Jonine Bernstein, PhD

Attending Epidemiologist
Office Phone:
646-735-8155
Education:
Yale University

Current Research Interests

Dr. Bernstein is the principal investigator of the WECARE Study (Women’s Environmental, Cancer, and Radiation Epidemiology) which examines genetic susceptibility and radiation exposure in breast cancer. Current investigations involving this resource include studies of the roles of mutations in the ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, Chek2, 53BPI, MDC1, Rad50, and MRN genes. In 2009 Dr. Bernstein was awarded a grant from NIH to conduct a multi-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) which involves genome-wide screening of the existing WECARE Study cases and controls, and recruitment of a validation data set, in order to discover single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) associated with second primary breast cancer and with radiation.   This year the investigators have finished the screening and are currently involved in analyzing the results.  Earlier this year, Dr. Bernstein was awarded a grant to examine whether mammographic density is an important risk factor for contralateral breast cancer. In addition, Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Sara Olson are collaborating on an NIH-funded multi-center study, the GLIOGENE (Genetic Epidemiology of Glioma) Study, to characterize genes in familial and sporadic glioma cases. The MSKCC team joins a large group in North America, Europe, and Israel on this endeavor with Melissa Bondy of MD Anderson as Principal Investigator.  Lastly Dr. Bernstein along with Drs. Jennifer Brooks an Malcolm Pike are working with Dr. Elizabeth Morris and other clinical colleagues examining background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) as seen on MRI as a biomarker of breast cancer risk. Dr. Bernstein was honored to be nominated as a member on the boards of the American College of Epidemiology (ACE), the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP), and the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) and as a member of the American Epidemiological Society (AES) co-Chair of the Third North American Congress of Epidemiology which was held in Montreal in June of 2011. With over 25 epidemiology societies participating, this is the largest meeting of epidemiologists, and it occurs only every five years.

Publications by Jonine Bernstein

Gaudet MM, Press MF, Haile RW, Lynch CF, Glaser SL, Schildkraut J, Gammon MD, Thompson WD, Bernstein JL. Risk factors by molecular subtypes of breast cancer among a population-based study of women 56 years or younger. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2010. [In Press]

Figueiredo JC, Brooks JD, Conti DV, Poynter JN, Teraoka SN, Malone KE, Bernstein L, Lee WD, Duggan DJ, Siniard A, Concannon P, Capanu M, Lynch CF, Olsen JH, Haile RW and Bernstein JL. Risk of contralateral breast cancer associated with common variants in BRCA1 and BRCA2: Potential modifying effect of BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carrier status. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2010. [In Press]

Barros M, King V, Brooks JD, Bernstein JL, Reiner AS, Brennan S, Morris EA. Background Parenchymal Enhancement on Breast MRI and Breast Cancer Risk. Radiology 2011. [In Press]

Quintana MA, Berstein JL, Thomas DC, Conti DV. Incorporating Model Uncertainty in Detecting Rare Variants: The Bayesian Risk Index. PLoS Genetics. [In Press]

Bernstein JL, Background Parenchymal Enhancement on Breast MRI and Breast Cancer Risk. Radiology [In Press]