Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Victoria Kirsh Ph.D.

Research Interests

• epidemiology of chronic diseases
• case-control, cohort, and case-cohort studies
• radiation exposure
• nutritional epidemiology
• dietary assessment

I am excited to be leading and supporting research activities using Ontario Health Study (OHS) data, mentoring trainees, and building collaborations within the scientific community. The OHS has flourished, resulting in high quality databases and biospecimen repositories that can be linked and employed in a wide-range of innovative research; it is poised to advance our understanding of the etiology, progression, management and control of cancer and other chronic diseases.

Education & Training History

• Yale University, Ph.D. (Epidemiology), 2004
• U.S. National Cancer Institute, Predoctoral Fellow , 2002 – 2004
• University of Toronto, M.Sc. (Epidemiology), 1999
• McGill University, B.Sc. (Microbiology and Immunology), 1995

Primary Teaching Responsibilities

• Introduction to Quantitative Research (CHL5220), Course Director and primary lecturer (2016-2018), Course: presents an introduction to epidemiologic concepts and the application of quantitative methods
• Scientific Overviews (CHL5418HS), University of Toronto, Course Director and Lecturer (2019), (Tutorial Co-Instructor for 2017-2018). Course: develops skills in critical appraisal and the application of evidence to practice.
•  Nutrition and Cancer (NFS1226) – Lecturer (2017), Diet and Breast Cancer. Lecture: the role of diet in the etiology of breast cancer
•  Introduction to Public Health Sciences (CHL5004), Course Director and Case-Study Leader (2017). Course: provides an understanding of diverse current public health issues for all 225 incoming MPH students, across graduate programs. Led a smaller case-study group on strategies to improve cervical cancer screening in Ontario.
•  Epidemiology Methods 1 (CHL5401H), University of Toronto, Faculty Co-Instructor (2016-2018). Course: an introductory epidemiology course for the MPH degree program in Epidemiology
•  Divisional/Doctoral Seminar Series in Epidemiology (CHL5423H), Lecturer (2017). Lecture: Research contributions and opportunities related to the Canadian Study of Diet, Lifestyle and Health: a cohort of 74,000 university alumni

Honours & Awards

• Field Preceptor Award, for excellence in training/mentoring masters’ students in the conduct and practice of epidemiological research. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, 2006-2007 Academic Year
• Manuscript, “Supplemental and dietary vitamin E, β-carotene, and vitamin C intakes and prostate cancer risk,” was selected for the 2006 issue of the Annual Bibliography of Significant Advances in Dietary Supplements Research
• National Cancer Institute Predoctoral Visiting Fellow Award, 2002-2004
• National Institutes of Health Trainee Award, 2002-2003
• Yale University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Doctoral Fellowship, 1999-2003

Current Research Projects

• Scientific Associate – The Ontario Health Study: a prospective cohort of 225,000 Ontario residents (including blood samples from 41,000 participants) that will allow us to study how our lifestyle, environment, family history, and genetics affect our health over time and to develop strategies for the prevention, early detection and treatment of diseases.
• Principal Investigator – The Canadian Study of Diet, Lifestyle and Health (CSDLH); a prospective cohort study of 75,000 university alumni that is assessing the association between dietary and lifestyle factors and the risk of cancer
• Co-Investigator – NCI Cohort Consortium and the Pooling Project of Prospective Studies (both the OHS and the CSDLH are contributing cohorts). These consortia will address critical areas of cancer etiology research in which large-scale collaborations with sufficient data are needed.

Representative Publications

• Petrick JL, McMenamin UC, Zhang X, [and 35 others, including Kirsh VA]. Exogenous Hormone Use, Reproductive Factors and Risk of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma among Women: Results from Cohort Studies in the Liver Cancer Pooling Project and UK Biobank. Br J Cancer 2020 Feb. In production
• Schoemaker MJ, Nichols HB, Wright LB, [and 40 others, including Kirsh VA, for the Premenopausal Breast Cancer Consortium]. Adult weight change and premenopausal breast cancer risk: a prospective pooled analysis in 628,463 women. Int J Cancer. 2020 Feb. DOI:1002/ijc.32892
• Petrick JL, Florio AA, Zhang X, [and 37 others, including Kirsh VA]. Associations between Prediagnostic Concentrations of Circulating Sex Steroid Hormones and Primary Liver Cancer Among Post-Menopausal Women: Results from the Liver Cancer Pooling Project and UK Biobank. . In production DOI: 10.1002/hep.31057
• Florio AR, Campbell PT, Xhang XU, [and 36 others, including Kirsh VA, for the Liver Cancer Pooling Project]. Abdominal and Gluteofemoral Size and Risk of Liver Cancer: The Liver Cancer Pooling Project. Int J Cancer. 2019 Dec. DOI:1002/ijc.32760
• Arthur R, Kirsh VA, Rohan TE. Dietary B-vitamin intake and risk of breast, endometrial, ovarian and colorectal cancer among Canadians. Nutr Cancer. 2019 Apr 7:1-11)
• Fortner RT, Poole EM, Wenzensen NA, [and 52 others, including Kirsh VA, for the Ovarian Cancer Consortium]. Ovarian cancer risk factors by tumor aggressiveness: An analysis from the Ovarian Cancer Cohort Consortium Int J Cancer. 2018 Dec 18 [Epub ahead of print]
• Arthur R, Kirsh VA, Rohan TE. Associations of coffee, tea and caffeine intake with risk of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer among Canadian women. Cancer Epidemiol. 2018 Oct;56:75-82.
• Schoemaker MJ, Nichols HB, Wright LB, [and 47 others, including Kirsh VA, for the Premenopausal Breast Cancer Cohort Consortium]. Body-mass index, age and premenopausal breast cancer risk: A prospective analysis of 758,592 women. JAMA Oncol. 2018 Nov 1;4(11)
• Arthur R, Kirsh VA, Rohan T. A Healthy Lifestyle Index and its association with risk of breast and reproductive-related cancers among Canadian women. Cancer Causes Control, 2018 Jun;29(6):485-493
• Arthur R, Kirsh VA, Rohan TE. Association between dietary energy density and risk of breast, endometrial, ovarian and colorectal cancer among Canadian women Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 2018 Mar;27(3):338-341
• Grundy A, Cotterchio M, Kirsh VA, Nadalin V, Lightfoot N, Kreiger N. Rotating Shift Work Associated with Obesity in Canadian Men. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can, 2017 Aug;37(8):238-247
• Nichols HB, Schoemaker MJ, Wright LB, [and 38 others, including Kirsh VA]. The Premenopausal Breast Cancer Collaboration: A Pooling Project of Studies Participating in the National Cancer Institute Cohort Consortium. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 2017 Sep;26(9):1360-1369
• Wentzensen N, Poole EM, Trabert B, [and 50 others, including Kirsh VA]. Ovarian Cancer Risk Factors by Histologic Subtype: An Analysis From the Ovarian Cancer Cohort Consortium. J Clin Oncol. 2016 Jun 20.
• Kitahara CM, McCullough ML, Franceschi S, [and 42 others, including Kirsh VA]. Anthropometric Factors and Thyroid Cancer Risk by Histological Subtype: Pooled Analysis of 22 Prospective Studies. Thyroid, 2016 Feb;26(2):306-18.
• Pole JD, Gu LY, Kirsh V, Greenberg ML, Nathan PC. Subsequent Malignant Neoplasms in a Population-Based Cohort of Pediatric Cancer Patients: A Focus on the First 5 Years. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 2015 Oct;24(10):1585-92.
• McGlynn N, Kirsh VA, Cotterchio M, Harris MA, Nadalin V, Kreiger N. Shift work and obesity among Canadian women: A cross-sectional study using a novel exposure assessment tool. PLoS One. 2015 Sep 16;10(9)
• Catsburg C, Kim RS, Kirsh VA, Soskolne CL, Kreiger N, Rohan TE. Dietary patterns and breast cancer risk: a study in 2 cohorts. Am J Clin Nutr, 2015 Apr;101:817-823. PMID: 25833979
• Catsburg C, Kirsh VA, Soskolne C, Kreiger N, Rohan TE. Active cigarette smoking and the risk of breast cancer: a cohort study. Cancer Epidemiol, 2014 Aug;38:376-381. PMID: 24929357
• Grundy A, Cotterchio M, Kirsh VA, Kreiger N. Associations between anxiety, depression, antidepressant medication, obesity and weight gain among Canadian women. PLoS One, 2014 June 16;9(6):e99780. PMID: 24932472
• Catsburg C, Kirsh VA, Soskolne CL, Kreiger N, Bruce E, Ho T, Leatherdale ST, Rohan TE. Associations between anthropometric characteristics, physical activity, and breast cancer risk in a Canadian cohort. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 2014 Jun;145:545-552. PMID: 24781974
• Barisic A, Kreiger N, Leatherdale S, Faulkner G, Kirsh V, Arbour-Nicitopoulos K. The influence of an initial face-to-face meeting in an e-mail delivered physical activity intervention: a single-blind, randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Health Studies, 2014; 29(1):155-164.
• Boucher BA, Cotterchio M, Anderson LN, Kreiger N, Kirsh VA, Thompson LU. Use of isoflavone supplements is associated with reduced postmenopausal breast cancer risk. Int J Cancer, 2013; 132:1439-1450.
• Boucher BA, Cotterchio M, Curca IA, Kreiger N, Harris SA, Kirsh VA, Goodwin PJ. Intake of phytoestrogen foods and supplements among women recently diagnosed with breast cancer in Ontario, Canada. Nutr Cancer, 2012; 64(5):695-703.
• Shebl FM, Sakoda LC, Black A, Koshiol J, Andriole GL, Grubb R, Church TR, Chia D, Zhou C, Chu LW, Huang WY, Peters U, Kirsh VA, Chatterjee N, Lietzmann MF, Hayes RB, Hsing AW. Aspirin but not ibuprofen use is associated with reduced risk of prostate cancer: a PLCO study. Br J Cancer, 2012; 107:207-214.