Mary E. Edgerton, M.D., PH.D.
Department of Pathology, Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
About Dr. Edgerton
Mary E. Edgerton was born in Austin, Texas and was raised in the Rio Grande Valley. She received a B.S. in Physics with Highest Honors from the University of Texas at Austin. Following this, she was a Marshall Scholar to the United Kingdom where she received a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of East Anglia. She completed postdoctoral studies at the Unviersity of California at San Francisco and at the State university of New York at Stony Brook, and then worked for nine years for Exxon and then Mobil Oil Company in their research laboratories. She left the research laboratoires to attend medical school, and obtained her MD. from Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She completed her pathology residency and surgical pathology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She is board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and was an Assistant Professor of Pathology at Vanderbilt University and an Associate Professor in the Division of Anatomic Pathology at the Moffitt Cancer Center before coming to MD Anderson, where she is currently an Associate Professor with tenure.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Division of Pathology/Lab Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Adjunct Professor, Division of School of Health Information Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX
Research Interests
Dr. Edgerton’s research is focused on discovery of mechanisms in cancer genesis and progression. She has worked on the development of mathematical models for computer simulations of spread of ductal carcinoma in situ, and the role of cell motility in extensive disease. She also researches methods for the analysis of gene expression array data for pathway discovery. She has published on the application of these methods to lung cancer and breast cancer profiles data. In addition to researching mechanisms, Dr. Edgerton has worked on the development of integrated information platforms for tissue acquisition, clinical annotation, and molecular profiling. She has contributed to the development of standards for data sharing and to ontologies to be used for tissue annotation.
Clinical Interests
Mary E. Edgerton,M.D., Ph.D. is board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. She completed a fellowship in surgical pathology before she joined David L. Page at Vanderbilt University where she worked for five years in breast and surgical pathology. She has also worked in the area of pathology informatics. Dr. Edgerton works now as a breast pathologist and as a pathology informatician. Her clinical interests are in breast neoplasia and in informatics related to tissue banking.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1994 | Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, MD, Medicine |
| 1979 | University of East Anglia, Norwich, GBR, PHD, Biophysics |
| 1976 | University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA, BS, Physics |
Postgraduate Training
| 1999-2000 | Clinical Fellowship, Surgical Pathology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA |
| 1995-1999 | Clinical Residency, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA |
| 1994-1995 | Clinical Internship, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA |
| 1980-1981 | Research Fellowship, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY |
| 1979-1980 | Research Fellowship, University of California, San Francisco, CA |
Board Certifications
| 1999 | American Board of Pathology 'Lifetime Member' |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Department of Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology, Division of School of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 2005 - 2006
Associate Professor, Division of Molecular Oncology Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 2005 - 2006
Assistant Professor, Department of Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, 2000 - 2005
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, 2000 - 2005
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Director of Biorepository Informatics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2011 - Present
Co-Director, H. Lee Moffitt Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 2005 - 2006
Director, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 2005 - 2006
Committee Chair, Department of Bioinformatics Working Group, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 2005 - 2006
Committee Co-Chair, Department of Biospecimen Repository Working Group, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 2005 - 2006
Member, Department of Promotion and Tenure Committee, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 2005 - 2006
Committee Chair, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 2005 - 2006
Member, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 2005 - 2006
Member, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 2005 - 2006
Member, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, 2003 - 2006
Committee Chair, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, 2002 - 2005
Member, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, 2002 - 2005
Director, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, 2001 - 2005
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Senior Research Physicist, Mobil Research & Development Corporation, Princeton, NJ, 1985 - 1990
Senior Analyst, Exxon Research & Engineering Company, Annandale, NJ, 1985 - 1985
Analyst, Exxon Research & Engineering Company, Annandale, NJ, 1980 - 1985
Institutional Committee Activities
Member, eResearch Steering Committee, 2011 - 2013
Co-Chair, TissueStation Deployment Steering Committee, 2011 - 2015
Member, Structured Pathology Reporting Development Team, 2010 - Present
Member, Research and Education Information Services Steering Team, 2010 - 2015
Member, Special Committee to Evaluate caTissue, 2009 - 2010
Non-Voting Member, Breast Tumor Bank Steering Committee, 2008 - 2009
Member, Velos Evaluation Committee, 2008 - 2008
Member, TissueStation Deployment Steering Committee, 2007 - 2010
Member, Clinical and Research Informatics Committee, 2006 - 2012
Consultantships
Ad Hoc Consulting, Academic Institutions and Cancer Centers, Academic Institutions both US and non-US, 2006 - Present
Consultant, Advisory Board, Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium/Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Board, Chicago, IL, 2005 - 2005
Member, CaBIG Integrative Cancer Research Workspace, National Cancer Institute, Washington, D.C, 2004 - 2007
Member, National Functional Genomics Consortium Advisory Board, Tampa, FL, 2004 - 2005
Tissue Informatics Consultant for National Biospecimen Network, National Cancer Institute, Washington, D.C, 2002 - 2003
Member, Lung Adenocarcinoma Group, National Cancer Institute, Washington, D.C, 2002 - 2006
Member, Lung Progress Review Board, National Cancer Institute, Washington, D.C, 2001 - 2001
Consultant, National Institute of Health, Washington, D.C, 1999 - 1999
Honors & Awards
| 1999 | Arthur Purdy Stout Fellow, Arthur Purdy Stout Society |
| 1999 | Informatics Award (Fall), College of American Pathologists |
| 1999 | Informatics Award (Spring), College of American Pathologists |
| 1994 | Member, Alpha Omega Alpha |
| 1994 | Janet Glasgow Memorial Citation, American Medical Women's Association |
| 1994 | Magna Cum Laude, Medical College of Pennsylvania |
| 1994 | Rittenhouse Book Award, Rittenhouse Bookstore |
| 1991 | Career Development Scholarship, American Association of University Women |
| 1991 | Merit Scholarship, Medical College of Pennsylvania |
| 1988 | Innovative Research Award, Mobil Research & Development Corporation |
| 1976 | Marshall Scholarship to the United Kingdom, Marshall Commission |
| 1976 | Member, Mortar Board |
| 1976 | Member, Phi Beta Kappa |
| 1976 | Member, Phi Kappa Phi |
| 1976 | Summa Cum Laude, University of Texas at Austin |
| 1975 | Junior Fellow, University of Texas |
| 1972 | Dean's Honor List, University of Texas at Austin |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Han L, Yuan Y, Zheng S, Yang Y, Li J, Edgerton ME, Diao L, Xu Y, Verhaak RG, Liang H. The Pan-Cancer analysis of pseudogene expression reveals biologically and clinically relevant tumour subtypes. Nat Commun 5:3963, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24999802.
- Macklin P, Edgerton ME, Thompson AM, Cristini V. Patient-calibrated agent-based modelling of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS): from microscopic measurements to macroscopic predictions of clinical progression. J Theor Biol 301:122-40, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22342935.
- Thompson PA, Brewster AM, Do KA, Balandayuthapani V, Broom BM, Edgerton ME, Hahn KM, Murray JL, Sahin A, Tsavachidis S, Wang Y, Zhang L, Hortobagyi GN, Mills GB, Bondy ML. Selective Genomic Copy Number Imbalances and Probability of Recurrence in Early-Stage Breast Cancer. PLoS One 6(8):e23543, 2011. e-Pub 2011.
- Sanga S, Broom BM, Cristini V, Edgerton ME. Gene Expression Meta-Analysis Supports Existence of Molecular Apocrine Breast Cancer with a Role for Androgen Receptor and Implies Interactions with ErbB Family. BMC Med Genomics 2:59, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19747394.
- Edgerton ME, Morrison C, LiVolsi VA, Moskaluk CA, Qualman SJ, Washington MK, Grizzle WE. A Standards Based Ontological Approach to Information Handling for Use by Organizations Providing Human Tissue for Research. Cancer Inform 4:127-137, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 19259407.
- Edgerton ME, Byrne GD, Ho WS. Numerical calculation of the simultaneous absorption of two gases with reversible reactions. Computers and Chem Eng 10:551-556, 1986.
- DeGregoria AJ, Edgerton ME. Thermal modeling of Bridgman solidification using DISPL. Proceedings of the Fifth IMACS International Symposium on Computer Methods for Partial Differential Equations, 1984.
- Edgerton ME, Handler FA, Wu CW. Methods for the analysis of the kinetics of cooperative binding of ligands to a two-site lattice. Biopolymers 22:787-805, 1983.
- Edgerton ME, Brimblecombe PG. Thermodynamics of halobacterial environments. Can J Mic 27:899-909, 1981.
- Edgerton ME, Moore TA, Greenwood C.. Investigations into the properties of an acid-induced species of purple membrane from Halobacterium halobium. Biochem J 189:413-429, 1980.
- Edgerton ME, Greenwood C. Evidence for a model of regeneration of a protonated species, bR, from a phototransient, M, in the photochemical cycle of bacteriorhodopsin from Halobacterium halobium. Biochem Soc Trans 7:1075-1077, 1979.
- Moore TA, Edgerton ME, Parr G, Greenwood C, Perham RN. Studies of an acid-induced species of purple membrane from Halobacterium halobium. Biochem. J 171:469-476, 1978.
- Brewster AM, Thompson P, Sahin AA, Do K, Edgerton ME, Tsavachidis S, Zhou R, Liu Y, Zhang L, Mills G and Bondy M. Copy Number Imbalances Between Screen and Symptom-Detected Breast Cancers and Impact on Disease-Free Survival. Cancer Prevention Research. e-Pub 2011.
- Rog CJ, Chekuri SC, Edgerton ME. Challenges of the information age: the impact of false discoveries on pathway identification. BMC Research Notes 5:647. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23171633.
Other Articles
- Borghard WS, Edgerton ME, Tsao YP, Schoennagel HJ Activity and Diffusivity of Hydrocarbons in ZSM-5-Activity of External Sites for Octadecane Cracking at MLDW Conditions. Technical Report, Central Laboratory, Mobil Research Corporation DAN 87-115, 1987.
- Edgerton ME Analysis of Uptake on ZSM-5C Crystals: Inadequacies of Simple Models. Technical Report, Mobil Research Corporation DAN 87-021, 1987.
- Edgerton ME Kinetics of Diffusion Controlled Reactions-1. Sensitivity to Adsorption and Diffusivity. Technical Report, Mobil Research Corporation DAN 6-340, 1986.
- Edgerton ME An Advanced Technique for the Determination of Diffusion Coefficients. Technical Report, Mobil Research Corporation DAN 86-257, 1986.
- Edgerton ME Review of Adsorption Isotherm Models for Application at High Temperatures. Technical Report, Exxon Research and Engineering Company CISD-1-BL-85, 1985.
- Constantino SJ, Edgerton ME, Tandowski B CTSD Laboratory Automation Study: A Proposed Strategy and Recommendations. Technical Report, Exxon Research & Engineering Company CTSD.7DH.83, 1983.
Abstracts
- Kumar A, Chuang YL. Macklin P, Sanga S, Kim J, Tamaiuolo G, Cristini V, Edgerton ME. A model to predict the proliferation index of ductal carcinoma in situ. AACR Meeting Abstracts Online 2009:Abstract #, 2009.
- Edgerton ME, Fisher DH, Tang L, Frey LJ, Chen Z. Using rule induction to discover molecular targets in lung cancer microarray data. AACR Meeting Abstracts 2005:383 Abstract #1630, 2005.
Book Chapters
- Macklin P, Sanga S, Kim J, Tomaiuolo G, Edgerton ME, and Cristini V. Chapter 6 Discrete Modeling of Cancer. In: Multiscale Modeling of Cancer: An Integrated Experimental and Mathematical Modeling Approach. Cambridge University Press: New York, 88-22, 2010.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Pagetoid Spread in Ductal Carcinoma in situ |
| Funding Source: | American Cancer Society (ACS) |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Vanderbilt NIDDK Biotechnology Center |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDDK |
| Role: | Co-Director of Bioinformatics Core |
| Title: | SPORE in Lung Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Tissue Microarray Informatics Standards Workshop |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | SPORE in GI Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Director of Biomedical Informatics Core |
| Title: | SPORE in Breast Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Director of Biomedical Informatics Core |
| Title: | Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center Support Grant |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Director of Tissue Clinical Informatics Core |
| Title: | Tennessee Valley Cooperative Human Tissue Network |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI of Subcontract |
| Title: | Clinical & Microarray Data Predict Outcomes in Lung Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NLM |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute Support Grant |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Director Informatics Core |
| Title: | Tools for Electronic Collaboration |
| Funding Source: | Vanderbilt University Medical Center |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Virtual Cancer |
| Funding Source: | Cullen Health Trust Fund |
| Role: | Principal Investigator-MDACC |
| Title: | Epidemiology of Breast Cancer in Hispanic Women |
| Funding Source: | Avon Foundation |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Mining Transcripts Data for Molecular Targets in Brain Cancer |
| Funding Source: | MDACC CTT |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Ductal Carcinoma in silico |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator-MDACC |
| Title: | TissueStation Satellite Bank Migration |
| Funding Source: | MDACC IS Division |
| Role: | Project Sponsor |
| Title: | Single Cell Sequencing of Breast Tumors to Investigate Genome Evolution |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | TissueStation Outbound Phase II E&C with A&P for GAP Sister Institutions |
| Funding Source: | MDACC IS Division |
| Role: | Project Sponsor |
| Title: | Pathology Core, Cancer Center Support |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Creating a portal to an electronic catalogue of the sister institutions' biorepositories stockpile (eSIBs) |
| Funding Source: | UTMDACC Sister Institution Network Fund |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Investigating Mutational Evolution and Intratumor Heterogeneity in TNBC |
| Funding Source: | American Cancer Society (ACS) |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | A Quality Initiative for Improving Pathology Diagnosis and Genomic Characterization of Breast Cancer in Zambia |
| Funding Source: | Sister Institution Network Fund |
| Role: | Co-Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Molecular Characterization of Interval Breast Cancers |
| Funding Source: | Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Molecular and Immunohistochemical Characterization of Breast Cancer in Ethiopia |
| Funding Source: | Sister Institution Network Fund |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | School-based Human Papilloma Virus program in the Lower Rio Grande Valley |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | co-Program Director |
| Title: | Cytoplasmic Cyclin E is an Early Event for Progression to Invasive Breast Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Delineating the Evolution of Multi-Organ Metastasis in Breast Cancer with Single Cell Genomics |
| Funding Source: | Emerson Collective |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Investigating the Ecology and Evolution of PreMalignant Breast Cancer with Single Cell Spatial Genomics |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | TissueStation Expansion & Satellite Bank Migration Projects |
| Funding Source: | MDACC IS Division |
| Role: | Project Sponsor |