Leslie V. Farland, DSc

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Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Biography
Dr. Leslie V. Farland is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Prior to joining the faculty, she was an Instructor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Harvard Medical School and served as the Director of Epidemiologic Research at the Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Her research program focuses broadly on women’s health and can be categorized into three major themes: i) the intersection between women’s reproductive health and chronic disease risk, ii) etiology and risk factors for endometriosis, infertility, and polycystic ovary syndrome, iii) disparities in access to infertility care and fertility treatment utilization.
Cancer Focus
I am an epidemiologist with methodological expertise in studying cancer in relation to reproductive and gynecologic health conditions. Much of my research has focused on understanding how different infertility diagnoses, such as endometriosis, influence a woman’s long-term health and cancer risk. Some types of infertility may systemically alter a woman’s hormonal, inflammatory, and immunologic milieu, which could contribute to an elevated risk of cancer. I am currently leading projects on infertility and risk of cancer in the Nurses’ Health StudyII and the Women’s Health Initiative. I am also leading analyses linking the MA cancer registry with birth certificates and fertility treatment data to investigate reproductive health among cancer survivors.
Selected Publications
Dolinko, A. V., L. V. Farland, S. A. Missmer, S. S. Srouji, C. Racowsky, and E. S. Ginsburg, "Responses to fertility treatment among patients with cancer: a retrospective cohort study.", Fertil Res Pract, vol. 4, pp. 3, 2018. PMCID: PMC5902975 PMID: 29692923
Farland, L. V., S. Lorrain, S. A. Missmer, L. Dartois, I. Cervenka, I. Savoye, S. Mesrine, M-C. Boutron-Ruault, and M. Kvaskoff, "Endometriosis and the risk of skin cancer: a prospective cohort study.", Cancer Causes Control, vol. 28, issue 10, pp. 1011-1019, 2017 Oct. PMCID: PMC5693730 PMID: 28799019
Farland, L. V., R. M. Tamimi, H. A Eliassen, D. Spiegelman, K. A. Bertrand, and S. A. Missmer, "Endometriosis and mammographic density measurements in the Nurses' Health Study II.", Cancer Causes Control, vol. 27, issue 10, pp. 1229-37, 2016 10. PMCID: PMC5048469 PMID: 27549771
Farland, L. V., R. M. Tamimi, H. A Eliassen, D. Spiegelman, S. E. Hankinson, W. Y. Chen, and S. A. Missmer, "Laparoscopically Confirmed Endometriosis and Breast Cancer in the Nurses' Health Study II.", Obstet Gynecol, vol. 128, issue 5, pp. 1025-1031, 2016 11. PMCID: PMC5104279 PMID: 27741204
Farland, L. V., R. M. Tamimi, H. A Eliassen, D. Spiegelman, L. C. Collins, S. J. Schnitt, and S. A. Missmer, "A prospective study of endometriosis and risk of benign breast disease.", Breast Cancer Res Treat, vol. 159, issue 3, pp. 545-52, 2016 Oct. PMCID: PMC5310266 PMID: 27604359