Education:
B.S. Pharmacy,National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Academic Activities:
Her most recent research interest focuses on primary prevention and early detection of breast cancer. For breast cancer prevention, she is interested in the optimal health, benefit-to-risk ratio of soy consumption. In two ongoing, randomized, double-blind dietary intervention studies, she is investigating the relationship between the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of consumption of soy components on reproductive endocrine factors, breast density, bone density, and the content (e.g. proteomes or metabolomes) of nipple aspirate fluid. Through these mechanistic studies, the association between soy consumption and the reduced risk for breast cancer found in observational studies may be explained. Importantly, a systems-biology, multi-disciplinary approach is being used to gain a global understanding of the relationship between soy diet and breast cancer prevention. She is also interested in the role of phytoestrogens and environmental estrogens in the prevention and etiology of hormone-dependent cancers in humans. Another major research interest is the development of biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer. Her other areas of expertise are drug metabolism, chemical carcinogenesis, transplacental and perinatal carcinogenesis, carcinogen metabolism, and formation and repair of DNA adducts.