Patricia Cassano
Associate Professor
2009
HENutrSci

Web Bio Page

Current Activities

Current Professional Activities
Cornell University Graduate Field Membership: Nutrition; Epidemiology



Current Research Activities
The following studies investigate the role of nutrition in lung health: 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 (3000 men) and in relation to risk of COPD and/or asthma (~35,000 men); 2. a short-term, small-scale nutrition intervention trial to investigate the relation of antioxidant supplements (vitamins C and E and selenium) to plasma and lung fluid antioxidant status and oxidative stress, and to lung epithelial cell gene expression of genes involved in oxidant response and antioxidant function; 3. a collaboration with the Women's Health Study to explore the relation of supplemental vitamin E, in a randomized trial, to risk of COPD and asthma; 4. a cohort study of selenoprotein gene variants in relation to lung outcomes; 5. a prospective cohort study to investigate the relation of serum vitamin D to lung outcomes, including rate of decline in pulmonary function and risk of COPD; 6. a study of the relation of serum vitamin D to gene expression in lung epithelial cells; 7. a study of lung tissue homogenate from healthy and diseased individuals to assess differences in gene expression in relation to tissue levels of antioxidants; 8. participation in two consortium GWAS projects to investigate the relation of genomic variation to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and to pulmonary function phenotypes; 9. a  GWAS to investigate genomic variation in relation to lung function trajectory phenotype. The following studies investigate the role of genetic variation in folate metabolism in relation to cardiovascular health: 1. a prospective cohort study to investigate the role of genetic variation in the folate metabolic network (including coding, intronic, and regulatory region single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) in relation to homocysteine and genome-wide methylation markers; 2. a prospective study of sequence variation in the folate network genes in relation to cardiovascular disease risk.



Current Extension Activities


Biography

Biographical Statement

Dr. Cassano's research investigates the relation between nutritional status and chronic disease to elucidate disease causation, with the overall objective to improve the health of populations. Her research program has two areas of emphasis. Several ongoing projects investigate the role of nutrition in the etiology of respiratory diseases. Various studies have been conducted to understand whether higher intake of nutrients with antioxidant properties mitigate the detrimental effects of oxidant exposures such as cigarette smoke.  A randomized trial is underway to investigate whether changing the intake of selenium and vitamin E, alone or in combination, will change the risk of pulmonary outcomes, and a related project investigates whether effects are mediated by changes in gene expression in lung tissues. The role of vitamin D in lung health is a new area of study, and mechanistic as well as epidemiologic studies are in progress. Dr. Cassano's research group also studies the role of variation in the network of folate-related genes in cardiovascular disease. A current project investigates the relation of sequence variation in 52 folate-related genes to cardiovascular phenotypes and explores the role of nutrients, including folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.



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


    • Administrative Responsibilities
    Director of Graduate Studies, Minor Field of Epidemiology
    Chair, DNS Search Committee to hire Assistant Professor of Public Health Nutrition in a Global Context
    Member, DNS Curriculum Committee


    Keywords
    Epidemiology, Molecular Epidemiology, Disease Prevention, Respiratory Diseases, Cardiovascular Diseases, Antioxidants, Oxidative Stress,  Gene Expression, Human Genome

    Courses, Websites, Pubs

    Courses Taught
    NS 6520 Epidemiology Foundations, Spring 2009
    NS 6660 Special Topics in Nutrition: Nutritional Epidemiology Reading Group, Spring 2009


    Related Websites
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/collections/public/1fE8y_5MPzgBEwf1pm4Hty6/

    Selected Publications
    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.

    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 (2008).  The relation between dietary individual fatty acids, FEV1 and respiratory disease in Dutch adults. Thorax 63(3):208-14. [Epub 2007 Sep 27].

    Bentley A, Emrani P, and PA Cassano. Genetic Variation and Gene Expression in Antioxidant-Related Enzymes and Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review. (2008). Thorax;63(11):956-61. [Epub 2008 Jun 19].

    Baccarelli A, PA Cassano, A Litonjua, SK Park, H Suh, D Sparrow, P Vokonas, J Schwartz. Cardiac Autonomic Dysfunction: Effects from Particulate Air Pollution and Protection by Dietary Methyl Nutrients and Metabolic Polymorphisms. (2008) Circulation, 117(14):1802-9. [Epub 2008 Mar 31.]

    McKeever TM, SA Lewis, HA Smit, P Burney, PA Cassano, JR Britton (2008).  A multivariate analysis of serum nutrient levels and lung function. Respir Res. Sep 29;9(1):67.

    Cassano, PA. (2009). Nutritional Effects on Asthma Aetiology and Progression: Editorial. Thorax, 64(7):560.

    Carolan BJ, Harvey B-G, Hackett NR, O'Connor TP, Cassano PA, and Crystal RG (2009). Disparate oxidant gene expression of airway epithelium compared to alveolar macrophages in smokers. Respiratory Research, 10:111-28.

    Bentley A, Raiszadeh F, Hunter D, Stover P and PA Cassano (2010). Polymorphisms in cytoplasmic serine hydroxymethyltransferase (cSHMT) and the risk of breast cancer in the Nurses’ Health Study. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 64(1):108-10. [Aug 26 epub ahead of print].