Thomas A. Sellers, Ph.D., M.P.H. (he/him)
- Professor of Division of Oncological Sciences, School of Medicine
- Director, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, School of Medicine
Biography
Dr. Sellers is a genetic epidemiologist with a primary interest in cancer of the ovaries, breast and lung and of mammographic density, an image-based biomarker of breast cancer risk. This work has involved studies of extended families, siblings, and with advances in technology, the role of common genetic variation among unrelated individuals. Early work provided some of the first evidence that body fat distribution, rather than just obesity, was a risk factor for cancer. He has been the Principal or Co-Principal investigator on more than $100M in peer-reviewed grants, which have contributed to over 400 publications that have been cited over 46,000 times.
Prior to joining OHSU and the Knight Cancer Institute, Sellers was a professor at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Associate Director, and then Deputy Director of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. He served as an Executive Vice President at the Moffitt Cancer Center, the Director of the Moffitt Research Institute, and Director of the NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Sellers was a member of NCI subcommittee A and has served on the External Advisory Boards of 25 Cancer Centers.
Sellers has provided extensive professional service, including the American Association for Cancer Research Board of Directors, the Association of American Cancer Institutes Board of Directors, the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas, and the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors.
Education and training
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Degrees
- Ph.D., 1988, Tulane University
- M.P.H., 1984, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
- B.S., 1982, University of California, Davis
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Fellowship
- Postdoctoral fellowship in Statistical Genetics, Louisiana State University, 1988
Memberships and associations:
- American Association for Cancer Research
Areas of interest
- genetic susceptibility to cancer
- imaging biomarkers
- cancer prevention
Honors and awards
- Fellow, 2019, National Academy of Inventors
- Human Cancer Genetics Program Commemorative Medal, 2013, The Ohio State University
Publications
Publications
Integrative multi-omics analyses to identify the genetic and functional mechanisms underlying ovarian cancer risk regions
American Journal of Human GeneticsCharacterizing prostate cancer risk through multi-ancestry genome-wide discovery of 187 novel risk variants
Nature geneticsEvidence of Novel Susceptibility Variants for Prostate Cancer and a Multiancestry Polygenic Risk Score Associated with Aggressive Disease in Men of African Ancestry
European UrologyPrevention of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in MedicineA Rare Germline HOXB13 Variant Contributes to Risk of Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry
European UrologyFunctional analysis of the 1p34.3 risk locus implicates GNL2 in high-grade serous ovarian cancer
American Journal of Human GeneticsCross-Cancer Genome-Wide Association Study of Endometrial Cancer and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Identifies Genetic Risk Regions Associated with Risk of Both Cancers
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and PreventionMorphologic and molecular correlates of EZH2 as a predictor of platinum resistance in high-grade ovarian serous carcinoma
BMC cancerTrans-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of prostate cancer identifies new susceptibility loci and informs genetic risk prediction
Nature geneticsA genetic risk score to personalize prostate cancer screening, applied to population data
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and PreventionA Germline Variant at 8q24 Contributes to Familial Clustering of Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry
European UrologyAssessment of polygenic architecture and risk prediction based on common variants across fourteen cancers
Nature communicationsEmpirically-derived synthetic populations to mitigate small sample sizes
Journal of Biomedical InformaticsIatrogenic Nerve Palsy Occurs With Anterior and Posterior Approaches for Humeral Shaft Fixation
Journal of orthopaedic traumaIdentification of novel epithelial ovarian cancer loci in women of African ancestry
International Journal of CancerThe effect of sample size on polygenic hazard models for prostate cancer
European Journal of Human GeneticsCalibrated Breast Density Measurements
Academic radiologyDo preoperative radiographs help predict intraoperative challenges in revision surgery after previous shoulder hemiarthroplasty?
Journal of Shoulder and Elbow SurgeryGeneralized breast density metrics
Physics in Medicine and BiologyGenome-wide analysis of common copy number variation and epithelial ovarian cancer risk
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and PreventionGenome-wide association studies identify susceptibility loci for epithelial ovarian cancer in east Asian women
Gynecologic oncologyNovel common genetic susceptibility loci for colorectal cancer
Journal of the National Cancer InstituteSpatial correlation and breast cancer risk
Biomedical Physics and Engineering ExpressSuper-Enhancer-Associated LncRNA UCA1 Interacts Directly with AMOT to Activate YAP Target Genes in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
iScienceTechnical challenges in generalizing calibration techniques for breast density measurements
Medical PhysicsWhen is enough, enough? When are more observational epidemiologic studies needed to resolve a research question
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention