Virtual Workshop

Purpose

The purpose of this two-day virtual workshop was to identify the challenges and opportunities related to the integration of environmental exposure data with other omics data for human cancer population studies and to inform future supported research directions for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This workshop was part of the NCI/NIEHS Cancer and the Environment Working Group’s effort to promote research into the effects of environmental exposures on cancer risk and etiology.

Goals

1. To understand the challenges and opportunities in integrating environmental data with other omics.
2. To identify the possible approaches and best practices for multi-omic integration including environmental data.
3. To identify special considerations for using environmental and multi-omic data for cancer epidemiology.
4. To determine how experimental models integrating environmental exposures and genomic (or other Omic) effects can be used to inform cancer risk assessment.

Workshop Recordings

Day 1: Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Setting the Stage and Purpose and Outcomes

Speakers:

• Trevor Archer, Ph.D., Deputy Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH) Distinguished Investigator
• Gary Ellison, Ph.D., M.P.H., Deputy Director, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Kimberly McAllister, Ph.D., NIEHS
• Leah Mechanic, Ph.D., M.P.H., NCI

Session I: Specific Cancer Considerations

This session examined specific considerations about performing integration of environmental exposure data with other -omics data for cancer epidemiology studies. Topics that were explored include:

• the role of tumor and normal tissue in disease biology
• the long latency periods of cancer
• the timing of exposures during particular susceptibility windows
• the distinguishment between the role of exposure on cancer initiation and promotion.

Moderator

• Ulrike Peters, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Speakers

• Mary Beth Terry, Ph.D., Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health
• Genevieve Leyden, Ph.D., University of Bristol, Bristol Medical School

Panelists

• Catherine Metayer, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health
• Sophia Wang, Ph.D., City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Peter Kraft, Ph.D., Harvard University, T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• Cathrine Hoyo, Ph.D., North Carolina State University

Session II: Computational Approaches

This session delved into challenges and considerations for computational methods for integrating environmental exposure data with other -omics measures in cancer, including methods to deal with:

• the heterogeneity of environmental data
• the differences in data scales
• the high dimensionality of environmental data

The group discussed possible methodology and computational needs and identified current best practices for these approaches.

Moderator

• Andrea Baccarelli, M.D., Ph.D., Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health

Speakers

• James Gauderman, Ph.D., University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
• Cristian Coarfa, Ph.D., Baylor University, Baylor College of Medicine

Panelists

• Marylyn Ritchie, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine
• Nilanjan Chatterjee, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Marina Sirota, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute

Open Discussion and Closing

Moderators

• Kimberly McAllister, Ph.D., NIEHS
• Leah Mechanic, Ph.D., M.P.H., NCI

Day 2: Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Introduction

Session III: Integration of Environmental Data With Other Data Types

This session explored the research gaps and needs for integrating a variety of diverse environmental data (toxicant measures from biological samples, high dimensional environmental data from wearable devices or GIS systems, etc.) with other omics data to inform our understanding of environmentally-relevant cancer outcomes. The session addressed how to better inform environmentally-relevant biomarkers for cancer outcomes by addressing the unique challenges with the incorporation of heterogenous environmental data including:

• Temporality of exposures
• Dose
• Environmental mixtures

Moderator

• Gary Miller, Ph.D., Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health

Speakers

• Dean Jones, Ph.D., Emory University, Winship Cancer Institute
• Carmen Marsit, Ph.D., Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health

Panelists

• Scarlett Gomez, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of California, San Francisco, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Thomas Metz, Ph.D., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Douglas Walker, Ph.D., Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health
• Ivana Yang, Ph.D., University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus
• Nathaniel Rothman, M.D., M.P.H., M.H.S., NCI

Session IV: Experimental Models and Functional Approaches

This session examined how the expansion of in vitro functional genomics advances (CRISPR, organoids, etc.) and model organisms might be utilized to inform multi-omics human studies related to environmentally-sensitive cancers.

Moderator

• Stephen Montgomery, Ph.D., Stanford University

Speakers

• Stephen Montgomery, Ph.D., Stanford University
• William Hill, Ph.D., The Francis Crick Institute
• Matthew Devall, Ph.D., University of Virginia

Panelists

• David Reif, Ph.D., NIEHS
• Rebecca Fry, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health
• Francesca Luca, Ph.D., Wayne State University
• Justin Colacino, Ph.D., University of Michigan, School of Public Health

Closing Session: Integration of All Four Themes and Future Directions: Key Recommendations for Moving the Field Forward

Moderator

• Kari Nadeau, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard University, T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Speakers

• Chirag Patel, Ph.D., Harvard University, Harvard Medical School
• Kimberly McAllister, Ph.D., NIEHS
• Leah Mechanic, Ph.D., M.P.H., NCI

Questions?

For questions about the workshop content, please contact Kimberly McAllister, Ph.D. or Leah Mechanic, Ph.D., M.P.H..