Pianpian Cao

Dr. Cao’s primary research interests lie in the interface of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Mathematics. She specializes in utilizing mathematical and statistical models and epidemiological methods to understand cancer etiology, progression, and survival outcomes and to study cancer prevention and control strategies. Her current research falls into two major categories: First, assessing the performance of various cancer control strategies, and second, understanding trends of cancer rates and risk factor exposures in various populations. She has developed a lung cancer natural history and screening model and used that to conduct several studies to assess the potential population benefits and harms of LDCT screening and investigate potential strategies to enhance the impact of LDCT screening. She has also led several analyses to understand smoking patterns by sociodemographic factors, including race/ethnicity, education, and income, using age-period-cohort models. This work has contributed to national lung cancer prevention and tobacco control policies and regulations.