ROBERTA NESS

ROBERTA B. NESS, MD, MPH, is Professor of Epidemiology, Medicine, and Obstetrics/Gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh.  She is Chair, Department of Epidemiology, Director of the Women's Health Program in the Department of Epidemiology, and Director of Cancer Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.  Dr. Ness has been at the forefront of women’s health research, being one of the first to propose the research paradigm now termed “gender based biology”.  Specific areas of her interest include studies in the epidemiology of reproductive cancers, preeclampsia, and pelvic inflammatory disease.  Currently, Dr. Ness is examining the novel hypothesis that pelvic inflammation is involved in the genesis of ovarian cancer.  Currently, she has NIH and DOD grants to conduct a large, case-control study to explore whether cytokine polymorphisms, aspirin use, and NSAID use may alter ovarian cancer risk.  A second major interest is exploration of reproductive history as a barometer for later risk of cardiovascular disease.  An ongoing Program Project in preeclampsia is exploring pathways between maternal cardiovascular risk, abnormal placentation, inflammation, and oxidative stress.  Finally, Dr. Ness currently conducts two cohort studies assessing vaginal microflora, sexually transmitted infections, and pelvic inflammatory disease.  These projects focus on the intersection between host inflammation, endogenous microflora, and bacterial pathogens in the etiology of PID.