Zilber College of Public Health Seminar: Cancer Clusters – Facts and Fiction
Presented by:
Becky Bowen, MPH, MS, Healthcare-Associated Infections Epidemiologist
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Hollywood tells us that chemicals in our environment are major causes of cancer but is this accurate? Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States yet many people misunderstand what the major cancer risk factors are. Much emphasis is placed on contaminants in our food, our water, and our air, but how much do these influence your risk of developing cancer? This seminar will explore what is known about environmental cancer clusters, what is not, and how to tell the difference between fact and fiction.
About the presenter:
Becky Bowen is the Healthcare-Associated Infections epidemiologist with the state of Wisconsin where she works on data analysis projects around antibiotic stewardship and hospital infections. Becky has been in epidemiology for six years and has worked in a variety of areas including rural health, non-lead heavy metal poisonings, and cancer cluster investigations. Her work on retinoblastoma was recently published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine Focus. In addition, Becky spent seven years in cancer research and taught biology at local community colleges. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, a Master of Science degree in Molecular Carcinogenesis from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and a Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In her spare time, Becky enjoys spending time with her husband, Lewis, and sons Sean and Henry, as well as baking, quilting, and reading.
The seminar can also be attended virtually via Teams.