Left to right: Mikhalya Brown; Ashaki Smith; Heather Reis, MBA; Amy Balbierz, MPH; and Naissa Piverger, MPH; taken at the The Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Research Institute’s Summer Networking Event in August 2019.
Since I was five years old, I have been interested in women’s health. This passion comes in part from my background, being raised by a single mother and witnessing the births of all three of my siblings. I was in awe of the trust that my mother, and many other women, had in their gynecologists and obstetricians, as well as the support and attentiveness that OB/GYNs give every woman. I knew from then on that I wanted to become a provider like the ones my mother had.
Both in high school and on campus at Columbia University, finding research and internships in the field of women’s health proved a challenge in itself. Due to experience requirements and age restrictions, I could not take advantage of many opportunities. However, the Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Research Institute (BFWHRI) Summer Undergraduate fellowship afforded me the opportunity to work with skilled researchers in my desired field and get my own feet wet in a vast pool of information.
One focus of BFWHRI, and that of my summer fellowship, is research highlighting health disparities that gravely affect minority women. My initial research therefore focused on endometrial cancer. The most common gynecological cancer and fourth most common cancer in women, endometrial cancer is increasing in incidence among all women. Among black women, however, the incidence is higher for more aggressive subtypes of the condition compared to both Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women. Research is needed to identify and better understand risk factors that may increase the development of aggressive histologic subtypes in black women. In the summer of 2019, while under the supervision of cancer epidemiologist and BFWHRI faculty member Tracy Layne, PhD, MPH, I learned about the role of obesity as a risk factor for endometrial cancer in this context.
Obesity rates are increasing globally, but past research indicates that black women have the highest prevalence of class 3 obesity (defined as morbidly obese – body mass index ≥ 40 kg/m2). Socioeconomic factors, such as education level and income level, do not account for the higher obesity prevalence among black women. The physiological impact of obesity promotes an estrogenic environment that can create the perfect conditions for a tumor to grow in these estrogen-sensitive organs. However, the obesity-estrogen-endometrial cancer association is strongest for non-aggressive endometrial cancer for which black women have a lower risk compared to non-Hispanic white women. In addition, despite obesity rates similar to black women, Hispanic women do not face the same burden of aggressive endometrial cancer. Taken together, this suggests that other factor(s) beyond obesity may be relevant to risk of aggressive disease subtypes in black women.
During my fellowship, I also worked with Dr. Layne on her research exploring the relationship between vitamin D and endometrial cancer given its potential anticancer activity and the higher risk of suboptimal vitamin D status in black populations.
Along with this research, I learned that I love being in a predominantly female and racially and ethnically diverse work environment. I am thankful for the opportunity that BFWHRI has provided me this summer and for reinforcing my passion for women’s health. I look forward to the impactful research that all members of this team are doing and my continued work with the Institute.
Mikhalya Brown is a junior studying Applied Mathematics at Columbia University. She had the opportunity to work under the mentorship of cancer epidemiologist, Tracy Layne, MD. Their work focused on identifying risk factors contributing to racial/ethnic disparities across the cancer continuum.