Dr. Yager is an expert on the mechanisms of estrogen carcinogenesis. Dr. Yager’s ongoing research is focused on investigating mechanisms by which endogenous estrogens and their metabolites and environmental chemicals with estrogenic activity (xenoestrogens) contribute to the development of “spontaneous” breast cancer with the goal of developing strategies for assessing genetic and environmental risk factors and for prevention. His research on estrogen carcinogenesis has been continuously funded through grants from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1978. He is the author or co-author of over 200 publications, book chapters and abstracts and has trained a numerous doctoral and postdoctoral students. Dr. Yager has served on a variety of research-related advisory boards and review panels, including various NIH grant, program project, center and doctoral training program review panels. He served on the National Academies of Science/National Research Council Committee on Toxicity Testing and Assessment of Environmental Agents which published two reports, the second of which presented a new, innovative paradigm for the toxicity testing process in the context of risk assessment. Dr. Yager is also on the editorial boards of several scientific journals.

In his role as the senior associate dean for academic affairs, Dr. Yager is responsible for overseeing, facilitating, and coordinating existing, and development of new academic, training, and continuing education programs in the School of Public Health. Working with members of the School’s faculty, Dr. Yager was instrumental in facilitating the development of and funding for the School’s Open CourseWare program, which has resulted in the free availability of the content of over 70 of the School’s courses to individuals throughout the world who desire access to this knowledge for self-improvement, use in teaching, or use in their professions. The School’s OCW web site now is visited by individuals from over 120 countries. In collaboration with School faculty and the Pan American Health Association, Dr. Yager was instrumental in facilitating the development of a novel internet-based certificate program in Spanish titled “Certificate Program in Epidemiology for Public Health Managers”. Five cohorts of 30 students from various countries in Central and South America have completed this one-year highly successful customized certificate program. It serves as a model for training and capacity building of public health professionals in developing and developed countries. Since 2003 Dr. Yager has also been an Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) representative on the Council of Education in Public Health (CEPH), the body that accredits schools and programs of public health in the United States and internationally. He was elected president of CEPH for 2009.

Estrogens, estrogen metabolism, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), catechols, estrogen receptor, mitochondria, carcinogenesis, liver cancer, breast cancer, genetic polymorphisms, Training Program in Environmental Health Sciences, Toxicological Sciences, Environmental Health Sciences

Edyth H. Schoenrich Professor in Preventive Medicine, 2006-

Zang, Y., Odwin-DaCosta, S., and Yager, J.D. Effects of Cd on cell proliferation and estrogen receptor signaling in the absence and presence of estradiol in T47D cells. Toxicology Letters, 184: 134-138,, 2009.

Bransfield, L. Rennie, A., Visvanathan, K., Odwin, S., Kensler, T., Yager, J. D., Friesen, M., and Groopman, J. Formation of Two Novel Estrogen Guanine Adducts and HPLC/MS Detection of 4-Hydroxyestradiol-N7-Guanine in Human Urine. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 21: 1622-1630, 2008.

Doyle, A.E. and Yager, J.D. Catechol-O-methyltransferase: Effects of the Val108Met polymorphism on protein turnover in human cells. Biochem. Biophys. Acta. 1780, 27-33, 2008.

Yager, James D. and Chen, J.Q. Mitochondrial estrogen receptors – New insights into specific functions. TRENDS in Endocrinol. Metabol.18:89-91, 2007.

Rohrmann, S., Nelson, W.G., Rifai, N., Brown, T.R., Dobs, D., Kanarek, N., Yager, J.D., Platz, E.A. Serum Estrogen, but not Testosterone Levels Differ between Black and White men in a Nationally Representative Sample of Americans. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 92, 2519-2525, 2007.

Watson, W.H and Yager, J.D. Arsenic: Extension of its endocrine disruption potential to interference with estrogen receptor-mediated signaling. Tox. Sci. 98, 1-4, 2007.

Yager, J.D. and Davidson, N.E. Mechanisms of estrogen carcinogenesis in human breast cancer. New England J. Med., 354, 270-282, 2006.

Chen, J.Q., Yager, J.D., and Russo, J. Regulation of mitochondrial respiratory chain structure and function by estrogens/estrogen receptors and potential physiological/pathophysiological implications. Biochim. Biophys. Acta – Molec. Cellular Res. 1746, 1-17, 2005.

Chen, J.Q. and Yager, J.D. Estrogen's Effects on Mitochondrial Gene Expression: Mechanisms and Potential Contributions to Estrogen Carcinogenesis. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1028, 258-272, 2004.

Chen, J., Mathews, E., Alworth, W.L., and Yager, J.D. Binding of MCF-7 cell mitochondrial proteins and recombinant human estrogen receptors ? and ? to human mitochondrial DNA estrogen response elements. J. Cellular Biochem., 93, 358-373, 2004.

Sullivan, A.E., Goodman, J.E., Silber, P., and Yager, J.D. Correlation between Catechol-O-methyltransferase genotype and phenotype in human hepatocytes. Cancer Letters, 214, 189- 195, 2004.

Chen, J., Delannoy, M., Cook, C., and Yager, J.D. Mitochondrial localization of ER-alpha and ER-beta in human MCF-7 cells. Amer. J. Physiol: Endocrinology and Metabolism, 286, E1011-E1022, 2004.

Li, Y., Yao, J., Chang, M., Nikolic, D., Yu, L., Yager, J.D., Mesecar, A.D., vanBreeman, R.B., and Bolton, J.L. Equine catechol estrogen 4-hydroxyequilinen is a more potent inhibitor of the variant form of catechol-o-methyltransferase. Chem. Res. Toxicol., 17, 512-520, 2004.

Chen, J., Delannoy, M., Odwin, S., He, P., Trush, M.A., and Yager, J.D. Enhanced mitochondrial gene transcripts, ATP, Bcl-2 protein levels, and altered glutathione distribution in ethinyl estradiol-treated cultured female rat hepatocytes. Toxicological Sciences, 75, 271-278, 2003.

Yao, J., Li, Y., Chang, M., Wu, H., Goodman, J.E., Liu, X., Liu, H., Mesecar, A.D., van Breemem, R.B., Yager, J.D., and Bolton, J.L. Equine catechol estrogen 4-hydroxyequilenin is a substrate and an inhibitor of catechol-O-methyltransferase. Chem. Res. Toxicol., 16, 668-675, 2003.

Goodman, J.E., Jensen, L.T., He, P., and Yager, James D. Characterization of human soluble high and low activity catechol-O-methyltransferase catalyzed catechol estrogen methylation. Pharmacogenetics, 12, 517-528, 2002.

Li, Y., Seacat, A., Kuppusamy, P., Zweier, J.L., Yager, J.D., and Trush, M.A. Copper redox-dependent activation of 2-tert-butyl(1,4)hydroquinone: Formation of reactive oxygen species and induction of oxidative DNA damage in isolated DNA and cultured rat hepatocytes. Mutation Res. 518, 123-133, 2002.

Lavigne, J.A., Goodman, J.E., Fonong, T., Odwin, S., He, P., Roberts, D.W., and Yager, J.D. The effects of catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibition on estrogen metabolism and oxidative DNA damage levels in estradiol-treated MCF-7 cells. Cancer Res., 61, 7488-7494, 2001.

Goodman, J.E., Lavigne, J.A., Wu, K., Helzlsouer, K.J., Strickland, P.T., Selhub, J., and Yager, J.D. COMT Genotype, Micronutrients in the Folate Metabolic Pathway, and Breast Cancer Risk. Carcinogenesis, 22, 1661-1665, 2001.

Goodman, J.E., Lavigne, J.A., Hengstler, J.G., Tanner, B., Helzlsouer, K.J., and Yager, J.D. Catechol-O-Methyltransferase polymorphism is not associated with ovarian cancer. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 9, 1373-1376, 2000.

Chen, J., Gokhale, M., Schofield, B., Odwin, S., and Yager, J.D. Inhibition of TGF-beta-induced apoptosis by ethinyl estradiol in clutured, precision cut rat liver slices and hepatocytes. Carcinogenesis, 21, 1205-1211, 2000.

Yager, James D. Chapter 3: Endogenous estrogens as carcinogens through metabolic activation. JNCI Monographs, No.27, 67-73, 2000.

Lavigne, J.A., Helzlsouer,K.J., Huang, H.-Y., Strickland, P.T., Bell, D.A., Selmin, O., Watson, M.A., Hoffman, S., Comstock, G.W. and Yager, J.D. An association between the allele coding for a low activity variant of catechol-O-methyltransferase and the risk for breast cancer. Cancer Res., 57: 5493-5497, 1997.

Yager, J.D. and Liehr, J.G. Molecular Mechanisms of Estrogen Carcinogenesis. Annual Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 36: 203-232, 1996.