Kimberly Anne Bertrand ScD
Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology
Associate Professor, Slone Epidemiology Center
72 E. Concord Street | (617) 206-6174kab15@bu.edu
Sections
Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology
Centers
BU-BMC Cancer Center
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.
Other Positions
Education
Epidemiology, ScD, Harvard School of Public Health
Epidemiology, MPH, Boston University School of Public Health
Biology, BS, Brown University
Publications
Salehi M, Wilkens L, Wan JY, Cortessis VK, Stram DO, Conti DV, Aparicio JA, Lam E, Bernstein MP, Desai P, Bertrand KA, Rosenberg AS, Lee L, Le Marchand L, Haiman CA, Emerson J, Cozen W. A nested case-control study of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance in the Multiethnic Cohort study. Blood Adv. 2026 Jul 14; 10(13):4551-4562. PMID: 41529215.
Published on 4/29/2026Ogunwole SM, Bertrand KA, Palmer JR, Bennett WL, Zeng Y, Jennings JM, Amoah AA, Boyer T, Cozier YC, Thorpe RJ. Experiences of Racism and Risk of Preeclampsia in the Black Women's Health Study. Hypertension. 2026 Apr 29. PMID: 42052660.
Published on 3/3/2026Ardisson Korat AV, Deubler EL, Bertrand KA, Teras LR, Lacey JV, Patel AV, Rosner BA, Shu YH, Zhong C, Wang SS, Birmann BM, Chao CR. Type 2 diabetes and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma: a pooled analysis. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2026 Mar 03; 10(2). PMID: 41702379.
Published on 1/27/2026Mitra PR, Bertrand KA, Pfeiffer RM, Palmer JR, Ramireddy S, Hyer M, Fan S, Strohsnitter WC, Aagaard KM, Huo D, Titus L, Troisi R, Gierach GL. Prenatal diethylstilbestrol exposure and risk of benign breast disease: The National Cancer Institute Diethylstilbestrol Follow-up Study. Int J Cancer. 2026 Jun 15; 158(12):3101-3111. PMID: 41590827.
Published on 1/17/2026Sherr HR, Soliman AS, Bertrand KA, Hirko KA. Persistent poverty and breast cancer incidence by tumor subtype: intersections of rural/urban residence and race within USA Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Registries, 2017 to 2021. Cancer Causes Control. 2026 Jan 17; 37(2):26. PMID: 41546752.
Published on 11/10/2025Troisi R, Hatch EE, Bertrand K, Strohsnitter WC, Huo D, Curry M, Hyer M, Palmer JA, Gierach G, Titus L. Sexual behavior and sexual identity in female offspring of women exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol (DES). J Dev Orig Health Dis. 2025 Nov 10; 16:e41. PMID: 41208278.
Published on 11/4/2025Wang SS, Bertrand KA, Deubler EL, Chao CR, Birmann BM, Teras LR, Rosner BA, McCullough M, Shu YH, Wang K, Zhong C, Cauble EL, Patel AV, Lacey JV, Cockburn M. Prospective pooled analyses of ambient ultraviolet radiation levels and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Nov 04; 194(11):3148-3157. PMID: 39745801.
Published on 10/14/2025Holder EX, Szalat R, Palmer JR, Bertrand KA. Neighborhood disadvantage and multiple myeloma incidence in the Black Women's Health Study. Int J Epidemiol. 2025 Oct 14; 54(6). PMID: 41206638.
Published on 8/19/2025Sherr HR, Soliman AS, Bertrand KA, Hirko KA. Persistent poverty and late-stage breast cancer diagnosis in the USA: impacts of rural residence, race, and time within Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registries, 2004 to 2021. Cancer Causes Control. 2025 Nov; 36(11):1589-1597. PMID: 40828194.
Published on 7/1/2025O'Brien KM, House MG, Goldberg M, Jones ME, Weinberg CR, de Gonzalez AB, Bertrand KA, Blot WJ, DeHart JC, Couch FJ, Garcia-Closas M, Giles GG, Kirsh VA, Kitahara CM, Koh WP, Park HL, Milne RL, Palmer JR, Patel AV, Rohan TE, Schoemaker MJ, Swerdlow AJ, Teras LR, Vachon C, Visvanathan K, Yuan JM, Zheng W, Nichols HB, Sandler DP. Hormone therapy use and young-onset breast cancer: a pooled analysis of prospective cohorts included in the Premenopausal Breast Cancer Collaborative Group. Lancet Oncol. 2025 Jul; 26(7):911-923. PMID: 40609572.
Media Mentions
Published on 6/17/2024
How Colorism Impacts Black Women’s Physical and Mental Health
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Moderate, Heavy Use of Chemical Hair Relaxer Linked to Uterine Cancer
Published on 11/1/2023
If You're Using Any of These Toxic Hair Products, Stop Now, FDA Warns`
Published on 11/1/2023
There’s a straight line between natural-hair discrimination and a higher risk of cancer
View full list of 42 media mentions.