Heather Nelson, PhD, MPH

Contact Dr. Nelson: hhnelson@umn.edu

Heather H. Nelson, MPH, PhD, is a Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health in the School of Public Health. She received her MPH in Environmental Health from the University of Minnesota in 1993 and her PhD in Biologic Sciences in Public Health from Harvard University in 1998, where she focused on the molecular epidemiology of somatic mutations in lung cancer. She then completed a post-doctoral fellowship and accepted a faulty position at the Harvard School of Public Health. During her time at Harvard she developed a program in molecular epidemiology focused on gene*environment interactions. Since 2007 she has been a member of the Masonic Cancer Center and a Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at UMN. Dr. Nelson’s primary research is focused on inter-individual variation in immune function, and how this variation impacts cancer risk and outcome. This work includes examination of genetic traits, epigenetics, viral exposures, and environmental exposures as determinants of immune function and the experience of cancer. She has sustained NIH funding to support this work, and is currently a co-PI for the 10,000 Families Study, investigating environmental exposures and cancer risk in MN. Dr. Nelson has served as a co-Leader for Screening, Prevention, Etiology and Cancer Survivorship since 2015.