| UW School of Public Health

Anne McTiernan

Research Professor, Epidemiology
Adjunct Research Professor, Medicine - Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine

1100 Fairview Ave N., M4-B874
Box 358080
PO Box 19024
Seattle, WA 98109-1024

Research Interests

Dr. McTiernan's research focuses on identifying ways to prevent new or recurrent cancer with a particular focus on weight control, physical activity, and chemoprevention.

Dr. McTiernan was Principal Investigator of an NCI-funded randomized controlled clinical trial that tested dietary weight loss, exercise, and both vs. controls on breast cancer biomarkers in 439 postmenopausal women. With additional NIH funding, ancillary studies tested the effects of these interventions on telomere length, oxidative stress, angiogenesis, ghrelin, adipose tissue biology, long-term weight maintenance, long-term weight loss effects on cancer biomarkers, and behaviors predicting weight loss. She was Principal Investigator of the Seattle site of the NCI-funded Health, Eating, Activity, and Lifestyle (HEAL) cohort, which is assessing associations of anthropometrics, body composition, hormones, diet, and physical activity with breast cancer prognosis. Dr. McTiernan was Principal Investigator of the Seattle site of the NCIC (Canada) ExCel trial, which tested the effect of exemestane, an aromatase inhibitor, on breast cancer prevention. She was also Principal Investigator of the Komen-funded ViDA randomized controlled trial that tested the effects of vitamin D vs. placebo on weight and breast cancer biomarkers in women undergoing a weight loss program.

Dr. McTiernan is honored to receive funding each year from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, to explore the effects of weight loss and vitamin D on various biomarkers of breast cancer. The 2017-18 grant is funding research on weight loss effect on microRNA related to obesity and breast cancer. She also has NIH funding to determine the effects of exercise on colon crypt cell DNA methylation. Currently, Dr. McTiernan also collaborates with several trials testing exercise effects in cancer survivors, including breast, prostate, and head and neck cancer survivors.

Previously, she has conducted a randomized trial of a one-year aerobic exercise intervention vs. control in 173 postmenopausal women to assess the effect of exercise on breast cancer biomarkers including sex hormones. Ancillary studies tested the effect of aerobic exercise on immune function and other biomarkers of breast cancer risk. She was Principal Investigator of the NCI-funded U54 grant (Seattle TREC Center) investigating mechanisms of energy balance and cancer prevention which included five projects and five supporting administrative cores. She led a randomized clinical trial testing aspirin effect on breast cancer biomarkers. She was Principal Investigator of a randomized trial to test the effect of a one-year aerobic exercise intervention vs. control on colorectal cell proliferation, apoptosis, and prostaglandin content, and on other biomarkers of colon cancer risk in 200 men and women. Dr. McTiernan was a co-Investigator in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), and directed clinical outcomes efforts at the WHI Clinical Coordinating Center.

Dr. McTiernan was a member of the 2008 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, and is a member of the 2018 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. She is a member of the advisory committee to the World Cancer Research Fund for their work on diet, obesity, physical activity, and cancer risk and survival. From 2010-2012 she was a Komen Scholar, and in 2012 she received a Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine for her research contributions on physical activity and health.