Research Focus

Dr. Shvetsov’s research focuses on statistical and methodological aspects of cancer epidemiology and on the interplay between infection and cancer. His research interests include validation and improvement of risk prediction models for the most common cancer sites. Many such models were developed using data from homogeneous populations such as Whites. Validating them for non-white populations and improving their predictive performance with the inclusion of additional risk factors is of high scientific and clinical importance. The Multiethnic Cohort, based in Hawaiʻi and Los Angeles (PIs: Le Marchand, Wilkens, Haiman) is a great resource to validate and improve cancer risk prediction models across different races and ethnicities.

Dr. Shvetsov’s other research interest is in elucidating and addressing racial and ethnic disparities in cancer-associated sepsis. In particular, Native Hawaiians exhibit higher rates of sepsis-related mortality than other ethnicities. Uncovering genetic and molecular mechanisms for such disparities could potentially lead to better treatment options for racial and ethnic groups prone to higher risk of sepsis.

Dr. Shvetsov is also interested in methodological questions such as developing and implementing composite measures of exposure, in particular for dietary and neighborhood factors; parametric and nonparametric methods of assessing nonlinear functional form of a relationship between factors of interest, and reliability of laboratory measurements and its effect on the analysis and interpretation of data from epidemiologic studies. As a member of the Biostatistics Shared Resource, he also works on studies led by other UH Cancer Center researchers, offering his expertise in study design, methodology and data analysis.