Christine Skibola, Ph.D.
Associate Adjunct Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
PHONE: (510) 643-5041
FAX: (510) 642-0427
LOCATION: 237-A Hildebrand Hall
E-MAIL: chrisfs@berkeley.edu
WEBSITE: Division of Environmental Health Sciences
Research Interests
- Genetic susceptibility to leukemia and lymphoma
- Biological effects of dietary phytochemicals on human health and disease with an emphasis on sex hormone metabolism
Description
The main focus of Dr. Skibola's research is to identify how genetic variation and environmental exposures contribute to the development of human B-cell lymphomas and leukemias, and to determine the mechanisms involved.
Specific lines of investigation in our group include:
- Conducting genome-wide association studies in human populations to identify common gene variants that influence risk of leukemia and lymphoma. Validated susceptibility loci are further investigated through high-throughput targeted sequencing and functional bioassays;
- Performing functional studies to determine how genetic variation in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region influences lymphomagenesis and its progression. These studies are a follow-up to findings from two GWAS performed by our group that identified major risk factors for follicular lymphoma in the MHC region (Skibola et al., Nature Genetics, 2009; Conde et al., Nature Genetics, in press); and
- Utilizing new and improved approaches to identify lymphomagens by assessing the relationship between chemical body burden with disease risk in human populations.
Selected Publications
Conde L, Halperin E, Akers NK, Brown KM, Smedby KE, Rothman N, Nieters A, Slager SL, Brooks-Wilson A, Agana L, Riby J, Liu J, Adami H, Darabi H, Hjalgrim H, Low H, Humphreys K, Melbye M, Chang ET, Glimelius B, Cozen W, Davis S, Hartge P, Morton L, Schenk M, Wang SS, Armstrong B, Kricker A, Milliken S, Purdue MP, Vajdic CM, Boyle P, Lan Q, Zahm SH, Zhang Y, Zheng T, Becker N, Benavente Y, Boffetta P, Brennan P, Butterbach K, Cocco P, L Foretova, Maynadié M, de Sanjosé S, Staines A, Spinelli JJ, Achenbach SJ, Call TG, Camp NJ, Caporaso NE, Cerhan JR, Cunningham JM, Goldin LR, Hanson CA, Kay NE,. Lanasa MC, Leis JF, Marti GE, Rabe KG, Rassenti LZ, Spector LG, Strom SS, Vachon CM, Weinberg JB, Holly EA, Chanock S, Smith MT, Bracci PM, Skibola CF (2010) Genome-wide association study of follicular lymphoma identifies a risk locus at 6p21.32. Nature Genetics. Jul 18. [Epub ahead of print].
Nieters A, Bracci PM, de Sanjosé S, Becker N, Maynadié M, Benavente Y, Foretova L, Cocco P, Staines A, Holly EA, Boffetta P, Brennan P, Skibola CF (2010) A functional TNFRSF5 polymorphism and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a pooled analysis. Int Jrnl Cancer. Apr 27. [Epub ahead of print].
Steinmaus C, Yuan Y, Kalman D, Rey OA, Skibola CF, Dauphine D, Basu A, Porter KE, Hubbard A, Bates M, Smith MT, Smith AH (2010) Individual Differences in Arsenic Metabolism and Lung Cancer in a Case-Control Study in Cordoba, Argentina. Tox and Applied Pharm. Jun 17. [Epub ahead of print].
Lightfoot TJ, Roman E, Smith MT, Skibola CF (2010) Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children—is there a role for MTHFR? Br J Haematol. Jun;149(5):797-8.
Skibola CF, Bracci PM, Halperin E, Conde L, Craig DW, Agana L, Iyadurai K, Becker N, Brookes-Wilson A, Curry JD, Spinelli JJ, Holly EA, Riby J, Nieters A, Smith MT, Brown KM (2009) Genetic variants at 6p21.33 are associated with susceptibility to follicular lymphoma. Nature Genetics. Aug;41(8):873-5.
Skibola CF, Bracci PM, Lan Q, Smith MT, Rothman N, Spinelli JJ, Willett E, De Sanjose S, Cocco P. Berndt S, Brennan P, Brooks-Wilson A, Wacholder S, Becker N, Hartge P, Zheng T, Roman E, Holly EA, Boffetta P, Armstrong B, Cozen W, Linet M, Bosch FX, Ennas MG, Holford TR, Gallagher RP, Rollinson S, Cerhan JR, Whitby D, Moore P, Leaderer B, Lai A, Spink C, Davis S, Bosch R, Scarpa A, Zhang Y, Severson RK, Yeager-Jeffery M, Chanock, Nieters A, Wang S (2010) Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA) polymorphisms and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the InterLymph Consortium. Amer Jrnl Epidem. Feb 1;171(3):267-76.
Skibola CF, Bracci PM, Halperin E, Nieters A, Hubbard A, Paynter RA, Skibola DR, Agana L, Becker N, Tressler P, Forrest MS, Sankararaman S, Conde L, Holly EA, Smith MT (2008) Polymorphisms in the estrogen receptor 1 and vitamin C and matrix metalloproteinase gene families are associated with susceptibility to lymphoma. Plos One. Jun 30;3(7):e2816.
Hegedus CM, Skibola CF, Warner M, Skibola DR, Alexander D, Lim S, Dangleben NL, Zhang L, Clark M, Pfeiffer RM, Steinmaus C, Smith AH, Smith MT, Moore LE (2008) Decreased urinary beta-defensin-1 expression as a biomarker of response to arsenic. Toxicol Sci. Nov;106(1):74-82.
Skibola CF, Curry JD, Nieters A (2007) Genetic insights in the pathogenesis of lymphoma. Haematologica. Jul;92(7):960-9.
Skibola CF (2007) Obesity, diet and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention. Mar;16(3):392-5.
Profile Updated: July 22, 2010