She studies how normal breast tissue is altered by breast cancer risk factors, such as age and reproductive history, and by interaction with breast cancers. Her research shows that from early in carcinogenesis, the normal tissue adjacent to the tumor shows gene expression changes consistent with activation of wound responses. These changes may have important translational implications, if they prove to be targetable in chemoprevention or chemotherapy or if they are shown to predict recurrence. By combining observational studies using normal breast tissue with experimental studies using cell line models of breast cancer, her lab aims to contribute to a better understanding of normal breast tissue biology and the alterations that are induced during carcinogenesis.