Yin Cao, ScD, MPH
Professor of Surgery
Professor of Medicine
Division of Public Health Sciences
- Phone: 314-747-3925
Specialties
- Molecular and clinical epidemiology
- Life course cancer etiology
- Biomarkers for risk stratification and early detection
- Population-scale, multimodal data integration
- Precision cancer prevention and control
Contact: 314-747-3925
Meet Dr. Cao
Dr. Yin Cao is a clinical and molecular epidemiologist, leading an interdisciplinary team in advancing a deeper understanding of early-onset cancers—how they develop, how they can be prevented, and how they impact younger lives.
Dr. Cao earned her Doctor of Science degree and completed a research fellowship from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
By pushing the boundaries of our individual fields, we hope to move quickly to identify opportunities for preventive interventions that can benefit younger populations. It’s a joint adventure shared by scientists, providers, patients and the public under a unified goal: shaping a hopeful and healthier future for our younger generations.
Dr. Cao
Degrees
Doctor of Science in Epidemiology
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
2013
Master of Public Health
Columbia University, New York, NY
2009
Fellowship
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
2015
Research interests
Early-onset cancers
Life course risk factors
Biomarker discovery
Precision prevention
Mechanism–population integration
Cao Lab >>
Cao Lab
The Cao lab is deeply committed to advancing team science to address complex challenges in cancer and public health. Dr. Cao co-leads the Cancer Grand Challenges Team PROSPECT, Biobank and Big Data Core at the WashU Digestive Diseases Research Core Center, and WashU Transcend Initiative on Air Quality and Health. She previously served on the AACR Team Science Committee and currently serves on the Steering Committee of the AACR Cancer Evolution Working Group. She is also an Associate Editor of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
600 S Taylor Ave, 2nd Floor
St. Louis, MO 63110
Phone: 314-747-3925
Dr. Cao in the news
- Cao named Guggenheim Fellow
- A risk factor for liver disease: your parent’s body weight
- Nutrition Tips from Public Health Experts
- Preventing early-onset colorectal cancers aim of $25 million award
- Toxins, tech and tumors: Is modern life fueling the rise of cancer in millennials?
- Mobilizing the best to start the fight earlier
- Accelerated aging linked to cancer risk in younger adults, research shows
- Red flags indicate risk for early-onset colorectal cancer
- Lots of sugary drinks doubles younger women’s colon cancer risk
- A Constellation of Factors: Uncovering the Causes of Rising Incidence of Early-onset Colorectal Cancer
- Sugar-sweetened drinks linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer in women under 50
- Men who eat yogurt may have lower colon cancer risk
- Americans getting more inactive, computers partly to blame
- Despite health warnings, Americans still sit too much
- Sedentary lifestyle could increase risk of colorectal cancer in young women
- Obesity linked to increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer