Department of OBGYN

Francesmary Modugno, MS, PhD, MPH

  • Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences

Dr Modugno co-leads the Pittsburgh site for the RPCI/UPCI Ovarian Cancer SPORE. In addition, she oversees the Developmental Research and Career Enhancement Programs
which provide seed funding for new project development.
http://upci.upmc.edu/spore/ovarian/

Dr Modugno is the Program Director for the Gynecologic Oncology Biospecimen and Data Bank. The repository collects, processes, banks and disburses tissue and biospecimens (blood, urine, ascites, etc) on women with suspected gynecologic malignancies as well as on healthy women.  Resources of the repository are available to researchers interested in gynecologic oncology or related research. The repository also serves as a core facility for the RPCI-UPCI Ovarian Cancer SPORE.

Dr Modugno is an active member of the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC). The consortium makes available to members and their colleagues the data an biospecimens from dozens of ovarian cancer studies throughout the world. http://apps.ccge.medschl.cam.ac.uk/consortia/ocac//index.html.

 

Education & Training

  • Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh/ National Cancer Institute, Molecular Epidemiology
  • MPH, University of Pittsburgh, Molecular Epidemiology, 1998
  • PhD, Carnegie Mellon University, Computer Science, 1995
  • MS, Carnegie Mellon University, Computer Science, 1989
  • AB, Cornell University, Computer Science and Math, 1987

Representative Publications

  • Lee AW, Tyrer JP, Doherty JA… Modugno F, et al. Evaluating the ovarian cancer gonadotropin hypothesis: a candidate gene study. Gynecol Oncol. 2015 Mar;136(3):542-8.
  • Pearce CL, Stram DO, Ness RB…Modugno F, et al. Population distribution of lifetime risk of ovarian cancer in the United States. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2015 Apr;24(4):671-6.
  • Collaborative Group On Epidemiological Studies Of Ovarian Cancer, Beral V, Gaitskell K, Hermon C, Modugno F, Moser K, Reeves G, Peto R. Menopausal hormone use and ovarian cancer risk: individual participant meta-analysis of 52 epidemiological studies. Lancet. 2015 May 9;385(9980):1835-42.
  • Lu Y, Cuellar G, Painter JN, Modugno F, et al. Shared genetics underlying epidemiological association between endometriosis and ovarian cancer. Hum Mol Genet. 2015;24(20):5955-64.
  • Liao S, Hartmaier RJ, McGuire KP, Puhalla SL, Luthra S, Chandran UR, Ma T, Bhargava R, Modugno F, Davidson NE, Benz S, Lee AV, Tseng GC, Oesterreich S. The molecular landscape of premenopausal breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res. 2015 Aug 7;17:104.
  • Lee AW, Templeman C, Stram DA, Beesley J, Tyrer J, Berchuck A, Pharoah PP, Chenevix-Trench G, Pearce CL; Modugno F, Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium. Evidence of a genetic link between endometriosis and ovarian cancer. Fertil Steril. 2015;105(1):35-43.
  • Modugno F, Edwards RP. Ovarian cancer: prevention, detection, and treatment of the disease and its recurrence. Molecular mechanisms and personalized medicine meeting report. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2012 Oct;22(8):S45-57.
  • Modugno F, Laskey R, Smith AL, Andersen CL, Haluska P, Oesterreich S. Hormone response in ovarian cancer: time to reconsider as a clinical target? Endocr Relat Cancer. 2012 Nov 9;19(6):R255-79.
  • Modugno F, Ness RB, Chen C, Weiss NS. Inflammation and endometrial cancer: a hypothesis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005 Dec;14(12):2840-7.
  • Modugno F, Knoll C, Kanbour-Shakir A, Romkes M. A potential role for the estrogen-metabolizing cytochrome P450 enzymes in human breast carcinogenesis. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2003 Dec;82(3):191-7.
  • Modugno F, Moslehi R, Ness RB, Nelson DB, Belle S, Kant JA, Wheeler JE, Wonderlick A, Fishman D, Karlan B, Risch H, Cramer DW, Dube MP, Narod SA. Reproductive factors and ovarian cancer risk in Jewish BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers (United States). Cancer Causes Control. 2003 Jun;14(5):439-46.
  • Modugno F, Ness RB, Allen GO, Schildkraut JM, Davis FG, Goodman MT. Oral contraceptive use, reproductive history, and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in women with and without endometriosis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2004 Sep;191(3):733-40.

For additional publications, please see PubMed Page.

Clinical Interests/Research Interests

Dr Modugno is a molecular epidemiologist focused on women’s cancers, especially ovarian, breast and endometrial cancers. Through a series of NIH and DOD grants, Dr Modugno’s research has examined the underlying epidemiology of ovarian and breast cancers with a focus on genetic and hormonal factors. As the Principal Investigator of the HOPE study, one of the largest studies of ovarian cancer risk and prognosis ever conducted in the US (2003-2008), Dr Modugno was one of the first members of the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC), a multinational consortium of ovarian cancer investigators that pools data and resources to investigate ovarian cancer risk and prognostic factors. After returning from family leave, Dr Modugno has resumed her research questions as an active member in OCAC. More recently, Dr Modugno’s research has focused on immunological factors in ovarian and breast cancer risk and survival.