Erin Bowles, MPH

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“At KPWHRI, we have access to extensive data on cancer care. I'm using the data to learn how to improve the experiences of cancer patients and their families.”

Erin Bowles, MPH

Director, Collaborative Science, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute

Twitter: @ErinJBowles


 

Biography

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

Erin received an R50 mid-career research award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This award is given to cancer researchers who have demonstrated successes and contributions to cancer research as a non-principal investigator. As a key member of 2 large cancer collaborations — the NCI's Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium and the Kaiser Permanente Breast Cancer Survivors Cohort — Erin has developed diverse expertise that includes reading mammograms for breast density and using administrative data to understand patterns of breast cancer screening and cancer treatment.

Her current work includes:

  • Collaborating on a multi-site study with investigators from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, and Rutgers University to understand how obesity affects chemotherapy treatment dosing and risks of recurrence and toxicity in women with breast cancer
  • Helping investigators from Kaiser Permanente Northern California and the University of California (UC) San Francisco and UC Davis understand imaging trends in children and pregnant women, and subsequent risks of leukemia associated with ionizing radiation from imaging exams
  • Working with investigators from the NCI, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, Kaiser Permanente Georgia, and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii to study how mammographic breast density, radiation treatment, and tissue biomarkers are associated with second cancers in women with previous breast cancer
  • Collaborating on several studies within the BCSC to understand how disparities, access to advanced technology like artificial intelligence, and social drivers of health affect breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and surveillance
  • Working with teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of Washington, Henry Ford Health System, and Multicare Health System to develop and validate questions about cancer screening for people eligible for breast, colorectal, cervical, and/or lung cancer screening for the National Health Interview Survey.

Erin’s experience working with large observational cohorts and collaborations with numerous study teams over the past 20+ years has provided her with expertise in data collection and quality control for many subject areas. She is also Director of the Collaborative Science Division at KPWHRI, providing leadership, supervision, mentorship, and support to collaborative scientists with a range of skills and expertise. She is passionate about providing long-term career paths for masters- and PhD-level scientists who don’t want to become independent investigators.

Research interests and experience

  • Cancer

    Breast cancer; colorectal cancer; multiple myeloma; thyroid cancer; pancreatic cancer; biostatistics; epidemiology; mammography; mammographic breast density; cancer treatment; cancer screening and surveillance; automated data collection; quality of care; medication use; care coordination; administrative data

  • Health Services & Economics

    Access to care; health disparities; health outcomes research; quality of life; measurement of change in health care systems; practice variation

  • Women's Health

    Menopause; hormone replacement therapy (HRT); breast cancer

  • Aging & Geriatrics

    Cognitive health and dementia; biostatistics; epidemiology; medication use; cancer

Recent publications

Bhimani J, Wang P, Gallagher GB, O'Connell K, Blinder V, Burganowski R, Ergas IJ, Griggs JJ, Heon N, Kolevska T, Kotsurovskyy Y, Kroenke CH, Laurent CA, Liu R, Nakata KG, Persaud S, Roh JM, Tabatabai S, Valice E, Bandera EV, Bowles EJA, Kushi LH, Kantor ED. Patient factors and modifications to intended chemotherapy for women with stages I-IIIA breast cancer. Int J Cancer. 2025 Oct 1;157(7):1342-1353. doi: 10.1002/ijc.35494. Epub 2025 Jun 2. PubMed

Stewart C, Alber S, Mahendra M, Kofler C, Tran T, Domal S, Bowles EJA, Weinmann S, Greenlee RT, Stout NK, Pequeno P, Moy LM, Duncan JR, Pole JD, Bolch WE, Kwan ML, Miglioretti DL, Smith-Bindman R. Quantifying and contextualizing radiation doses in common pediatric medical imaging examinations.  J Pediatr Clin Pract. 2025 Jul 23;17:200166. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedcp.2025.200166. eCollection 2025 Sep. PubMed

Bhimani J, Wang P, Gallagher GB, O'Connell K, Persaud S, Blinder VS, Burganowski R, Ergas IJ, Griggs JJ, Heon N, Kolevska T, Kotsurovskyy Y, Kroenke CH, Laurent CA, Liu R, Nakata KG, Roh JM, Tabatabai S, Valice E, Bandera EV, Aiello Bowles EJ, Kushi LH, Kantor ED. Patient characteristics associated with conventional schedule vs. dose dense chemotherapy in women with stage I-IIIA breast cancer.  Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2025 Aug;213(1):115-126. doi: 10.1007/s10549-025-07764-w. Epub 2025 Jul 6. PubMed

Bowles EJA, Gao H, Fleckenstein LE, Bravo P, Nash MG, Comstock B, Neslund-Dudas C, Mou J, Kessler LG. Accuracy of self-reported exam indications for breast cancer screening. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2025 May 5:pkaf046. doi: 10.1093/jncics/pkaf046. Online ahead of print. PubMed

Henderson LM, Zhu W, Onega T, Kerlikowske K, Miglioretti DL, Bowles EJA, Sprague BL, Weaver DL, Tosteson ScD ANA, Lee CI. Diagnostic management pathways for workup of abnormal screening with digital mammography versus digital breast tomosynthesis. J Am Coll Radiol. 2025 Apr 9:S1546-1440(25)00207-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2025.04.008. Online ahead of print. PubMed

Wang P, O’Connell K, Bhimani J, Blinder V, Burganowski R, Ergas IJ, Gallagher GB, Griggs JJ, Heon N, Kolevska T, Kotsurovskyy Y, Kroenke CH, Laurent CA, Liu R, Nakata KG, Persaud S, Rivera DR, Roh JM, Tabatabai S, Valice E, Bandera EV, Kushi LH, Aiello Bowles EJ, Kantor ED. A methodologic approach to defining comorbidities in a cohort of cancer patients: An example in the Optimal Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Dosing Study. JCO Clin Cancer Inform. 2025 Feb:9:e2400231. doi: 10.1200/CCI-24-00231. Epub 2025 Feb 14. PubMed

 

Research

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Study links medical imaging to cancer risk in children

New research finds that 10% of pediatric blood and bone marrow cancers may have stemmed from radiation exposure.

News

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Predicting breast cancer risk after a high-risk benign lesion diagnosis

New study will develop risk models to improve clinical guidelines and practice.

Breast Cancer Surveillance

Kaiser Permanente Washington Breast Cancer Surveillance Registry

Kaiser Permanente Washington has been part of the national Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium since 1994. Learn about the Kaiser Permanente Washington Breast Cancer Surveillance Registry here.

Healthy Findings Blog

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Meet KPWHRI’s collaborative scientists

The division contributes to research across the institute with methodological and subject matter expertise.

KPWHRI in the media

Reduced-dose chemotherapy more common in older women

Erin Bowles on age at breast cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy dose in older women

MedPage Today, March 4, 2025

Research

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Improving cancer prevention and early detection

How KPWHRI is contributing to better cancer screening and better outcomes for patients.