cancer and energy balance, including hormones, adipokines, and metabolomic profiles.  By examining both serum markers and genetic variants in these pathways, she is taking a comprehensive approach to determining how energy imbalance relates to cancers of the breast and endometrium in several large prospective and case-control studies.  Aberrations in these pathways may alter expression of important oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes through alterations in DNA methylation.  In a study of 200 population-based cases of breast cancer, Dr. Gaudet is studying DNA methylation of ESR1 and PGR and its relationship to breast cancer tumor characteristics and known risk factors, including obesity.  At MSKCC, Dr. Gaudet is collaborating with Dr. Ken Offit in the Clinical Genetics Service on several studies.  Dr. Gaudet is the study coordinator for whole genome scan among BRCA2 mutation carriers (PI: Offit) in the large international consortium.  The results of the study should identify other genetic variants that modify the variable penetrance of BRCA2 mutations.