Stephanie Schmit, PhD, MPH

Research in the Schmit lab at the Cleveland Clinic focuses on the genetic and molecular epidemiology of colorectal cancer (CRC). Our lab investigates factors that influence the etiology and outcomes of this complex disease at the population level. Combining wet and dry lab approaches, our research implements integrative molecular epidemiology and statistical genetic techniques to better understand the contributory roles of inherited and somatic genetics, host immune responses, and environmental/lifestyle variables. In the area of genetic epidemiology, research focuses on identifying novel CRC susceptibility loci through sample size expansion of existing GWAS, rare variant analyses with Bayesian methods, and fine-mapping studies in ethnic minorities, including Latinxs. Another major focus of our research is on understanding and making advances in CRC disparities. Active projects include the development of trans-racial/ethnic polygenic risk scores to inform targeted screening interventions and the investigation of biological contributors to outcome disparities including somatic mutational profiles and tumor immune profiles that differ by race/ethnicity and genetic ancestry.