Faculty

Ulrike Peters

Research Professor, Epidemiology

206-667-2450

Education

PhD Nutrition, University of Kiel (Germany), 1998
MPH Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, 1999

Contact

206-667-2450

Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Box 358080
1100 Fairview Ave N,M4-B402
PO Box 1024
Seattle, WA 98109

Research Areas

Research Interests

My research interest centers on the genetic and molecular epidemiology of common complex diseases, including cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, as well as intermediate traits, including inflammation and metabolic measurements. Within well characterized and diverse study populations, we are studying the impact of common and rare genetic variants across the entire genome, as well as interactions between genetic variants and environmental factors (such as diet, exercise, smoking and aspirin use). We are increasingly bringing in functional genomic data to inform gene-environment interactions as well as rare variant testing. In addition, we are conducting a large-scale study to integrate the tumor and host genome to investigate associations of germline genetic, environmental risk factors and survival in relation to colorectal cancer subtypes defined by existing tumor characteristics as well as novel somatic mutations in colorectal cancer. A further interest of us is the translation of our findings into public health practice and clinical care. Accordingly, we have developed comprehensive risk prediction models that can personalize screening decisions.

Recent Publications (PubMed)

Epigenetic mechanisms underlying variation of IL-6, a well-established inflammation biomarker and risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
(2025 May 20)
Atherosclerosis 407(): 120219
Lundin JI, Peters U, Hu Y, Ammous F, Benjamin EJ, Bis JC, Brody JA, Cushman M, Fuller H, Gignoux C, Guo X, Haessler J, Haiman C, Joehanes R, Kasela S, Kenny E, Lappalainen T, Levy D, Liu C, Liu Y, Loos RJF, Matise T, North KE, Park SL, Ratliff SM, Reiner A, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Smith JA, Sotoodehnia N, Tracy R, Van den Berg D, Ye T, Zhao W, Raffield LM, Kooperberg C, PAGE Study
Type 2 diabetes polygenic risk score interactions with lifestyle risk factors in Black Americans.
(2025 May 30)
Lifestyle Genom
Scadden AW, Kakar A, Litkowski EM, Meyer MC, Armstrong ND, Buyske S, Cai Y, Cheng I, Darst BF, Fornage M, Graff M, Guo B, Haiman CA, Highland HM, Kooperberg C, Le Marchand L, North K, Peters U, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Srinivasasainagendra V, Tiwari HK, Waldrop S, Young K, Raghavan S, Lange EM, Lange LA, Irvin MR, Stanislawski MA
Associations between calcium intake and T cell infiltration in colorectal tumours.
(2025 May 15)
Cancer Prev Res (Phila)
Wesselink E, Thomas CE, Takashima Y, Mizuno H, Buchanan DD, Qu C, Hsu L, Dias Costa A, Ugai S, Zhong Y, Huyghe JR, Thomas S, Gallinger S, Grant RC, Le Marchand L, Masugi Y, van Duijnhoven FJ, Ugai T, Ogino S, Nowak JA, Peters U, Phipps AI
Transcriptome-wide Mendelian randomisation exploring dynamic CD4+ T cell gene expression in colorectal cancer development.
(2025 Apr 17)
medRxiv
Deslandes B, Wu X, Lee MA, Goudswaard LJ, Jones GW, Gsur A, Lindblom A, Ogino S, Vymetalkova V, Wolk A, Wu AH, Huyghe JR, Peters U, Phipps AI, Thomas CE, Pai RK, Grant RC, Buchanan DD, Yarmolinsky J, Gunter MJ, Zheng J, Hazelwood E, Vincent EE
Mendelian randomization study of sleep traits and risk of colorectal cancer.
(2025 Apr 18)
Sci Rep 15(1): 13478
Dimopoulou O, Fuller H, Richmond RC, Bouras E, Hayes B, Dimou N, Murphy N, Brenner H, Gsur A, Le Marchand L, Moreno V, Pai RK, Phipps AI, Um CY, van Duijnhoven FJB, Vodicka P, Martin RM, Platz EA, Gunter MJ, Peters U, Lewis SJ, Cao Y, Tsilidis KK
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