Kimberly A. Bertrand, ScD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Bertrand’s research focuses primarily on the epidemiology of cancer, with an emphasis on understanding racial disparities in incidence and outcomes. She is currently Multiple Principal Investigator of the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS), a prospective cohort study of over 59,000 self-identified Black women begun in 1995. Dr. Bertrand is actively involved in several epidemiologic studies to evaluate risk factors for high mammographic density, a strong independent predictor of breast cancer, and the role mammographic density and other risk factors may play in breast tumor aggressiveness in this and other populations. In addition, she leads research to identify factors that explain racial disparities in multiple myeloma.

Publications

  • Published 4/15/2025

    Schoemaker MJ, Ellington T, Nichols HB, Wright LB, Jones ME, O'Brien KM, Weinberg CR, Adami HO, Baglietto L, Bertrand KA, Chen Y, Clague DeHart J, Eliassen AH, Giles GG, Houghton SC, Kirsh VA, Milne RL, Palmer JR, Park HL, Rohan TE, Severi G, Shu XO, Tamimi RM, Vatten LJ, Weiderpass E, Willett WC, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Zheng W, Sandler DP, Swerdlow AJ. Central and peripheral adiposity and premenopausal breast cancer risk: a pooled analysis of 440,179 women. Breast Cancer Res. 2025 Apr 15; 27(1):55. PMID: 40234955.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/27/2025

    Bigham Z, Holder EX, Rodday AM, Breeze JL, Nelson KP, Palmer JR, Freund KM, Bertrand KA. Reproductive determinants of mammographic density in black women. Cancer Causes Control. 2025 Mar 27. PMID: 40146429.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/28/2025

    Kim SH, Park GE, Bertrand KA, Sandler DP, Han K, Park YM. Mammographic density as a predictor of invasive breast cancer and ductal carcinoma in situ in over six million South Korean women. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2025 Jun; 211(2):341-350. PMID: 40019668.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/3/2025

    Bertrand KA, McCullough LE. Linking Neighborhood Socioenvironmental Factors to Breast Pathogenesis-Implications for Breast Cancer. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Feb 03; 8(2):e2461353. PMID: 39992658.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/23/2025

    Shan Y, Bertrand KA, Petrick JL, Sheehy S, Palmer JR. Planetary Health Diet Index in relation to mortality in a prospective cohort study of United States Black females. Am J Clin Nutr. 2025 Mar; 121(3):589-596. PMID: 39863116.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 162 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Associate Professor, Slone Epidemiology Center
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Center Faculty Member, Slone Epidemiology Center
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Member, BU-BMC Cancer Center
    Boston University
  • Epidemiologist, Slone Epidemiology Center
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Member, Genome Science Institute
    Boston University

Websites

Education

  • Harvard School of Public Health, ScD
  • Boston University School of Public Health, MPH
  • Brown University, BS

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