Douglas Easton PhD

Prof Easton is a Professor of Genetic Epidemiology, whose main research interest is in genetic susceptibility to common cancers. The aim of his research group is to identify and characterize genetic variants associated with cancer risk, with particular emphasis on hormone-related cancers. Much of their recent work has focused on the analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to characterize common susceptibility variants and the characterization of susceptibility loci through fine-mapping. The group has conducted GWAS in breast cancer, prostate, endometrial, and testis cancer. Prof Easton’s group also co-ordinates three large international consortia: the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC), Prostate Cancer Association Group to Investigate Cancer Associated Alterations in the Genome (PRACTICAL a collaboration with Professor Ros Eeles) and (in collaboration with Dr. Antoniou and Dr. Georgia Chenevix-Trench) the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA). Current work includes evaluating the role of rarer variants in breast and prostate cancer, and susceptibility to cancer-related traits including breast density, steroid hormones, and telomere length.