How where you've lived over your life might affect cancer risk
Incorporating residential histories into assessment of cancer risk
Researchers are using adults' lifetime address histories to learn how neighborhood factors across the years may influence breast cancer risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11162326 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You may be asked to share where you lived as an adult so researchers can map neighborhood exposures over time. They will compare self-reported addresses with commercial address databases and build computer algorithms to reconstruct when and where people lived. Then they will link those histories to area-level biological and physical exposures to explore connections with cancer outcomes, with special attention to populations in the Southeastern U.S. This work uses a large ongoing observational cohort and does not test new treatments.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adults (21+) in the large observational cohort who can provide their adult residential history, especially people who have lived in the Southeastern United States.
Not a fit: Children under 21, people without reliable address histories, or those not enrolled in the cohort are unlikely to participate or directly benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify neighborhood exposures that raise breast cancer risk and improve how future studies and prevention efforts target high-risk communities.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research linking current neighborhood factors to cancer risk exists, but integrating full life-course residential histories into large cohort cancer research is relatively new and not yet widely validated.
Where this research is happening
Nashville, United States
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Nashville, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Aldrich, Melinda — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Aldrich, Melinda
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.