Leslie Bernstein, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor
Dr. Leslie Bernstein was recently named Professor and Director of the Department of Cancer Etiology in the Division of Population Sciences at the City of Hope National Medical Center. She has also taken on the role at the City of Hope as the Dean for Faculty Development. In taking these positions, Dr. Bernstein retired from the University of Southern California, becoming Professor Emerita.
Dr. Bernstein spent 31 years at USC. She began her career at USC as a master’s degree student in gerontology in 1976, entering graduate school when her children became teenagers. She then moved to the School of Medicine for her PhD in biostatistics, granted in 1981. She joined USC’s faculty in 1983 as an assistant professor. At the time she retired from USC, she was professor of preventive medicine, the first holder of the AFLAC, Incorporated, Chair in Cancer Research at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, and program leader for the Women’s Cancers Program at the Norris Cancer Center. For 20 years, Dr. Bernstein served as the Scientific Director of the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program, a population-based cancer registry that is one of the NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registries. She continues as a senior advisor to the registry, and as Professor Emerita at USC, is still supervising several research projects at the university. She serves as the co-director for the Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) center at USC, which focuses on the prevention of obesity and promotion of a physically active lifestyle in children as a means for future cancer prevention.Research Interests
- Epidemiology
- Cancer Prevention
- Esophageal Adenocarcinoma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Education
University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1981
Selected Publications
Bertelsen L, Bernstein L, Olsen JH, Mellemkjær L, Haile R, Lynch CF, Malone KM, Anton-Culver H, Christensen J, Langholz B, Thomas DC, Begg C, Capanu M, Thompson D, Ejlertsen B, Stovall M, Boice JD, Shore RE, The WECARE Study Collaborative Group, Bernstein JL. The effect of systemic adjuvant treatment on risk of contralateral breast cancer in the WECARE Study. J Natl Cancer Inst, 100, 32-40, 2008.
Li CI, Malone KE, Daling JR, Potter JD, Bernstein L, Marchbanks PA, Strom BL, Simon MS, Press MF, Ursin G, Burkman RT, Folger SG, Norman S, McDonald JA, Spirtas R. Timing of menarche and first full-term pregnancy in relation to breast cancer risk. Am J Epidemiol, 167, 230-239, 2008.
Duan L* Wu AH, Sullivan-Halley J, Bernstein L. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and risk of esophageal and gastric adenocarcinomas in Los Angeles County. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 17, 126-134, 2008.
Setiawan VW, Chu LH, John EM, Ding YC, Ingles SA, Bernstein L, Press MF, Ursin G, Haiman CA, Neuhausen SL. Mitochondrial DNA G10398A variant is not associated with breast cancer in African American women. Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics, 181, 16-19, 2008 (PMID:18262047).
Berstad P, Ma H*, Bernstein L, Ursin G. Breast cancer risk and alcohol intake among young women. Br Cancer Res Treat, 108, 113-120, 2008 (PMID: 17468952).
Figueiredo JC*, Bernstein L, Capanu M, Malone KE, Haile RW, Bernstein JL, WECARE Study Collaborative Group. Oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy and risk of asynchronous bilateral breast cancer. The WECARE Study Group. (corresponding author) J Clinical Oncol, 26, 1411-1418, 2008 (PMID: 18250348).
Stuedal A, Ma H* Bernstein L, Pike MC, Ursin G. Does breast size modify the association between mammographic density and breast cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 17, 621-627, 2008 (PMID: 18349279).
Ma H*, Hill CK, Bernstein L, Ross RK, Ursin G. Low-dose medical radiation and breast cancer risk in women under age 50 years overall and by estrogen and progesterone receptor status. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 109, 77-90, 2007 (PMID: 17616809).
Knight JA, Lesosky M, Blackmore K, Voigt LF, Holt VL, Bernstein L, Marchbanks PA, Burkman RT, Daling JR, Whittemore AS. Ovarian cysts and breast cancer: Results from the Women’s Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 109, 157-164, 2007 (PMID: 17616808).
Horn-Ross PL, Lee VS, Collins C, Stewart SL, Canchola AJ, Lee MM, Reynolds P, Clarke CA, Bernstein L, Stram DO. Dietary assessment in the California Teachers Study: Reproducibility and validity. Cancer Cause Control, 19, 595-603 (PMID: 18256894).
2011 Claremont Graduate University 
School of Community & Global Health 