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Margaret Rita Karagas, PhD

Title(s)
Chair and Professor of Epidemiology
Professor of Community and Family Medicine
James W. Squires Professor

Additional Titles/Positions/Affiliations
Director, Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center and Center for Molecular Epidemiology

Department(s)
Epidemiology
Community and Family Medicine

Education
University of Washington, PhD 1990

Programs
Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Quantitative Biomedical Sciences

Websites
http://epidemiology.dartmouth.edu/faculty/karagasm.html
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~childrenshealth/
http://sites.dartmouth.edu/molecepi/
https://cancer.dartmouth.edu/scientists-researchers/cancer-population-sciences
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~toxmetal/index.html
http://iqbs.org

Contact Information

Department of Epidemiology
1 Medical Center Drive
7927 Rubin Building
Lebanon NH 03756

Office: 863 Rubin Bldg Lebanon, NH
Phone: 603-653-9010
Fax: 603-653-9093
Email: Margaret.Karagas@dartmouth.edu

Assistant: Lura Pascale
Asst. Phone: 603-646-5891
Asst. Email: Lura.Pascale@dartmouth.edu


Professional Interests

Professor Karagas' research encompasses several epidemiological studies focusing on the etiology and prevention of human cancers over the lifecourse, as well as adverse pregnancy and children's health outcomes. These include investigations to determine incidence rates of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancer for a geographically defined US population, and to assess the extent of any increase over the past 20 years. Another aspect of this research is a case-control study of these malignancies to identify risks associated with emerging exposures such as indoor tanning, ingestion of arsenic-containing drinking water and foods, immunosuppressive therapies and other factors. This research has been extended to bladder cancer. One of her current initiatives involves establishing a cohort of pregnant women in New Hampshire to assess the potential impact of arsenic and other exposures on risk of maternal and child health. Her ongoing work further includes studies of melanoma in women and collaborative investigations of exposure biomarkers, individual susceptibility, and biological response to environmental agents. Professor Karagas is one of the Principal Investigators of a NCI-funded cross-disciplinary postdoctoral training grant, serves as a mentor for early career investigators and participates in a variety of courses at the undergraduate and graduate level.


Selected Publications

 

The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)-wide Cohort.
Knapp EA, Kress AM, Parker CB, Page GP, McArthur K, Gachigi KK, Alshawabkeh AN, Aschner JL, Bastain TM, Breton CV, Bendixsen CG, Brennan PA, Bush NR, Buss C, Camargo CA Jr, Catellier D, Cordero JF, Croen L, Dabelea D, Deoni S, D'Sa V, Duarte CS, Dunlop AL, Elliott AJ, Farzan SF, Ferrara A, Ganiban JM, Gern JE, Giardino AP, Towe-Goodman NR, Gold DR, Habre R, Hamra GB, Hartert T, Herbstman JB, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hipwell AE, Karagas MR, Karr CJ, Keenan K, Kerver JM, Koinis-Mitchell D, Lau B, Lester BM, Leve LD, Leventhal B, LeWinn KZ, Lewis J, Litonjua AA, Lyall K, Madan JC, McEvoy CT, McGrath M, Meeker JD, Miller RL, Morello-Frosch R, Neiderhiser JM, O'Connor TG, Oken E, O'Shea M, Paneth N, Porucznik CA, Sathyanarayana S, Schantz SL, Spindel ER, Stanford JB, Stroustrup A, Teitelbaum SL, Trasande L, Volk H, Wadhwa PD, Weiss ST, Woodruff TJ, Wright RJ, Zhao Q, Jacobson LP, Environmental Influences On Child Health Outcomes OBOPCF
Am J Epidemiol. 2023 Mar 24; pii: kwad071. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwad071. Epub 2023 Mar 24.
PMID: 36963379

Birth Outcomes in Relation to Prenatal Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Stress in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.
Padula AM, Ning X, Bakre S, Barrett ES, Bastain T, Bennett DH, Bloom MS, Breton CV, Dunlop AL, Eick SM, Ferrara A, Fleisch A, Geiger S, Goin DE, Kannan K, Karagas MR, Korrick S, Meeker JD, Morello-Frosch R, O'Connor TG, Oken E, Robinson M, Romano ME, Schantz SL, Schmidt RJ, Starling AP, Zhu Y, Hamra GB, Woodruff TJ, program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes
Environ Health Perspect. 2023 Mar;131(3):37006. doi: 10.1289/EHP10723. Epub 2023 Mar 15.
PMID: 36920051

Impact of sedentary behavior and emotional support on prenatal psychological distress and birth outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hipwell AE, Tung I, Sherlock P, Tang X, McKee K, McGrath M, Alshawabkeh A, Bastain T, Breton CV, Cowell W, Dabelea D, Duarte CS, Dunlop AL, Ferrera A, Herbstman JB, Hockett CW, Karagas MR, Keenan K, Krafty RT, Monk C, Nozadi SS, O'Connor TG, Oken E, Osmundson SS, Schantz S, Wright R, Comstock SS, program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes
Psychol Med. 2023 Mar 8;:1-14. doi: 10.1017/S0033291723000314. Epub 2023 Mar 8.
PMID: 36883203

Dietary Exposure to Essential and Non-essential Elements During Infants' First Year of Life in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.
Signes-Pastor AJ, Sayarath V, Jackson B, Cottingham KL, Punshon T, Karagas MR
Expo Health. 2023;15(1):269-279. doi: 10.1007/s12403-022-00489-x. Epub 2022 Jun 16.
PMID: 36873246

Prenatal and perinatal factors associated with neonatal neurobehavioral profiles in the ECHO Program.
Camerota M, McGowan EC, Aschner J, Stroustrup A, Karagas MR, Conradt E, Crowell SE, Brennan PA, Carter BS, Check J, Dansereau LM, DellaGrotta SA, Everson TM, Helderman JB, Hofheimer JA, Kuiper JR, Loncar CM, Marsit CJ, Neal CR, O'Shea TM, Pastyrnak SL, Sheinkopf SJ, Smith LM, Zhang X, Lester BM
Pediatr Res. 2023 Feb 25; doi: 10.1038/s41390-023-02540-2. Epub 2023 Feb 25.
PMID: 36841884

Sex-based differences in placental DNA methylation profiles related to gestational age: an NIH ECHO meta-analysis.
Bulka CM, Everson TM, Burt AA, Marsit CJ, Karagas MR, Boyle KE, Niemiec S, Kechris K, Davidson EJ, Yang IV, Feinberg JI, Volk HE, Ladd-Acosta C, Breton CV, O'Shea TM, Fry RC, program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes
Epigenetics. 2023 Dec;18(1):2179726. doi: 10.1080/15592294.2023.2179726.
PMID: 36840948

Analysis of Pregnancy Complications and Epigenetic Gestational Age of Newborns.
Ladd-Acosta C, Vang E, Barrett ES, Bulka CM, Bush NR, Cardenas A, Dabelea D, Dunlop AL, Fry RC, Gao X, Goodrich JM, Herbstman J, Hivert MF, Kahn LG, Karagas MR, Kennedy EM, Knight AK, Mohazzab-Hosseinian S, Morin A, Niu Z, O'Shea TM, Palmore M, Ruden D, Schmidt RJ, Smith AK, Song A, Spindel ER, Trasande L, Volk H, Weisenberger DJ, Breton CV, Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Program
JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Feb 1;6(2):e230672. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.0672. Epub 2023 Feb 1.
PMID: 36826815

Trends in Screen Time Use Among Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic, July 2019 Through August 2021.
Hedderson MM, Bekelman TA, Li M, Knapp EA, Palmore M, Dong Y, Elliott AJ, Friedman C, Galarce M, Gilbert-Diamond D, Glueck D, Hockett CW, Lucchini M, McDonald J, Sauder K, Zhu Y, Karagas MR, Dabelea D, Ferrara A, Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Program
JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Feb 1;6(2):e2256157. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.56157. Epub 2023 Feb 1.
PMID: 36790805

Perinatal Outcomes during versus Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Role of Maternal Depression and Perceived Stress: A Report from the ECHO Program.
McKee KS, Tang X, Tung I, Wu G, Alshawabkeh AN, Arizaga JA, Bastain TM, Brennan PA, Breton CV, Camargo CA Jr, Cioffi CC, Cordero JF, Dabelea D, Deutsch AR, Duarte CS, Dunlop AL, Elliott AJ, Ferrara A, Karagas MR, Lester B, McEvoy CT, Meeker J, Neiderhiser JM, Herbstman J, Trasande L, O'Connor TG, Hipwell AE, Comstock SS, program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes
Am J Perinatol. 2023 Mar 23; doi: 10.1055/a-2033-5610. Epub 2023 Mar 23.
PMID: 36781160

Application of novel breast biospecimen cell type adjustment identifies shared DNA methylation alterations in breast tissue and milk with breast cancer risk factors.
Muse ME, Carroll CD, Salas LA, Karagas MR, Christensen BC
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 Feb 10; pii: EPI-22-0405. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-22-0405. Epub 2023 Feb 10.
PMID: 36780234

View more publications on PubMed