The Henry Vogt Professorship in Cancer Prevention and Control
School of Public Health and Information Sciences
Dr. Kathy B. Baumgartner (MA, MS, PhD) is a cancer epidemiologist with extensive experience designing and conducting large population-based studies. In September 1996, she was awarded a Predoctoral Fellowship through the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Breast Cancer Research Program. She received her PhD in May 1999 in Epidemiology through the University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, Texas. She began her position at the University of Louisville as an Associate Professor on July 1, 2005.
Dr. Baumgartner's current research is focused primarily on breast cancer. She is the Principal Investigator of the New Mexico component of the 4-Corners Women's Health Study (4-CWHS), a case-control study conducted in collaboration with the University of Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. The basis of the 4-CWHS is to explore the contradiction between breast cancer incidence rates and prevalence of exposures among the primary ethnic groups in the Southwest. The focus is on the relationship between breast cancer and obesity and associated indicators of insulin status. The roles of genetic susceptibility and metabolic and lifestyle exposures are being investigated within the context of this study, and genetic admixture is being used to define the continuum of ethnic diversity in the population. The inclusion of three diverse populations will enhance our ability to detect relevant genetic associations.
Dr. K. Baumgartner is the Co-Investigator of the Health, Eating, Activity, & Lifestyle (HEAL) Cohort Study now entering its 9th year of follow-up. It is a multi-centered investigation of the influence of body weight, composition, diet, physical activity, and hormones on prognosis among approximately 1,100 incident female cases of breast cancer ascertained by the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) cancer registries in New Mexico; Western Washington, and Los Angeles, CA. This effort is unique among SEER Special Studies for the depth and complexity of the information collected, and will provide important information on modifiable behaviors that may improve prognosis in breast cancer survivors.
Other research interests include cervical and endometrial cancer and respiratory disease.