Veronika Fedirko, PhD, MPH
Department of Epidemiology, Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences
About Dr. Veronika Fedirko
I am a molecular cancer epidemiologist with primary research interest in the etiology and prevention (primary and tertiary) of gastrointestinal cancers. I am particularly interested in investigating how dietary, lifestyle, environmental, metabolomic and microbiome factors combine and interact in producing cancer in humans, and how cancer and its progression can be prevented by lifestyle modifications and/or chemopreventive agents.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Division of OVP, Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Associate Professor, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2009 | Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA, PHD, Cancer and Molecular Epidemiology |
| 2005 | Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA, MPH, Epidemiology |
| 2002 | National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA), Kyiv, UKR, BS, Natural Sciences |
Postgraduate Training
| 2009-2011 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Section of Nutrition and Metabolism, Nutritional Epidemiology Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 2019 - 2020
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Division of Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 2012 - 2019
Scientist, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, 2011 - 2012
Honors & Awards
| 2020 | Rising Stars Award, Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| 2018 | Award for the highest AltMetric publication in 2018, Winship Cancer Institute |
| 2018 | Teaching Award, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University |
| 2016 | Teaching Award, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University |
| 2016 | Best Scientific Poster, NIH Cohort Consortium Meeting |
| 2009 | Aflac Scholar-in-Training Award, AACR |
| 2009 | Award for Best Scientific Poster, WCI's Scientific Research Symposium |
| 2008 | Scholar-in-Training Award, AACR |
| 2008 | Honorary Society in Public Health, Delta Omega Society |
| 2002 | BS with Highest Honors, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy |
| 2002 | Government Scholarship for Excellence in Studies, NaUKMA |
| 2001 | International Summer School Scholarship, University of Oslo |
| 2000 | Dr. Myroslawa Iwanciw Scholarship for Excellence in Studies, NaUKMA |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Xiao C, Fedirko V, Beitler J, Bai J, Peng G, Zhou C, Gu J, Zhao H, Lin IH, Chico CE, Jeon S, Knobf TM, Conneely KN, Higgins K, Shin DM, Saba N, Miller A, Bruner D. The role of the gut microbiome in cancer-related fatigue: pilot study on epigenetic mechanisms. Support Care Cancer 29(6):3173-3182, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33078326.
- Vermandere K, Bostick RM, Tran HQ, Gewirtz AT, Barry EL, Rutherford RE, Seabrook ME, Fedirko V. Effects of Supplemental Calcium and Vitamin D on Circulating Biomarkers of Gut Barrier Function in Colon Adenoma Patients: a Randomized Clinical Trial. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 14(3):393-402, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33229339.
- Gibbs DC, Fedirko V, Baron JA, Barry EL, Flanders WD, McCullough ML, Yacoub R, Raavi T, Rutherford RE, Seabrook ME, Bostick RM. Inflammation Modulation by Vitamin D and Calcium in the Morphologically Normal Colorectal Mucosa of Patients with Colorectal Adenoma in a Clinical Trial. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 14(1):65-76, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32917645.
- Gibbs DC, Bostick RM, McCullough ML, Um CY, Flanders WD, Jenab M, Weiderpass E, Gylling B, Gram IT, Heath AK, Colorado-Yohar S, Dahm CC, Bueno-de-Mesquita B, Perez-Cornago A, Trichopoulou A, Tumino R, Kühn T, Fedirko V. Association of prediagnostic vitamin D status with mortality among colorectal cancer patients differs by common, inherited vitamin D-binding protein isoforms. Int J Cancer 147(10):2725-2734, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32391587.
- Barry EL, Fedirko V, Uppal K, Ma C, Liu K, Mott LA, Peacock JL, Passarelli MN, Baron JA, Jones DP. Metabolomics Analysis of Aspirin's Effects in Human Colon Tissue and Associations with Adenoma Risk. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 13(10):863-876, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32655007.
- Bai J, Bruner DW, Fedirko V, Beitler JJ, Zhou C, Gu J, Zhao H, Lin IH, Chico CE, Higgins KA, Shin DM, Saba NF, Miller AH, Xiao C. Gut Microbiome Associated with the Psychoneurological Symptom Cluster in Patients with Head and Neck Cancers. Cancers (Basel) 12(9), 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32899975.
- Gibbs DC, Song M, McCullough ML, Um CY, Bostick RM, Wu K, Flanders WD, Giovannucci E, Jenab M, Brustad M, Tjønneland A, Perez-Cornago A, Trichopoulou A, Tsilidis KK, Hultdin J, Barricarte Gurrea A, Bueno-de-Mesquita B, Mahamat-Saleh Y, Kühn T, Gunter MJ, Weiderpass E, Fedirko V. Association of Circulating Vitamin D With Colorectal Cancer Depends on Vitamin D-Binding Protein Isoforms: A Pooled, Nested, Case-Control Study. JNCI Cancer Spectr 4(1):pkz083, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 32337495.
- Fedirko V, Mandle HB, Zhu W, Hughes DJ, Siddiq A, Ferrari P, Romieu I, Riboli E, Bueno-de-Mesquita B, van Duijnhoven FJB, Siersema PD, Tjønneland A, Olsen A, Perduca V, Carbonnel F, Boutron-Ruault MC, Kühn T, Johnson T, Krasimira A, Trichopoulou A, Makrythanasis P, Thanos D, Panico S, Krogh V, Sacerdote C, Skeie G, Weiderpass E, Colorado-Yohar S, Sala N, Barricarte A, Sanchez MJ, Quirós R, Amiano P, Gylling B, Harlid S, Perez-Cornago A, Heath AK, Tsilidis KK, Aune D, Freisling H, Murphy N, Gunter MJ, Jenab M. Vitamin D-Related Genes, Blood Vitamin D Levels and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Western European Populations. Nutrients 11(8), 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31434255.
- Mandle HB, Jahan FA, Bostick RM, Baron JA, Barry EL, Yacoub R, Merrill J, Rutherford RE, Seabrook ME, Fedirko V. Effects of supplemental calcium and vitamin D on tight-junction proteins and mucin-12 expression in the normal rectal mucosa of colorectal adenoma patients. Mol Carcinog 58(7):1279-1290, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30938860.
- Barry EL, Fedirko V, Baron JA. NSAIDs and Colorectal Cancer Phenotypes: What Now?. J Natl Cancer Inst 111(5):440-441, 2019. PMID: 30388268.
- Fedirko V, Jenab M, Méplan C, Jones JS, Zhu W, Schomburg L, Siddiq A, Hybsier S, Overvad K, Tjønneland A, Omichessan H, Perduca V, Boutron-Ruault MC, Kühn T, Katzke V, Aleksandrova K, Trichopoulou A, Karakatsani A, Kotanidou A, Tumino R, Panico S, Masala G, Agnoli C, Naccarati A, Bueno-de-Mesquita B, Vermeulen RCH, Weiderpass E, Skeie G, Nøst TH, Lujan-Barroso L, Quirós JR, Huerta JM, Rodríguez-Barranco M, Barricarte A, Gylling B, Harlid S, Bradbury KE, Wareham N, Khaw KT, Gunter M, Murphy N, Freisling H, Tsilidis K, Aune D, Riboli E, Hesketh JE, Hughes DJ. Association of Selenoprotein and Selenium Pathway Genotypes with Risk of Colorectal Cancer and Interaction with Selenium Status. Nutrients 11(4), 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31027226.
- McCullough ML, Zoltick ES, Weinstein SJ, Fedirko V, Wang M, Cook NR, Eliassen AH, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Agnoli C, Albanes D, Barnett MJ, Buring JE, Campbell PT, Clendenen TV, Freedman ND, Gapstur SM, Giovannucci EL, Goodman GG, Haiman CA, Ho GYF, Horst RL, Hou T, Huang WY, Jenab M, Jones ME, Joshu CE, Krogh V, Lee IM, Lee JE, Männistö S, Le Marchand L, Mondul AM, Neuhouser ML, Platz EA, Purdue MP, Riboli E, Robsahm TE, Rohan TE, Sasazuki S, Schoemaker MJ, Sieri S, Stampfer MJ, Swerdlow AJ, Thomson CA, Tretli S, Tsugane S, Ursin G, Visvanathan K, White KK, Wu K, Yaun SS, Zhang X, Willett WC, Gail MH, Ziegler RG, Smith-Warner SA. Circulating Vitamin D and Colorectal Cancer Risk: An International Pooling Project of 17 Cohorts. J Natl Cancer Inst 111(2):158-169, 2019. PMID: 29912394.
- Hodge R, Mandle HB, Ray S, Tandon S, Peterson M, Henry A, Jahan FA, Bostick RM, Baron JA, Barry EL, Yacoub R, Rutherford RE, Seabrook ME, Fedirko V. Effects of Supplemental Calcium and Vitamin D on Expression of Toll-Like Receptors and Phospho-IKKα/β in the Normal Rectal Mucosa of Colorectal Adenoma Patients. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 11(11):707-716, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30209117.
- Gibbs DC, Fedirko V, Um C, Gross MD, Thyagarajan B, Bostick RM. Associations of Circulating 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 Concentrations With Incident, Sporadic Colorectal Adenoma Risk According to Common Vitamin D-Binding Protein Isoforms. Am J Epidemiol 187(9):1923-1930, 2018. PMID: 29788105.
- Fedirko V, McKeown-Eyssen G, Serhan CN, Barry EL, Sandler RS, Figueiredo JC, Ahnen DJ, Bresalier RS, Robertson DJ, Anderson CW, Baron JA. Plasma lipoxin A4 and resolvin D1 are not associated with reduced adenoma risk in a randomized trial of aspirin to prevent colon adenomas. Mol Carcinog 56(8):1977-1983, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28218420.
- Fedirko V, Tran HQ, Gewirtz AT, Stepien M, Trichopoulou A, Aleksandrova K, Olsen A, Tjønneland A, Overvad K, Carbonnel F, Boutron-Ruault MC, Severi G, Kühn T, Kaaks R, Boeing H, Bamia C, Lagiou P, Grioni S, Panico S, Palli D, Tumino R, Naccarati A, Peeters PH, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, Weiderpass E, Castaño JM, Barricarte A, Sánchez MJ, Dorronsoro M, Quirós JR, Agudo A, Sjöberg K, Ohlsson B, Hemmingsson O, Werner M, Bradbury KE, Khaw KT, Wareham N, Tsilidis KK, Aune D, Scalbert A, Romieu I, Riboli E, Jenab M. Exposure to bacterial products lipopolysaccharide and flagellin and hepatocellular carcinoma: a nested case-control study. BMC Med 15(1):72, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28372583.
- Yang B, Bostick RM, Tran HQ, Gewirtz AT, Campbell PT, Fedirko V. Circulating Biomarkers of Gut Barrier Function: Correlates and Nonresponse to Calcium Supplementation among Colon Adenoma Patients. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 25(2):318-26, 2016. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26677212.
- Fedirko V, Bradshaw PT, Figueiredo JC, Sandler RS, Barry EL, Ahnen DJ, Milne GL, Bresalier RS, Baron JA. Urinary metabolites of prostanoids and risk of recurrent colorectal adenomas in the Aspirin/Folate Polyp Prevention Study (AFPPS). Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 8(11):1061-8, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26304466.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Gut Microbiome, Antibiotic Use & Colon Cancer Recurrence |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Exploring the role of genetically determined BMI in infancy, childhood and early adulthood on colorectal cancer development in later life |
| Funding Source: | G2MC/IHCC |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Exploring the Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis in Psychoneurological Symptoms for Children with Solid Tumors |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NINR |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | The Role of the Gut Microbiome and Short Chain Fatty Acids in the Regulation of Inflammation and Neuropsychological Symptoms in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | MDACC-PI |
| Title: | Gut Microbiome and Cancer Immunotherapy Outcomes in Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | CPRIT Rising Stars Award |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Aspirin, Gut Permeability, Bacterial Pathogens, and Colorectal Neoplasms |
| Funding Source: | Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Fellowship Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified May 20, 2024