Patricia Cassano
Prof Assoc
2007
HENutrSci

Web Bio Page

Current Activities

Current Professional Activities
Cornell University Graduate Field Membership: Nutrition; Epidemiology
Director of Graduate Studies, Epidemiology ('07 - '10)


Current Research Activities

Our current research program includes studies to investigate the role of nutrition in lung health, as follows: 1. a large, randomized trial of nutrition interventions (supplemental vitamin E [400 mg daily] and/or selenium [200 ug daily]) in relation to pulmonary function decline; 2. a short-term small-scale nutrition intervention trial to investigate intermediate lung endpoints including gene expression; 3. a cohort study of selenoprotein gene variants in relation to lung outcomes. Current research addressing the relation of folate nutrition to chronic disease risk includes several candidate gene studies (publications in progress), and a new study to investigate the effect of genetic variation in the folate metabolic network (including coding, intronic, and regulatory region single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) in relation to both homocysteine and CVD risk.



Current Extension Activities


Biography

Biographical Statement

Dr. Cassano's research investigates the relation between nutritional status and chronic disease to provide information about disease causation that will ultimately contribute to improving the health of populations. Her research program has two areas of emphasis. Ongoing projects investigate the role of nutrients with antioxidant properties in the etiology of respiratory diseases. Various studies have been conducted to understand whether higher levels of antioxidants mitigate the detrimental effects of oxidant exposures such as cigarette smoke. Past work by Dr. Cassano and her group found a positive association of dietary antioxidants including vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium with pulmonary outcomes in cross-sectional studies. Current work is aimed at understanding whether changing the intake of nutrients with antioxidant function will change the risk of pulmonary disease, and whether the effects of nutrition are mediated by changes in gene expression. Another area of emphasis, building on advances in biology such as the human genome project and the construction of libraries of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), is to investigate the network of folate-related genes in order to develop a more complete understanding of the effect of genetic variation within the folate network on disease risk. An ongoing study explores genetic variation contributing to the intracellular regulation of folate in relation to both cardiovascular disease and cancer. Nutrients, including folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, are expected to play an important role.



Education
  • Ph.D. 1987 - University of Washington, Epidemiology
  • M.P.H. 1980 - Columbia University, Epidemiology


    • Administrative Responsibilities


    Courses, Websites, Pubs

    Courses Taught
    NS 452 Molecular Epidemiology and Dietary Markers of Chronic Disease (not offered current AY)
    NS 652 Epidemiology Foundations

    Related Websites
    Related publications via PubMed

    Publications
    Cirillo D, Agrawal Y and PA Cassano (2002). Lipids and pulmonary function in NHANES III. American J Epidemiology, 155: 842-8.

    Lim U and PA Cassano (2002). Folate, homocysteine and blood pressure in NHANES III. American J Epidemiology, 156:1105-1113.

    Rubin, R N, Navon L and PA Cassano (2004). Relationship of Serum Antioxidants to Asthma Prevalence in Youth. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 169: 393-398.

    McKeever TM, SA Lewis, HA Smit, P Burney, JR Britton, PA Cassano (2004). Serum nutrient markers and skin prick testing using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 114(6): 1398-402.

    Zhang D, Wells, MT, Turnbull BW, Sparrow D and PA Cassano (2005). Hierarchical Graphical Models: An Application to Pulmonary Function and Cholesterol Levels in the Normative Aging Study. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 2005, 100(471):719-27.

    McKeever TM, SA Lewis, HA Smit, P Burney, JR Britton, PA Cassano (2005). The association of acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen with respiratory disease and lung function. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2005, 171(9): 966-71 .

    Lim U, Peng K, Shane B, Stover PJ, Litonjua AA, Weiss ST, Gaziano JM, Strawderman RL F Raiszadeh, J Selhub, K Tucker and PA Cassano (2005). Polymorphisms in cytoplasmic serinehydroxymethyltransferase and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase affect the risk of cardiovascular disease in Men. Journal of Nutrition, 135:1989-94.

    Ochs-Balcom HM, BJB Grant, P Muti, CT Sempos, JL Freudenheim, RW Browne, M Trevisan, L Iacoviello, PA Cassano, and HJ Schünemann (2005). Oxidative Stress and Pulmonary Function in the General Population. American Journal of Epidemiology, Dec 15;162(12):1137-45.

    HM Ochs-Balcom, BJB Grant, P Muti, CT Sempos, JL Freudenheim, RW Browne, M Trevisan, PA Cassano, L Iacoviello, HJ Schnemann (2006). Pulmonary function and abdominal adiposity in the general population. Chest. Apr;129(4):853-62

    Ochs-Balcom HM, BJB Grant, P Muti, CT Sempos, JL Freudenheim, RW Browne, McCann SE, M Trevisan, PA Cassano, L Iacoviello, and HJ Schünemann (2006). Antioxidants, oxidative stress, and pulmonary function in individuals diagnosed with asthma or COPD. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 60 (8):991-999.

    Duval, S; G Vazquez; WL Baker and DR Jacobs Jr. for the CODA Study Group [PA Cassano is a participating study PI for the Normative Aging Study] (2007). The Collaborative Study of Obesity and Diabetes in Adults (CODA) project: Meta-analysis design and description of participating studies. Obesity Reviews, 8: 263-276.

     McKeever TM, SA Lewis, PA Cassano, M Ocké, P Burney, J Britton, HA Smit (2007).  The relation between dietary individual fatty acids, FEV1 and respiratory disease in Dutch adults. Accepted for publication, Thorax.

     
    Bentley A, Emrani P, and PA Cassano (2007). Genetic Variation and Gene Expression in Antioxidant-Related Enzymes and Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review. Accepted for publication, Thorax.

     
    Cardiac Autonomic Dysfunction: Effects from Particulate Air Pollution and Protection by Dietary Methyl Nutrients and Metabolic Polymorphisms. (2007) A Baccarelli, PA Cassano, A Litonjua, S Kyun Park, H Suh, D Sparrow, P Vokonas