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Erin Aiello Bowles, MPH

Research Associate

206-287-2708
aiello.e@ghc.org

Recent publications

Curriculum vitae (CV)

 

 

 

Research interests and experience

  • Cancer control: breast cancer; biostatistics; epidemiology; mammography; mammographic breast density; breast cancer treatment; molecular markers; breast cancer screening surveillance; automated data collection; quality of care; medication use
  • Women's health: menopause; hormone replacement therapy (HRT); breast cancer
  • Health services & economics: access to care; health disparities; health outcomes research; quality of life; measurement of change in health care systems; practice variation

Epidemiologist Erin Aiello Bowles is looking at cancer from many different perspectives. Her research brings new insight into breast cancer risk factors, while also helping improve cancer care for patients and families.

As a key member of two large cancer collaborations—the National Cancer Institute's Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium and the HMO Cancer Research Network (CRN)—Ms. Aiello Bowles has developed diverse expertise that includes reading mammograms for mammographic breast density and doing statistical analyses. She recently published findings that support current Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS®) guidelines for short-interval follow-up after breast lesions assessed as "probably benign." Her past work with Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) investigators Diana Buist, PhD and Diana Miglioretti, PhD confirmed that breast density is a key breast cancer risk factor. She would like to take this research to the next level by examining the hormonal, biological, and environmental factors that modify breast density and interact to affect breast cancer risk.

Ms. Aiello Bowles is also passionate about doing research to help improve the quality of cancer care. Working with colleagues from the CRN, they studied cancer care from four diverse perspectives: expert interviews; patient, family, and provider focus groups; organization site visits; and a literature review. Ms. Aiello Bowles published findings from the expert interviews that suggested lack of standardization of care guidelines is a key barrier to high-quality cancer care. These findings have strengthened her commitment to helping improve the quality of cancer care, and she is pursuing more funding in this area. She is especially interested in studying the period around cancer diagnosis and surgery—a time when many patients feel their highest anxiety.

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Recent publications

Lowry S, Aiello Bowles EJ, Anderson ML, Buist DS. Predictors of breast density change after hormone therapy cessation: results from the READ randomized trial. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2011 Oct;20(10):2309-12. Epub 2011 Aug 3. PubMed

Carney PA, Cook AJ, Miglioretti DL, Feig SA, Bowles EA, Geller BM, Kerlikowske K, Kettler M, Onega T, Elmore JG. Use of clinical history affects accuracy of interpretive performance of screening mammography. J Clin Epidemiol. 2011 Oct 14 [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Sprague BL, Trentham-Dietz A, Gangnon RE, Buist DS, Burnside ES, Bowles EJ, Stanczyk FZ, Sisney GS, Skinner HG. The vitamin D pathway and mammographic breast density among postmenopausal women. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2011 Aug 17 [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Tom SE, Anderson ML, Landis CA, Aiello Bowles EJ, Woods NF, Reed SD, Newton KM, Buist DS. Sleep problems after short-term hormone therapy suspension: secondary analysis of a randomized trial. Menopause. 2011 Nov;18(11):1184-90. PubMed

Clauser SB, Wagner EH, Aiello Bowles EJ, Tuzzio L, Greene SM. Improving modern cancer care through information technology. Am J Prev Med. 2011;40(5 Suppl 2):S198-207. PubMed

Loo LW, Wang Y, Flynn EM, Lund MJ, Bowles EJ, Buist DS, Liff JM, Flagg EW, Coates RJ, Eley JW, Hsu L, Porter PL. Genome-wide copy number alterations in subtypes of invasive breast cancers in young white and African American women. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2011 May;127(1):297-308. Epub 2011 Jan 25. PubMed

Newton KM, Anderson ML, Reed SD, Bowles EJ, Buist DS. Factors associated with non-compliance with hormone therapy cessation before screening mammography. Climacteric. 2011 Apr;14(2):268-74. Epub 2010 Oct 27. PubMed

Carney PA, Aiello Bowles EJ, Sickles EA, Geller BM, Feig SA, Jackson S, Brown D, Cook A, Yankaskas BC, Miglioretti DL, Elmore JG. Using a tailored web-based intervention to set goals to reduce unnecessary recall. Acad Radiol. 2011 Apr;18(4):495-503. Epub 2011 Jan 20. PubMed

Adams SV, Newcomb PA, Shafer MM, Atkinson C, Bowles EJ, Newton KM, Lampe JW. Sources of cadmium exposure among healthy premenopausal women. Sci Total Environ. 2011;409(9):1632-7. Epub 2011 Feb 17. PubMed

Adams SV, Newcomb PA, Shafer MM, Atkinson C, Bowles EJ, Newton KM, Lampe JW. Urinary cadmium and mammographic density in premenopausal women. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2011 Aug;128(3):837-44. Epub 2011 Feb 15. PubMed

To view more publications, please see Ms. Aiello Bowles' CV.

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