Unhee Lim, PhD
Full Member, Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center
Academic Appointment(s):
Associate Professor (Associate Researcher), Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center
Graduate Faculty, Human Nutrition, College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Degree(s):
PhD, Human Nutrition and Nutritional Epidemiology, Cornell University
MS, Human Nutrition, Cornell University
Registered Dietitian, Yale University Hospital
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics, National Cancer Institute
Research Focus
Dr. Lim's research focuses on the role lifestyle factors play in the development and the racial and ethnic disparities of common sporadic cancers and dementia. She is particularly interested in using different types of biomarkers (blood biochemistry, DNA methylation, the gut microbiome, imaging) in tandem with questionnaires to assess exposures and risks.
Some of her recent research questions included the following:
- How the risk of Alzheimer’s and related dementia varies across racial and ethnic populations and how the disparity is explained by the distribution of known genetic and non-genetic risk factors?
- How genome-wide methylation patterns in pre-disease blood DNA are associated with disease occurrence and can serve as risk predictors?
- How well the prediction scores for visceral fat and liver fat perform to explain associated metabolic disease risks?
Selected Publications
Park SY, Setiawan VW, White LR, Wu AH, Cheng I, Haiman CA, Wilkens LR, Le Marchand L, Lim U. (2022). Modifying effects of race and ethnicity and APOE on the association of physical activity with risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Alzheimers Dement. PMID: 3547309.
Lim U, Wang S, Park SY, Bogumil D, Wu AH, Cheng I, Haiman CA, Le Marchand L, Wilkens LR, White L, Setiawan VW. (2021). Risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia by sex and race/ethnicity: The Multiethnic Cohort Study. Alzheimers Dement. PMID: 34882963. PMC9177893.
Song MA, Seffernick AE, Archer KJ, Mori KM, Park SY, Chang L, Ernst T, Tiirikainen M, Peplowska K, Wilkens LR, Le Marchand L, Lim U. (2021). Race/ethnicity-associated blood DNA methylation differences between Japanese and European American women: an exploratory study. Clin Epigenetics ;13(1):188. PMID: 34635168. PMC8507376.
Le Marchand L, Wilkens LR, Castelfranco AM, Monroe KR, Kristal BS, Cheng I, Maskarinec G, Hullar MA, Lampe JW, Shepherd J, Franke AA, Ernst T, Lim U. (2020). Circulating biomarker score for visceral fat and risks of incident colorectal and postmenopausal breast cancer: The Multiethnic Cohort Adiposity Phenotype Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 29(5):966-973. PMID: 32132150. PMC7196505.
Lim U, Monroe KR, Buchthal S, Fan B, Cheng I, Kristal BS, Lampe JW, Hullar MA, Franke AA, Stram DO, Wilkens LR, Shepherd J, Ernst T, Le Marchand L. (2019). Propensity for intra-abdominal and hepatic adiposity varies among ethnic groups. Gastroenterology; 156:966-975. PMID: 30445012. PMC6409195.
Publication list via MyNCBI
Active Grants
U. Lim, Co-Investigator; L. Le Marchand, PI
National Cancer Institute
R01 CA258179
“Effects of intermittent energy restriction on intra-abdominal fat and the gut microbiome: a randomized trial”
09/2021 – 08/2026
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
R01 MD018265
"Longitudinal study of early NAFLD progression and the gut microbiome in Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Whites"
09/2022 – 06/2027
