Martha L. Slattery, PhD Professor Division of Epidemiology Department of Internal Medicine Marty.Slattery@hsc.utah.edu

Dr. Marty Slattery is a Professor in Internal Medicine.  She has been a faculty member at the University of Utah since 1988, was awarded tenure in 1993, and was promoted to Professor in 1996.  Collaboration has been a hallmark of Dr. Slattery’s career at the university.  She has spearheaded collaborative projects with investigators at the University of Minnesota, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, the University of Colorado, the University of Arizona, the University of New Mexico, the University of Louisville, the Black Hills Center for Native American Research, and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.  Because of the Dr. Slattery’s initiation of these investigator-initiated collaborative studies, the University of Utah has served as both a field center and coordinating center for these large research efforts. Collaborators at the University of Utah have been Drs. Wade Samowitz, Randall Burt, Richard Kerber, Carol Sweeney, Maureen Murtaugh, Roger Wolff, Lillian Tom-Orme, and Sandra Edwards.  

 
Research Interests

The major focus of Dr. Slattery’s research has been on diet, physical activity, genetic, and lifestyle factors as they relate to the development of cancer.  Most of these studies have focused on colorectal cancer and breast cancer, although she has published papers on bladder, pancreas, cervical, ovarian, and prostate cancers.  Additionally, she has spearheaded the initiation of the American Indian and Alaska Native Cohort.  She has written approximately 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts and five book chapters.  She has been awarded over $43 million dollars in research awards from the National Cancer Institute while at the university.   Given the importance of translating research findings into public health measures, Dr. Slattery has been involved in several national and inter-national efforts to advance research knowledge of obesity and physical activity to public health messages.  She was the primary epidemiologist responsible for physical activity and health in the Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health.  She was involved in developing the physical activity component of the International Agency for Cancer Research report on Weight Control and Physical Activity.  
 

Recent Publications

Murtaugh MA, Curtin K, Sweeney C, Wolff RK, Holubkov R, Caan BJ, Slattery ML. Dietary intake of folate and co-factors in folate metabolism, MTHFR polymorphisms, and reduced rectal cancer. Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Jan 23; [Epub ahead of print]