AI&DHI Researcher Spotlight - Brad Zebrack, PhD, MSW, MPH
This edition of our AI&DHI Researcher Spotlight focuses on Dr. Brad Zebrack, Professor at the School of Social Work and the Rogel Cancer Center. Dr. Zebrack’s research currently focuses on identifying and defining functional genomic pathways through which current and past psychosocial and social environmental risk and resilience factors influence gene expression in Adolescence/Young Adulthood, and thus contribute to a greater understanding of health disparities in post-treatment survivorship.
Survivors of cancer diagnosed in adolescence or young adulthood have an elevated risk of multiple health problems. They also experience specific and unique psychosocial stressors and life disruptions having ramifications for their health, mental health, and quality of life. These outcomes, and disparities therein, may be partially a function of social determinants of health, including socioeconomic gradients, exposures to early childhood traumas/adversity, and accumulated experiences of discrimination.
Dr. Zebrack’s current collaborative NCI-funded R01 study is entitled “Social genomic mechanisms of health disparities among Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer survivors” and it aims to:
Identify the genome-wide transcriptional impact of social-environmental risk factors and individual resilience factors and define the relationships of those genomic profiles to survivor mortality, morbidity, and quality of life
Identify the genome-wide molecular correlates of vulnerable populations, as structured by race/ethnicity, sexual/gender identity, and geography, and define the relationships of those genomic profiles to survivor mortality, morbidity, and quality of life. Study results may inform the conceptualization and development of new biological/molecular targets for future interventions for Adolescent and Young Adult cancer survivors.
Innovative, holistic cancer research
Cancer research studies typically examine the effects of cancer and its treatment on outcomes. They rarely account for social environmental factors or pre-cancer life experiences that are now known to affect neurobiological mechanisms and health outcomes. Dr. Zebrack’s work involves the evaluation of both psychosocial AND biological mechanisms simultaneously as they may be related to risks for morbidity and mortality in young adult cancer survivors.
Dr. Zebrack’s work also focuses on adolescents and young adults (aged 15-39 years at diagnosis), an under-studied population in the context of cancer and one that can be quite challenging to recruit to cancer research studies, including clinical trials. Given that emerging evidence suggests that the inclusion of people from a population of interest in the conceptualization, design, and conduct of research increases the likelihood of overcoming barriers to study participation and the advancement to equity, they’ve included young adult cancer survivors in all aspects of this study, including the development of recruitment strategies.
Dr. Zebrack hypothesizes that key psychological and social-environmental risk and resilience factors will be associated with greater expression of CTRA indicator genes, and that CTRA gene expression will in turn be associated with increased risk of morbidity (like cancer recurrence) mortality, and reduced quality of life. By evaluating psychosocial and individual risk and resilience factors and gene expression simultaneously, one can observe the relative effects of these factors on outcomes.
Rogel Cancer Center Eric Feron has mentioned a vision for advancing "transdisciplinary research"; Dr. Zebrack is interested in advancing transdisciplinary approaches in oncology, as he is doing in their social genomics study. He’s broadly interested in further understanding the effects of social determinants on health outcomes in the context of cancer care, and how we may improve the redress of patient and family social needs.
When he’s not in research-mode, Dr. Zebrack loves to cook and share food with family and friends. He also enjoys reading, writing, sports, and family time, including board games!