Philip J. Lupo, PhD, MPH

Dr. Philip Lupo is a genetic epidemiologist with a focus on susceptibility to childhood cancer and congenital conditions. He is the Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Epidemiology Committee and has served in various capacities in the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN), including President and Chair of the Data Committee.

The ultimate goal of Dr. Lupo’s research is to discover factors that can be used in new prevention efforts and targeted interventions to limit the adverse consequences of pediatric diseases.

He has a particular interest in the use of novel epidemiologic study designs and methods in determining the etiologies of pediatric and perinatal conditions.

Dr. Lupo is also on the editorial board of several journals including Birth Defects Research, which is the official publication for the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention; Human Genetics and Genomics Advances (HGG Advances), which is affiliated with the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), Journal of National Cancer Institute Cancer Spectrum and Pediatric Blood Cancer.

Examples of his ongoing research include:

1. the COG-supported Genetics of Embryonal and Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma Study (GEARS), where children diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma and their families are actively being enrolled throughout North America to better understand genetic susceptibility to this frequently fatal malignancy;
    
2. the Reducing Ethnic Disparities in Acute Leukemia (REDIAL) Consortium, whose goal is to improve outcomes among Latino children diagnosed with acute leukemia;
    
3. the Genetic Overlap Between Anomalies and Cancer in Kids (GOBACK) Study, a multistate collaboration evaluating the risk of cancer in children with birth defects; and
    
4. the NIH-funded Genetic Epidemiology of Multiple Malformation Syndrome (GEMMS) Study, where Dr. Lupo and his colleagues are leveraging data from birth defects surveillance programs to identify novel multiple congenital anomaly syndromes.