Robert Hiatt, MD PhD

Profile

Professor

Primarily focused on cancer epidemiology and studies of cancer etiology, early development, the environment and social determinants. Dr. Hiatt is interested in understanding the fundamental causes of health disparities and seeking a basis for interventions to modulate their adverse effects on disadvantaged populations. He takes a lifecourse approach and focus on periods during early growth and development when important determinants of tobacco use and eating behaviors are established in order to get at the root causes of these inequities observed later in life. He takes a transdisciplinary approach across many areas of expertise from genetics to the built environment. He has been committed to the study of population health and disparities using transdisciplinary science since his time at the National Cancer Institute when he was the first deputy director of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. His disciplinary background in medicine and epidemiology has been expanded over the years by additional experience in cancer research in areas as diverse as genetic epidemiology, behavioral science, health services and outcomes research and cancer surveillance. In addition to leadership roles in epidemiologic and preventive oncologic professional organizations and at the NCI, he has led large and complex cross-disciplinary research projects including two program projects from the NCI.

A New Paradigm of Breast Cancer Causation and Prevention

This work takes a transdisciplinary approach to develop a model for breast cancer causation and etiology that takes into account multiple disciplinary perspectives from the biologic to the sociologic in order to provide common ground for understanding and to point up gaps in knowledge about breast cancer etiology that require further investigation.

Dr. Hiatt is studying potential environmental causes of breast cancer by focusing on adolescence and the development of the mammary gland in both human populations and mouse models.
Personalized Medicine for Colorectal and Breast Cancer

Major goals: To use an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to obtain evidence about key aspects of the translation of genomic information for breast and colorectal cancer into clinical practice and health policy.

Education:

Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI B.A. 1964 Zoology

Univ. of Michigan Med School, Ann Arbor, MI M.D. 1968 Medicine

San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA Internship 1969

USPHS Hospital, San Francisco, CA Residency 1971 Internal Medicine

Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA MPH, PhD 1972, 80 Epidemiology

Publications:

Warnecke RB, Oh A, Breen N, Gehlert S, Paskett E, Tucker K, Lurie N, Rebbeck T, Goodwin J, Flack J, Srinvasan S, Kerner J, Heurtin-Roberts S, Abeles R, Tyson FL, Patmios G, Hiatt RA. Approaching health disparities from a population perspective: The NIH Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities. Am J Pub Health 2008; 98:1608-15. PMCID: 18633099
Hiatt RA, Breen N. The social determinants of cancer: a challenge for transdisciplinary science. Am J Prev Med 2008; 35:S141-S150. PMCID: 18619394
Hiatt RA. Epidemiology: key to translational, team, and transdisciplinary science. Positioning epidemiology in a changing environment over the next 25 years. American College of Epidemiology. Ann Epidemiol 2008:18:859-61. PMCID: 18823793
Green LW, Ottoson JM, Garcia C, Hiatt RA. Diffusion theory and knowledge dissemination, utilization and intregration in public health. Annu Rev Public Health 2009; 30:151-174. PMCID:19146396
Hiatt RA, Haslam S, Osuch J for the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers. The Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers: Transdisciplinary science for the role of the environment in breast cancer etiology. Env Health Perspectives 2009 Environ Health Perspect doi:10.1289/ehp. 0800120 http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 16 Jun 2009]

Additional recent publications of importance to the field (in chronological order)

Hiatt RA. The future of cancer surveillance. Cancer Causes Control 2006; 5:639-46. PMCID: 16633910
Singh GK, Hiatt RA. Trends and disparities in socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics, life expectancy, and cause-specific mortality of native-born and foreign-born populations in the United States, 1979-2003. Int J Epidemiol 2006;35:903-919. PMCID: 16709619
Hiatt RA, Miller SM, Vernon SW. Translational research and good behavior. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007; 11:184-5. PMCID: 18006904.
Best A, Hiatt RA, Norman C; on behalf of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Joint Working Group on Translational Research and Knowledge Integration of the Advisory Committee for Research and the Joint Advisory Committee for Cancer Control. Knowledge integration: conceptualizing communications in cancer control systems. Patient Educ Counsel 2008; 71:319-327. PMCID: 18403175
Hiatt RA, Pasick RJ, Stewart S, Bloom J, Davis P, Luce J. Cancer screening in underserved women: The Breast and Cervical Cancer Intervention Study (BACCIS). Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17:1945-9. PMCID18708383.
Chlebowski RT, Johnson KC, Kooperberg C, Pettinger M, Wactawski-Wende J, Rohan T, Rossouw J, Lane D, O’Sullivan M, Yasmen S, Hiatt RA, Shikany JM, Vitolins M, Khandekar J, Hubbell FA. Calcium plus vitamin D supplement and the risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2008;100:1581-1591. PMCID: 19001601
Braithwaite D, Moore DH, Lustig RH, Epel ES, Ong KK, Rehkopf D, Wang MC, Miller SM, Hiatt RA. Socioeconomic status in relation to early menarche among black and white girls. Cancer Causes Control 2008 Dec 25 [Epub ahead of print]. PMCID: 19107561
Braithwaite D, Tammemagi CM, Moore DH, Ozanne EM, Hiatt RA, Belkora J, West DW, Satariano WA,, Liebman M, Esserman L. Hypertension is an independent predictor of survival disparity between African American and white breast cancer patients. Int J Can 2009;124:1213-9 PMCID: 19058216.
Baird MA, Berg AO, Botkin JR, Driscoll DA, Fishman PA, Guarino PD, Hiatt RA, Jarvik GP, Millon-Underwood S, Morgan TM, Mulvihill JJ, Pollin TI, Schimmel SR, Stefanek ME, Vollmer WM, Williams JK. NIH State-of-the-Science Conference Statement: Family History and Improving Health.NIH Consens State Sci Statements. Ann Intern Med 2009 Aug 26;26(1). [Epub ahead of print]. PMCID: 19884615.
van Olphen J, Ottoson J, Green LW, Barlow J, Koblick K, Hiatt RA. Evaluation of a partnership approach to translating research on breast cancer and the environment. Prog Community Health Partnerships 2009;3:213-226.

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