Traci N. Bethea, PhD, MPA

Adjunct Assistant Professor , Boston University School of Public Health

Biography

Dr. Traci N. Bethea is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at BU School of Medicine and an Epidemiologist at the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University. She received her B.A. from Duke University, M.P.A. from Columbia University, and Ph.D. in environmental health from Boston University School of Public Health. Trained in both environmental science and environmental epidemiology, Dr. Bethea has extensive experience analyzing and interpreting data related to environmental exposures and human health. Her work has investigated health impacts related to the siting of correctional facilities, healthy housing in housing developments, particulate matter exposure in public transit systems, urban/rural status and self-rated health, and individual- and community-level factors in relation to head and neck cancer.

Her postdoctoral research has focused on cancer epidemiology and cancer health disparities affecting African Americans. In particular, Dr. Bethea has used pooled data from consortial projects to examine risk factors for breast cancer subtypes among African American women and to assess the relation of body mass index to risk of pancreatic cancer mortality among African Americans. Current work continues research on breast cancer subtypes in African American women and also examines risk factors for ovarian cancer and for sleep disturbances. New research directions involve the study of environmental and social factors as predictors of health disparities in cancer incidence and survivorship and aims to “bridge the gap” between the biologic, individual, and macroenvironmental levels.

Publications

  • Published 5/7/2026

    Wise LA, Schildroth S, Lovett SM, Geller RJ, Patchel SA, Gaston SA, Jackson CL, Bethea TN, Coleman CM, Wegienka G, Wesselink AK, Harmon QE, Baird DD, Noel NL. Use of chemical hair straighteners in relation to incidence and growth of uterine leiomyomata: a prospective ultrasound study. Am J Epidemiol. 2026 May 07; 195(5):1462-1467. PMID: 41469322.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/3/2026

    Van Dyk K, Zhai W, Ahles TA, Root JC, Ahn J, Artese AL, Bethea TN, Cohen HJ, Extermann M, Graham D, Isaacs C, Jim HSL, McDonald BC, Nakamura ZM, Patel SK, Rentscher KE, Saykin AJ, Small BJ, Tometich DB, Zhou X, Carroll JE, Mandelblatt JS. Interaction of endocrine therapy for breast cancer with APOE4 status on cognition over 5-year follow-up. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2026 Mar 03; 10(2). PMID: 41844559.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/1/2025

    Lima SM, Minlikeeva AN, Johnson CE, Guertin KA, Bandera EV, Zheng W, Bethea TN, Petrick JL, Joslin CE, Myers ER, Harris HR, Peres LC, Setiawan VW, Wu AH, Rosenberg L, Schildkraut JM, Ochs-Balcom HM. Regular Physical Inactivity and Ovarian Cancer Risk in the Ovarian Cancer in Women of African Ancestry Consortium. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Dec 01; 34(12):2302-2305. PMID: 40956289.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 10/16/2025

    Speiser E, Obeng-Nyarkoh PI, Zhai W, Llanos AAM, Hicks J, Dash C, Adams-Campbell LL, Starr GE, Bethea TN. Feasibility and Acceptability of Assessing Personal Care Product Use and Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Among Black and Hispanic Breast Cancer Survivors: A Pilot Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Oct 16; 22(10). PMID: 41154983.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/30/2025

    Daniel KE, Volpe VV, Bethea TN, Rosenberg L, Ritterband LM, Zhou ES. The role of racial discrimination in medical care: A secondary analysis of the effect of culturally tailored, internet-delivered CBT for insomnia in Black women. Br J Clin Psychol. 2025 May 30. PMID: 40448380.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 102 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Epidemiologist, Slone Epidemiology Center
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Websites

Education

  • Boston University School of Public Health, PhD
  • Columbia University, MPA

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