Research Description

Dr. Ahsan’s research interests focus on the interplay between environmental and genetic factors in cancer and exploiting this information in cancer prevention in humans.  He published extensively on the molecular epidemiology of carcinogenic effects of arsenic exposure and also on the molecular and genetic epidemiology of hormonal etiology of breast cancer.  His ongoing NIH-funded major research projects include: 1) a genome-wide association study to identify novel genes for early-onset breast cancer among 6,000 breast cancer cases and population/sister controls; 2) a prospective cohort study of 15,000 men and women in Bangladesh to investigate the intermediate- and long-term carcinogenic effects of environmental arsenic exposure from drinking water; 3) genetic susceptibility to arsenic-induced pre-malignant skin lesions and skin cancers among 3,000 cases and controls; and 4) a randomized clinical trial of vitamin E and selenium among 6,000 individuals with pre-malignant skin lesions for the prevention of cancers and deaths.

Dept. of Health Studies Profile

Selected Publications

Exploring genome-wide DNA methylation profiles altered in hepatocellular carcinoma using Infinium HumanMethylation 450 BeadChips.

Shen J, Wang S, Zhang YJ, Wu HC, Kibriya MG, Jasmine F, Ahsan H, Wu DP, Siegel AB, Remotti H, Santella RM

(Jan 2013) Epigenetics : official journal of the DNA Methylation Society 8(1):34-43 PMID:23208076 (Full Text)

Better cancer biomarker discovery through better study design.

Rundle A, Ahsan H, Vineis P

(Dec 2012) European journal of clinical investigation 42(12):1350-9 PMID:22998109

Genome-wide aberrant DNA methylation of microRNA host genes in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Shen J, Wang S, Zhang YJ, Kappil MA, Chen Wu H, Kibriya MG, Wang Q, Jasmine F, Ahsan H, Lee PH, Yu MW, Chen CJ, Santella RM

(Nov 2012) Epigenetics : official journal of the DNA Methylation Society 7(11):1230-7 PMID:22976466 (Full Text)

Unidentified genetic variants influence pancreatic cancer risk: an analysis of polygenic susceptibility in the PanScan study.

Pierce BL, Tong L, Kraft P, Ahsan H

(Jul 2012) Genetic epidemiology 36(5):517-24 PMID:22644738

Genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Shen J, Wang S, Zhang YJ, Kappil M, Wu HC, Kibriya MG, Wang Q, Jasmine F, Ahsan H, Lee PH, Yu MW, Chen CJ, Santella RM

(Jun 2012) Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) 55(6):1799-808 PMID:22234943 (Full Text)

Interpretation of genome-wide infinium methylation data from ligated DNA in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded paired tumor and normal tissue.

Jasmine F, Rahaman R, Roy S, Raza M, Paul R, Rakibuz-Zaman M, Paul-Brutus R, Dodsworth C, Kamal M, Ahsan H, Kibriya MG

(2012) BMC research notes 5:117 PMID:22357164 (Full Text)

A genome-wide study of cytogenetic changes in colorectal cancer using SNP microarrays: opportunities for future personalized treatment.

Jasmine F, Rahaman R, Dodsworth C, Roy S, Paul R, Raza M, Paul-Brutus R, Kamal M, Ahsan H, Kibriya MG

(2012) PloS one 7(2):e31968 PMID:22363777 (Full Text)

Genome-wide association study identifies chromosome 10q24.32 variants associated with arsenic metabolism and toxicity phenotypes in Bangladesh.

Pierce BL, Kibriya MG, Tong L, Jasmine F, Argos M, Roy S, Paul-Brutus R, Rahaman R, Rakibuz-Zaman M, Parvez F, Ahmed A, Quasem I, Hore SK, Alam S, Islam T, Slavkovich V, Gamble MV, Yunus M, Rahman M, Baron JA, Graziano JH, Ahsan H

(2012) PLoS genetics 8(2):e1002522 PMID:22383894 (Full Text)