Brigitte Pfluger, PhD

Post-Doctoral Fellow
Population Science

How I Became a Cancer Researcher

While I have always been motivated by the drive to make meaningful contributions to science, my interest in cancer research was solidified when a close family member was diagnosed with cancer. Witnessing firsthand the emotions and physical challenges they faced made me determined to help improve outcomes for patients and their families. I'm inspired by and grateful to be part of the ongoing scientific advances and discoveries of molecular signatures to serve as a tool for cancer detection, monitoring, and treatment in a personalized manner."

At ACS since 2024

Brigitte Pfluger, PhD, has a joint postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Ying Wang, PhD, in Population Science at the American Cancer Society (ACS), and Donghai Liang, PhD, at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University. Her research focuses on using omics technologies and molecular epidemiology approaches to identify cancer biomarkers within the Cancer Prevention Study cohorts.

Research focus and accomplishments

Pfluger is a multidisciplinary researcher with a background in nutritional and exposure sciences. Before joining ACS, her research sought to improve the scientific understanding of how food component metabolites, toxins, and other xenobiotics may influence early childhood growth and development.

Her research at ACS seeks to utilize integrative multi-omics approaches (such as metabolomics, proteomics, and genomics) to further expand scientific understanding of the risk of developing cancer and identify novel disease biomarkers among adults in the United States.

Pfluger's objective is to analyze omics data across various cancers to identify biomarkers and risk factors, with the ultimate goal of improving human health outcomes.

 

Contact 

brigitte.pfluger@cancer.org

Work before ACS

  • Emory University, Graduate Research Scientist
  • Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist
  • University of Florida, Outreach Graduate Assistant

Education

  • PhD: Nutrition & Health Sciences, Emory University
  • MS: Nutrition & Health Sciences, Emory University
  • MA: Latin American Studies, University of Florida
  • BA: International Studies, East Carolina University

Personal life 

I live in Atlanta and enjoy just about any outdoor activity.