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Doherty Lab Research

Research Overview

The Doherty Lab integrates molecular epidemiology and population science to advance cancer prevention and improve survival. Through transdisciplinary collaborations, the lab investigates molecular, behavioral, and geographic determinants of cancer risk and outcomes. Current research spans ovarian and lung cancer, emerging exposures such as tattooing, and geographic disparities in cancer risk and survival.

Ovarian Cancer: From Molecular Subtypes to Survivorship

Ovarian cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease. Different histologic types arise from distinct cells of origin and have unique etiologies, risk factors, and clinical outcomes. The Doherty Lab works to translate emerging insights about molecular subtypes of ovarian cancer into population-level research that can inform prevention, treatment, and survivorship.

Our team focuses on identifying differences in epidemiologic and genetic risk factors and survival across ovarian cancer subtypes, characterizing epidemiologic and molecular features of ovarian cancer across populations and investigating factors that contribute to survival differences using a cells-to-society framework, and characterizing ovarian cancer at the single-cell level to develop algorithms that can be applied in epidemiologic studies to better understand ovarian cancer phenotypes at the population level.

Ovarian Health and Lifestyle Study

When someone is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, one of the first questions they and their providers ask is what they can do to improve survival and quality of life. Yet there is little evidence to guide patients beyond general recommendations for healthy living.

To address this gap, Dr. Doherty and collaborators are leading the Ovarian Health and Lifestyle Study (OHLS), an ongoing multi-center study enrolling women newly diagnosed with ovarian cancer at Huntsman Cancer Institute and partner institutions including Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and Moffitt Cancer Center. By following patients over time and integrating lifestyle, quality-of-life, clinical, and biological data, the study aims to identify factors that can improve survival and well-being after diagnosis.

Ovarian Cancer Risk and Survival in Utah

The lab also collaborates with the Utah Population Database (UPDB), the Utah Cancer Registry, and Intermountain Healthcare to investigate multi-level factors influencing ovarian cancer risk and survival in Utah.

Using the large extended family pedigrees in UPDB, the team has shown elevated ovarian cancer risk among first-, second-, and third-degree relatives of affected individuals, particularly for high-grade serous, mucinous, and other epithelial ovarian cancers. Risk among first-degree relatives declined after 2005, consistent with the adoption of preventive removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes among women at high genetic risk. The persistence of elevated risk among second- and third-degree relatives highlights opportunities to expand prevention and risk assessment to extended family members.

Additional studies examine environmental and contextual exposures that may influence ovarian cancer risk and outcomes.

Emerging and Environmental Factors in Cancer Risk

Tattooing and Cancer Risk

For many individuals, tattoos are a meaningful form of self-expression that reflect identity, personal experiences, cultural traditions, and artistic expression. As tattooing has become increasingly common worldwide, it represents a widespread exposure whose potential long-term health effects remain poorly understood.

In collaboration with the Utah Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the Utah Cancer Registry, the lab is among the first to study whether tattooing is associated with risks of hematologic cancers, myeloid malignancies, and melanoma. These studies aim to generate new evidence that can inform public health guidance and clinical counseling.

Geographic Disparities in Cancer Risk

Along with collaborators from the US Department of Agriculture, the Doherty team led the development of the Integrated Metropolitan-to-Frontier Area Codes (IMFAC), a novel classification system that incorporates both urbanicity and remoteness to better characterize rural and frontier populations. IMFAC provides researchers with improved tools to study geographic disparities in cancer risk, access to care, and outcomes.

Molecular Markers Associated with Lung Cancer Risk and Survival

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death, responsible for more deaths than prostate, breast, and colorectal cancers combined. Although smoking cessation reduces risk, former smokers remain at elevated risk for many years, and current screening approaches can produce high rates of false positives.

The Doherty lab focuses on identifying biological markers that distinguish heavy smokers who will develop lung cancer from those who will not, with the goal of improving risk stratification for screening.

This work has identified several blood-based markers associated with lung cancer risk and survival. Studies of telomere length measured prior to diagnosis show that longer telomeres are associated with increased risk of lung adenocarcinoma, while shorter telomeres may be linked to poorer survival. The lab was also the first to report that a methylation-derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (mdNLR)—a marker of systemic inflammation measured prior to diagnosis—is associated with lung cancer risk.