My first experience with cancer in the family occurred when I was studying statistics in India. The timing prompted me to start wondering about using quantitative approaches to discover the causes of cancer and how to prevent it. Now, I develop and apply such approaches to better predict how many types of risk factors affect the chances of developing cancer, alone or in combination with other risk factors. I feel privileged to work at the American Cancer Society, given the positive impact the 快猫短视频 has on so many aspects of the cancer problem: research, advocacy, and patient and caregiver education and support. My research may inform prevention guidelines and help 快猫短视频 achieve its mission ‘to end cancer as we know it, for everyone.’”
As a Principal Scientist in Biostatistics, Parichoy Pal Choudhury, PhD, ?works with both Surveillance and Health Equity Science (SHES) and Population Science (PopSci)?departments.?
He leads a research program focused on the development and application of statistical methods in risk prediction with an emphasis on risk-stratified cancer prevention that addresses health disparities. He conducts research on mission-priority topics across the cancer continuum and actively collaborates with scientists across the 快猫短视频 Discovery Pillar as well as with investigators who are not part of the 快猫短视频.
My research focuses on developing methods and software tools for building and independently validating absolute risk-prediction models. I have developed the Individualized Coherent Absolute Risk Estimator software for risk development and validation. Using WebAssembly, it was recently converted to a risk tool guided by Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (FAIR) principles.?
I apply these tools to predict absolute risk for breast cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and bladder cancer. The goal is to inform cancer prevention by stratifying the risks for developing cancer.?For example, for these complex diseases, I build models to assess how factors like genetic variants and non-genetic factors interact to affect the risk of disease and whether the risk-factor associations differ across biologically heterogeneous disease subtypes.
My recent statistical methodology research focused on how to precisely estimate metrics of model performance in a prospective cohort where certain expensive biomarkers may be available only on a subgroup of the study participants. I showed an application of this method in lung cancer risk prediction in a in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
I have substantial experience in leading or co-leading large studies in a consortium setting. For example, I led a large validation effort within the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) for a model predicting absolute risk of breast cancer in women from European ancestry. This model was validated in 15 prospective cohorts across 6 countries and incorporated risk factors and polygenic risk score (PRS) with relative risks derived from literature. The ?was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology with a .
I recently co-led a that used large consortium-based genome wide association studies?on bladder cancer?to identify novel genetic markers? highlighting new biology and the role of interactions between genetic variants and risk factors like sex and smoking.?
Our recent ?emphasizes the need to improve ovarian cancer risk-prediction models and evaluate new preventative approaches for the general population.??
My research is recognized with several recent awards for early-career scientists:
More recently, I have expanded my applied quantitative research to study important questions in cancer health disparities. For example, in a published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, we reported findings based on data from ~1.9 million cancer patients from the National Cancer Database about the contribution of health insurance in racial and ethnic disparities. We focused on advanced stage diagnoses for 10 cancers that can be detected early through screening, physical examination, or clinical symptoms.
I plan to address disparities in risk-prediction research by evaluating understudied populations, in particular from non-European ancestry, since the traditional research focus has been on populations with European ancestry.
For a full list of?Dr. Pal Choudhury’s publications, visit his ?page.??
I live with my wife, Dr. Tushita Mukhopadhyaya, a material scientist by profession, and our son, Prachyo Pal Choudhury, in the Brookhaven area in Atlanta. When I'm not doing research, I enjoy outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking and indoor ones like reading, watching movies, and listening to music.
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