Paul Brennan
Branch Head
Genetics Section
Genomic Epidemiology
Speciality: Genetic epidemiology of lung and head and neck cancers, kidney cancer and lymphomas
| Year | Degree | Major | Institution | Country/Town |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | PhD | Genetic epidemiology | University of Manchester | UK / Manchester |
| 1994 | Diploma | Epidemiology | Royal College of Physicians | UK / |
| 1989 | MSc | Medical statistics | University of Leicester | UK / Leicester |
| 1988 | BSc (Hon) | Mathematics | University of Leicester | UK / Leicester |
Current Research Projects
My research interests combine genomics and large scale population based epidemiology to better understand causes of cancer, as well as the mechanisms underlying these causes. I have a particular focus on trying to understand causes behind the increasing incidence of colorectal cancer in young adults, as well as esophageal cancer (with a focus on high risk regions such as North East Iran and central China), and also renal in central Europe. I lead or co-lead a number of large initiatives with funding from Cancer Research UK, the US National Cancer Institute, and the European Commission.
Selected Publications
Torrens L, Moody S, de Carvalho AC, Kazachkova M, Abedi-Ardekani B, Cheema S, et al. (2025). The complexity of tobacco smoke-induced mutagenesis in head and neck cancer. Nat Genet. (forthcoming)
Purdue MP, Dutta D, Machiela MJ, Gorman BR, Winter T, Okuhara D, et al.; BioBank Japan Project; FinnGen (2024). Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of kidney cancer identifies 63 susceptibility regions. Nat Genet. 56(5):809–18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-024-01725-7 PMID:386713202
Senkin S, Moody S, Díaz-Gay M, Abedi-Ardekani B, Cattiaux T, Ferreiro-Iglesias A, et al. (2024). Geographic variation of mutagenic exposures in kidney cancer genomes. Nature. 629(8013):910–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07368-2 PMID:38693263
Brennan P, Davey-Smith G (2022). Identifying novel causes of cancers to enhance cancer prevention: new strategies are needed. J Natl Cancer Inst. 114(3):353–60. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djab204 PMID:34743211
Moody S, Senkin S, Islam SMA, Wang J, Nasrollahzadeh D, Cortez Cardoso Penha R, et al. (2021). Mutational signatures in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma from eight countries with varying incidence. Nat Genet. 53(11):1553–63. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-021-00928-6 PMID:34663923
Scientific Societies Membership
American Association for Cancer Research
International Epidemiological Association
Prizes, Honours
2016 Burkitt Medal, Trinity College Dublin