Ashley Knowell and Shanora Brown
South Carolina State University, USA
Biography
Dr. Ashley E. Knowell is investigating the role of childhood obesity as a risk factor for adult cancers. The ultimate goal of the project is to provide families with the necessary tools and information to establish healthy nutritional habits, reduce childhood obesity and ultimately reduce adult cancer risk among South Carolinian children. Her research interests also include tumor suppressors, cell death and the development, progression, and treatment of cancer in African-Americans and South Carolinians. She is graduate of Clark Atlanta University with a Molecular Biology, Cancer Biology focus.
Dr. Shanora Brown has actively been involved in the study of prostate cancer, molecular mechanisms of tumor progression as well a genetic factors contributing to the disparities in cancer among diverse populations. Her current research focus is investigating and understanding the link between nutrition and childhood obesity as a risk factor for adult carcinogenesis in South Carolinian children. Ultimately, eliminating or reducing preventable risk factors such as unhealthy nutrition and childhood obesity could have important implications for reducing clinical manifestations of adult cancers, such as breast and prostate.