Superfund Research Program

Jennifer Kay, Ph.D., was an MIT SRP Center trainee before becoming a research scientist at Silent Spring Institute. (Image courtesy of Silent Spring Institute)

Toxicologist Jennifer Kay, Ph.D., of the Silent Spring Institute is studying how chemicals known to both damage DNA and change how the hormones estrogen and progesterone send signals in the body may pose greater threat of causing breast cancer than chemicals that only do one or the other.

“The work I’m doing now is trying to get at the question of how DNA damage and increased hormonal signaling work together,” Kay said. “The goal is to identify chemicals that do those things so that we can reduce exposures that might increase breast cancer risk.”

Kay has used existing data on a variety of chemicals known to cause DNA damage and analyzed their effects on estrogen and progesterone signaling. The two hormones are crucial for regulating normal breast development, but can also influence breast cancer risk.

Kay believes screening chemicals that increase hormone production or activate hormone receptors will become helpful in determining which may increase breast cancer risk.

Learn more about Kay’s research on DNA damage, hormones, and cancer in this NIEHS Story of Success.