Erin Bowles, MPH

Bowles_Erin_J_205x293.jpg

“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 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 Health Care Systems Cancer Research Network (CRN) — Erin has developed diverse expertise that includes reading mammograms for breast density and using administrative data to understand patterns of care in cancer treatment.

Her current work includes:

  • Collaborating on a multi-site CRN study led by an investigator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 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, and Kaiser Permanente Georgia 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 and social determinants of health affect breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and surveillance
  • Helping investigators from the University of Wisconsin develop a model to predict thyroid cancer diagnosis and evaluate how health care utilization affects thyroid cancer detection and outcomes
  • Working with teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of Washington, 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 a manager of the Collaborative Science Division at KPWHRI, providing leadership, supervision, mentorship, and support to junior faculty.

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

Nyante SJ, Abraham L, Aiello Bowles EJ, Lee CI, Kerlikowske K, Miglioretti DL, Sprague BL, Henderson LM. Racial and ethnic variation in diagnostic mammography performance among women reporting a breast lump. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 Jul 13:EPI-23-0289. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-23-0289. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Kerlikowske K, Bissell M, Sprague BL, Tice JA, Tossas KY, Bowles EJA, Ho TH, Keegan THM, Miglioretti DM. Impact of BMI on prevalence of dense breasts by race and ethnicity. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 Jun 7;OF1-OF7. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-23-0049. PubMed

Sprague BL, Coley RY, Lowry KP, Kerlikowske K, Henderson LM, Su YR, Lee CI, Onega T, Bowles EJA, Herschorn SD, diFlorio-Alexander RM, Miglioretti DL. Digital breast tomosynthesis versus digital mammography screening performance on successive screening rounds from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. Radiology. 2023;307(5):e223142. doi: 10.1148/radiol.223142.  PubMed

Ramin C, Veiga LHS, Vo JB, Curtis RE, Bodelon C, Aiello Bowles EJ, Buist DSM, Weinmann S, Feigelson HS, Gierach GL, Berrington de Gonzalez A. Risk of second primary cancer among women in the Kaiser Permanente breast cancer survivors cohort. Breast Cancer Res. 2023 May 3;25(1):50. doi: 10.1186/s13058-023-01647-y. PubMed

Lee CI, Abraham L, Miglioretti DL, Onega T, Kerlikowske K, Lee JM, Sprague BL, Tosteson ANA, Rauscher GH, Bowles EJA, diFlorio-Alexander RM, Henderson LM. National performance benchmarks for screening digital breast tomosynthesis: Update from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. Radiology. 2023 Apr 11:222499. doi: 10.1148/radiol.222499. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Sprague BL, Chen S, Miglioretti DL, Gard CC, Tice JA, Hubbard RA, Bowles EA, Kaufman PA, Kerlikowske K. Cumulative 6-year risk of screen-detected ductal carcinoma in situ by screening frequency. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Feb 1; 6(2): e230166. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.0166. PubMed

 

Healthy Findings Blog

KPWHRI-Collaborative-Science-Division-team-meeting_1col.jpg

Meet KPWHRI’s collaborative scientists

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

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.

Research

Cancer-prevention-story_1col.jpg

Improving cancer prevention and early detection

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

News

Dr Keene at Brain science lab - Allen Institute

New open data to help understand Alzheimer’s

Cell by cell, scientists are building a high-resolution map of brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease.

Research

time-to-biopsy-after-abnormal-screening-mammography-by-race-and-ethnicity_1col.jpg

Breast-biopsy delays after mammogram more likely for Black, Asian women

Study suggests disparities at screening sites may influence lag in follow-ups.