Public Health Sciences Division
Seattle, WA, US
Trang VoPham, PhD MS MPH
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology &
Principal Investigator (PI) of the tvplab based at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (Fred Hutch)
Dr. Trang VoPham (she/her) is an epidemiologist conducting research on environmental risk factors for health using geospatial science methods. She received a PhD and MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh, an MS in Geographic Information Science (GIS) & Technology from the University of Southern California, and completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Cancer Epidemiology at Harvard. She is PI of several research grants, including a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) K01 study examining air pollution exposure in relation to liver disease and cancer risk and disparities using electronic health record (EHR) analytics. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Prevent Cancer Foundation. She has over 50 publications and has presented over 30 national and international invited talks including for the National Cancer Institute (NCI). She was honored with the 2021 Emerging Scholar in Health and Medical Geography Award from the American Association of Geographers. She is an expert in developing geospatial environmental exposure models for epidemiologic exposure assessments, including an environmental light exposure model.
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The American Association of Geographers (AAG) organized a panel entitled Careers in Geography: A Discussion with Business, Government, and Nonprofit Sector Geographers.
See the entire panel discussion here (use passcode: 9fKS5Q#H).
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selected updates & highlights
update on 14 Sep 2023
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Serving as a Co-Investigator to provide expertise in geospatial science, environmental epidemiology, and social determinants of health for a new $38.7 million grant awarded to Fred Hutch. Through this NIH U24 (HL169645) grant, Fred Hutch will serve as the Coordinating Center for sites across the US that will recruit at least 10,000 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander persons to better understand risk factors for cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.
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NIH/NHLBI U24 HL169645 led by MPIs Garnet Anderson (Fred Hutch), KC Gary Chan (University of Washington), James Floyd (University of Washington), and Robert Kaplan (Einstein)
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Fred Hutch news story here
Workshop date: 15 Apr 2023
Flyer: here
Info: bit.ly/aacrgeospatial
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American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting | Orlando, FL
Served as the invited chair and a speaker for a Methods Workshop entitled “Advancing Our Understanding of Cancer Burden Through Geospatial Data” as part of the 2023 Annual Meeting for AACR, the world's first and largest cancer research organization. This Workshop included speakers who are preeminent investigators conducting research in cancer epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, and geospatial science: Rena R. Jones (NCI) and Alexandra J. White (NIEHS).
update on 10 Feb 2023
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Published a commentary that narratively synthesized existing epidemiologic literature on the association between air pollution exposure and liver cancer incidence and described future research directions to advance this field
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Authors: Trang VoPham and Rena R. Jones (NCI)
update on 21 Sep 2022
Presented the Plenary/Keynote Lecture for the Cancer Prevention and Control Program Annual Symposium at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, DC. The Symposium was themed "Integrating Environmental Data into Cancer Population Sciences Research"
update on 6 Sep 2022
We developed a new spatiotemporal light exposure model that captures environmental circadian misalignment (solar jetlag) for epidemiologic studies: fredhutch.org/lightmodel
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View this ArcGIS StoryMap for more info on data availability, model development (incorporating Google Earth Engine), and research collaborations
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Model developed by: Mimi Ton (University of Washington), Matthew D. Weaver (Harvard), Trang VoPham
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Funding: University of Washington EDGE Center, NIH/NIDDK K01 DK12561, and Fred Hutch
update on 7 Jun 2022
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Published a paper in Environmental Research with findings from our epidemiologic study showing a positive association between higher concentrations of ambient PM2.5 air pollution exposure and increased odds of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among hospitalized patients in the US
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Authors: Trang VoPham, Nicole J. Kim (University of Washington), Kristin Berry (Veterans Affairs), Jason A. Mendoza (Fred Hutch), Joel D. Kaufman (University of Washington), George N. Ioannou (University of Washington & Veterans Affairs)
update on 25 May 2022
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Two of our lab's research projects were accepted as scientific abstracts to be presented at the 2022 International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) Conference
1. Abstract title: "Spatiotemporal exposure modeling of environmental circadian misalignment"
Authors: Mimi Ton (University of Washington), Matthew D. Weaver (Harvard), Trang VoPham
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Funding: University of Washington EDGE Center, NIH/NIDDK K01 DK12561, and Fred Hutch
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2. Abstract title: "Educational intervention to promote air pollution knowledge and personal exposure mitigation strategies using wearable sensors"
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Authors: Trang VoPham, Eric S. Kim (University of British Columbia), Francine Laden (Harvard), Jaime E. Hart (Harvard)
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Funding: Prevent Cancer Foundation
update on 10 Mar 2022
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Featured on the Freakonomics, M.D. podcast to discuss our lab's research on environmental circadian misalignment (ECM) light exposure
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Episode 28: Is Daylight Saving Time Hazardous to Your Health?
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Studies discussed during the interview include:
update on 9 Apr 2021
Honored with the 2021 Emerging Scholar in Health and Medical Geography Award from the American Association of Geographers (AAG)
update on 25 Sep 2020
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Interview on a funded research project on air pollution, health disparities, and liver disease and cancer
Research Grants
research projects led by Dr. VoPham as PI
Geospatial Exposure Models
available for use in epidemiologic research
Invited Talks
a list of selected invited presentations
