Academic Profiles
Peter Kraft
Primary Faculty

Peter Kraft

Professor of Epidemiology

Epidemiology

pkraft@hsph.harvard.edu

Other Positions

Faculty Affiliate in the Department of Biostatistics

Biostatistics

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Co-Director, Computational Biology & Quantitative Genetics Master's Program

Biostatistics

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Links

Overview

My research concentrates on the design and analysis of genetic association studies, with particular emphasis on studies linking variation in germline DNA to cancer risk. I have played a key role in multiple international consortia studying genetics and other exposures in relation to cancer risk over the last ten years: I have been a member of the statistical working group of the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium since its inception, and currently chair the BPC3 steering committee; I played a leading role in the design and analysis of GWAS of breast, prostate and pancreatic cancers as part of the NCI's Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility and PanScan projects; and I chair the Analytic Working Group for the NCI's "post-GWAS" GAME-ON consortium, which aims to better understand the biological mechanisms underlying GWAS-identified cancer risk markers at five cancer sites (including breast and lung) and their public health implications.

I am also the contact PI for the epidemiology project of the breast cancer arm of GAME-ON, which focuses on gene-environment interactions and risk prediction. I have been the primary statistical geneticist for the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) for over ten years, and oversee the genotype databases for both studies, including genome-wide association data on over 20,000 subjects. I have collaborated on numerous analyses in the NHS and HPFS examining associations between genetic markers, behaviors (including diet and smoking), and risk of complex diseases. I have also collaborated with NHS investigators on the analyses of metabolite profiles in a case-control study of pancreatic cancer.

My current methodological research focuses on 1) efficient and interpretable "gene x environment interaction" analyses, 2) genetic risk prediction using common and rare genetic variation, biomarkers (including metabolites), and clinical and environmental risk factors, and 3) methods linking low-frequency variation, emerging functional annotation, and risk of complex disease.

Bibliography

Genome-Wide Analyses Characterize Shared Heritability Among Cancers and Identify Novel Cancer Susceptibility Regions.

Lindström S, Wang L, Feng H, Majumdar A, Huo S, Macdonald J, Harrison T, Turman C, Chen H, Mancuso N, Bammler T, Gallinger S, Gruber SB, Gunter MJ, Le Marchand L, Moreno V, Offit K, de Vivo I, O'Mara TA, Spurdle AB, Tomlinson I, Fitzgerald R, Gharahkhani P, Gockel I, Jankowski J, Macgregor S, Schumacher J, Barnholtz-Sloan J, Bondy ML, Houlston RS, Jenkins RB, Melin B, Wrensch M, Brennan P, Christiani D, Johansson M, Mckay J, Aldrich MC, Amos CI, Landi MT, Tardon A, Bishop DT, Demenais F, Goldstein AM, Iles MM, Kanetsky PA, Law MH, Amundadottir LT, Stolzenberg-Solomon R, Wolpin BM, Klein A, Petersen G, Risch H, Chanock SJ, Purdue MP, Scelo G, Pharoah P, Kar S, Hung RJ, Pasaniuc B, Kraft P.

J Natl Cancer Inst. 2023 Mar 17. PMID: 36929942

The genetic basis of endometriosis and comorbidity with other pain and inflammatory conditions.

Rahmioglu N, Mortlock S, Ghiasi M, Møller PL, Stefansdottir L, Galarneau G, Turman C, Danning R, Law MH, Sapkota Y, Christofidou P, Skarp S, Giri A, Banasik K, Krassowski M, Lepamets M, Marciniak B, Nõukas M, Perro D, Sliz E, Sobalska-Kwapis M, Thorleifsson G, Topbas-Selcuki NF, Vitonis A, Westergaard D, Arnadottir R, Burgdorf KS, Campbell A, Cheuk CSK, Clementi C, Cook J, De Vivo I, DiVasta A, Dorien O, Donoghue JF, Edwards T, Fontanillas P, Fung JN, Geirsson RT, Girling JE, Harkki P, Harris HR, Healey M, Heikinheimo O, Holdsworth-Carson S, Hostettler IC, Houlden H, Houshdaran S, Irwin JC, Jarvelin MR, Kamatani Y, Kennedy SH, Kepka E, Kettunen J, Kubo M, Kulig B, Kurra V, Laivuori H, Laufer MR, Lindgren CM, MacGregor S, Mangino M, Martin NG, Matalliotaki C, Matalliotakis M, Murray AD, Ndungu A, Nezhat C, Olsen CM, Opoku-Anane J, Padmanabhan S, Paranjpe M, Peters M, Polak G, Porteous DJ, Rabban J, Rexrode KM, Romanowicz H, Saare M, Saavalainen L, Schork AJ, Sen S, Shafrir AL, Siewierska-Górska A, Slomka M, Smith BH, Smolarz B, Szaflik T, Szyllo K, Takahashi A, Terry KL, Tomassetti C, Treloar SA, Vanhie A, Vincent K, Vo KC, Werring DJ, Zeggini E, Zervou MI, Adachi S, Buring JE, Ridker PM, D'Hooghe T, Goulielmos GN, Hapangama DK, Hayward C, Horne AW, Low SK, Martikainen H, Chasman DI, Rogers PAW, Saunders PT, Sirota M, Spector T, Strapagiel D, Tung JY, Whiteman DC, Giudice LC, Velez-Edwards DR, Uimari O, Kraft P, Salumets A, Nyholt DR, Mägi R, Stefansson K, Becker CM, Yurttas-Beim P, Steinthorsdottir V, Nyegaard M, Missmer SA, Montgomery GW, Morris AP, Zondervan KT.

Nat Genet. 2023 Mar. 55(3):423-436. PMID: 36914876

Genome-wide analysis identifies genetic effects on reproductive success and ongoing natural selection at the FADS locus.

Mathieson I, Day FR, Barban N, Tropf FC, Brazel DM, Vaez A, van Zuydam N, Bitarello BD, Gardner EJ, Akimova ET, Azad A, Bergmann S, Bielak LF, Boomsma DI, Bosak K, Brumat M, Buring JE, Cesarini D, Chasman DI, Chavarro JE, Cocca M, Concas MP, Davey Smith G, Davies G, Deary IJ, Esko T, Faul JD, Franco O, Ganna A, Gaskins AJ, Gelemanovic A, de Geus EJC, Gieger C, Girotto G, Gopinath B, Grabe HJ, Gunderson EP, Hayward C, He C, van Heemst D, Hill WD, Hoffmann ER, Homuth G, Hottenga JJ, Huang H, Hypp?nen E, Ikram MA, Jansen R, Johannesson M, Kamali Z, Kardia SLR, Kavousi M, Kifley A, Kiiskinen T, Kraft P, Kühnel B, Langenberg C, Liew G, Lind PA, Luan J, Mägi R, Magnusson PKE, Mahajan A, Martin NG, Mbarek H, McCarthy MI, McMahon G, Medland SE, Meitinger T, Metspalu A, Mihailov E, Milani L, Missmer SA, Mitchell P, Møllegaard S, Mook-Kanamori DO, Morgan A, van der Most PJ, de Mutsert R, Nauck M, Nolte IM, Noordam R, Penninx BWJH, Peters A, Peyser PA, Polašek O, Power C, Pribisalic A, Redmond P, Rich-Edwards JW, Ridker PM, Rietveld CA, Ring SM, Rose LM, Rueedi R, Shukla V, Smith JA, Stankovic S, Stefánsson K, Stöckl D, Strauch K, Swertz MA, Teumer A, Thorleifsson G, Thorsteinsdottir U, Thurik AR, Timpson NJ, Turman C, Uitterlinden AG, Waldenberger M, Wareham NJ, Weir DR, Willemsen G, Zhao JH, Zhao W, Zhao Y, Snieder H, den Hoed M, Ong KK, Mills MC, Perry JRB.

Nat Hum Behav. 2023 Mar 02. PMID: 36864135

Aggregation tests identify new gene associations with breast cancer in populations with diverse ancestry.

Mueller SH, Lai AG, Valkovskaya M, Michailidou K, Bolla MK, Wang Q, Dennis J, Lush M, Abu-Ful Z, Ahearn TU, Andrulis IL, Anton-Culver H, Antonenkova NN, Arndt V, Aronson KJ, Augustinsson A, Baert T, Freeman LEB, Beckmann MW, Behrens S, Benitez J, Bermisheva M, Blomqvist C, Bogdanova NV, Bojesen SE, Bonanni B, Brenner H, Brucker SY, Buys SS, Castelao JE, Chan TL, Chang-Claude J, Chanock SJ, Choi JY, Chung WK, Colonna SV, Cornelissen S, Couch FJ, Czene K, Daly MB, Devilee P, Dörk T, Dossus L, Dwek M, Eccles DM, Ekici AB, Eliassen AH, Engel C, Evans DG, Fasching PA, Fletcher O, Flyger H, Gago-Dominguez M, Gao YT, García-Closas M, García-Sáenz JA, Genkinger J, Gentry-Maharaj A, Grassmann F, Guénel P, Gündert M, Haeberle L, Hahnen E, Haiman CA, Håkansson N, Hall P, Harkness EF, Harrington PA, Hartikainen JM, Hartman M, Hein A, Ho WK, Hooning MJ, Hoppe R, Hopper JL, Houlston RS, Howell A, Hunter DJ, Huo D, Ito H, Iwasaki M, Jakubowska A, Janni W, John EM, Jones ME, Jung A, Kaaks R, Kang D, Khusnutdinova EK, Kim SW, Kitahara CM, Koutros S, Kraft P, Kristensen VN, Kubelka-Sabit K, Kurian AW, Kwong A, Lacey JV, Lambrechts D, Le Marchand L, Li J, Linet M, Lo WY, Long J, Lophatananon A, Mannermaa A, Manoochehri M, Margolin S, Matsuo K, Mavroudis D, Menon U, Muir K, Murphy RA, Nevanlinna H, Newman WG, Niederacher D, O'Brien KM, Obi N, Offit K, Olopade OI, Olshan AF, Olsson H, Park SK, Patel AV, Patel A, Perou CM, Peto J, Pharoah PDP, Plaseska-Karanfilska D, Presneau N, Rack B, Radice P, Ramachandran D, Rashid MU, Rennert G, Romero A, Ruddy KJ, Ruebner M, Saloustros E, Sandler DP, Sawyer EJ, Schmidt MK, Schmutzler RK, Schneider MO, Scott C, Shah M, Sharma P, Shen CY, Shu XO, Simard J, Surowy H, Tamimi RM, Tapper WJ, Taylor JA, Teo SH, Teras LR, Toland AE, Tollenaar RAEM, Torres D, Torres-Mejía G, Troester MA, Truong T, Vachon CM, Vijai J, Weinberg CR, Wendt C, Winqvist R, Wolk A, Wu AH, Yamaji T, Yang XR, Yu JC, Zheng W, Ziogas A, Ziv E, Dunning AM, Easton DF, Hemingway H, Hamann U, Kuchenbaecker KB.

Genome Med. 2023 01 26. 15(1):7. PMID: 36703164

Risk prediction models for endometrial cancer: development and validation in an international consortium.

Shi J, Kraft P, Rosner B, Benavente Y, Black A, Brinton LA, Chen C, Clarke MA, Cook LS, Costas L, Dal Maso L, Freudenheim JL, Frias-Gomez J, Friedenreich CM, Garcia-Closas M, Goodman MT, Johnson L, La Vecchia C, Levi F, Lissowska J, Lu L, McCann SE, Moysich KB, Negri E, O'Connell K, Parazzini F, Petruzella S, Polesel J, Ponte J, Rebbeck TR, Reynolds P, Ricceri F, Risch H, Sacerdote C, Setiawan VW, Shu XO, Spurdle AB, Trabert B, Webb PM, Wentzensen N, Wilkens LR, Xu WH, Yang HP, Yu H, Du M, De Vivo I.

J Natl Cancer Inst. 2023 Jan 23. PMID: 36688725

News

Dozens of new genetic regions linked to breast cancer

Two studies represent the largest-ever examination of the inherited genetic contribution to the risk of getting breast cancer For immediate release: October 23, 2017 Boston, MA – Two large genome-wide association studies of thousands of women have identified…

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