Laura Bowers Lecture
April 24, 2026
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship (MRGN)
1201 Mitch Daniels Blvd., West Lafayette, IN 47907
Please join Nutrition Science faculty, staff, students and alumni at the inaugural Laura Bowers Reception and Lecture.
Reception: 9:30 am – 10:15 am (MRGN 102)
Lecture: 10:30 am – 11:20 am (MRGN 121)
The reception and lecture are open to the public and there is no cost to attend.
Audrey Goldbaum (PhD ’22) will present ”From Pipettes to Policy: Leveraging Cross-Disciplinary Experience in Nutrition and Cancer Research.”
Goldbaum most recently served as a Cancer Prevention Fellow in the Risk Factor Assessment Branch of the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) at the National Cancer Institute. Today, she is a senior scientist at Exponent.
She is interested in exploring the methodological boundaries and ethical implications when using machine learning for analysis. At the DCCPS, she worked on projects related to methods used to measure and model how lifestyle factors such as nutrition, obesity, physical activity and sleep influence cancer development and how these methods can be applied in research to improve public health and impact public policy.
Goldbaum has a PhD in nutrition science from Purdue University and an MPH in quantitative methods from the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University.
About the Laura Bowers Lecture Series
Laura Bowers was an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition Science from 2018-2021. Bowers was a highly successful scientist whose research focused on the mechanisms linking obesity to increased risk of breast cancer progression and colon cancer incidence. Her professional work was cut short, due to cancer metastases, but she did not let that deter her from making a difference. After leaving Purdue, she used her knowledge and skills to become an advocate for breast cancer patients. Bowers’ research and advocacy led to advances in our understanding of cancer incidence and progression. The Laura Bowers Lecture Series honors her work and features early career scientists in the field of nutrition and cancer.