Professor, Epidemiology
Arnold Palmer Endowed Chair in Cancer Prevention, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
Associate Director, Cancer Control and Population Science, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
Co-Leader, Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Shadyside) Cancer Pavilion, 5150 Centre Avenue - Suite 4C, Room 470, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 R-znvy: lhnaw@hczp.rqh Primary Phone: 967-319-2334 Fax: 967-319-2383
Dr. Yuan’s research focuses on the etiologic and protective roles of environmental exposures and genetic factors, and their interaction in the development of cancers. He is Principal Investigator (PI) of both the Shanghai Cohort Study and the Singapore Chinese Health Study ─ two population-based prospective cohort studies of more than 80,000 middle-aged men and women with available biospecimens collected at baseline and under surveillance for more than 25 years. He is also the current PI of the Pittsburgh Lung Screening Study that has collected repeated annual blood samples and biannual low-dose CT scans on a cohort of 3600 smokers at high risk for lung cancer. The ultimate goal of Dr. Yuan’s research is to discover and validate biomarkers that can characterize individuals at high risk for cancer and early detection of cancer, and to identify natural agents for primary cancer prevention. Dr. Yuan is passionate about teaching and training on graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. He is the Director of the Translational Research Training in Cancer Etiology and Prevention Program, a multi-disciplinary cross-college training program at University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and the Department of Epidemiology, and is PI of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded T32 training grant.
1983 | Shanghai Medical University | MD, Medicine 1986 | Shanghai Medical University | MPH, Public Health/Epidemiology 1996 | University of Southern California | PhD, Epidemiology
Principal Investigator
06/14/2017-05/31/2022 NIH/NCI R01CA213123-01 Randomized Clinical Trial of Lung Cancer Chemoprevention with Sulforaphane in Former Smokers
08/05/2014-07/31/2024 NIH/NCI T32 CA186873 Research Training in Cancer Etiology and Prevention
Co-Principal Investigator/Sub-contract PI/Program Leader
09/10/1997-07/31/2024 NIH/NCI P30CA047904 (Ferris) Cancer Center Support Grant
09/21/2016– 08/30/2021 NIH/NCI P01CA138338 (Hecht) Mechanisms of Ethnic/Racial Differences in Lung Cancer Due to Cigarette Smoking (Subcontract PI)
09/06/2017– 07/31/2022 NIH/NCI U01CA213285 (Hanash) Development of Risk and Early Detection Biomarker for Small Cell Lung Cancer (Subcontract PI)
08/01/2017– 03/31/2023 NIH/NCI U19CA203654 (Amos/Brennan) Integrative analysis of lung cancer etiology and risk, Project 2: Biomarkers of lung cancer risk (Subcontract PI)
Co-Investigator
09/01/2016- 08/31/2021 NIH/NCI U01CA214165 (Herman) Ultrasensitive Detection of Tumor Specific DNA Methylation Changes for the Early Detection of Lung Cancer
07/01/2020-06/30/2025 NIH/NCI R01CA247220 (Lokshin) Development of Novel Ovarian Cancer Biomarkers for Early Detection Algorithms
12/01/2020-11/30/2025 NIH/NCI R01CA247220 (Lokshin) Urine and serum biomarkers for early diagnosis and risk assessment of pancreatic cancer
12/01/2020-12/31/2022 PA Department of Health Contract number 4400018535 (Talbott) Case-Control Study of Childhood Cancer in Southwestern Pennsylvania
09/01/2020-08/31/2023 VINGROUP Innovation Fund, Vietnam Res Grant (Luu) Prediction for the Progression of Fatty Liver Disease to Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Other Health Outcomes: A Novel Approach Using Artificial Intelligence Technique