Prevention and Control Research Program: Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i

Alana Steffen, PhD, MS
	Assistant Professor (Specialist), Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i PhD and MS (Clinical Psychology), Ohio University; Licensed Psychologist (Hawai‘i) asteffen@crch.hawaii.edu

Publication List via PubMed

My role as a specialist is to support a number of projects at the Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i. I provide consultation on statistical methods and research design, contribute to grant applications for behavioral prevention projects, and conduct data monitoring and analysis for ongoing NIH funded research projects. I also oversee two tobacco control projects that are funded by the Hawai‘i Department of Health and both have a long history here at the Cancer Research Center. KATS (Kruisin' Against Tobacco Sales) is a program started in 1996 that conducts statewide annual compliance inspections (per the Synar amendment) and assists with enforcement of the law prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors. The REAL Project began in 2000 and is a youth-led community advocacy campaign exposing the manipulative practices of the tobacco industry (http://www.therealmessage.net/). Youth 13-20 years old work to affect policy and legislature at the local, state, and national levels.

My current and future research interests are in the area of sun exposure measurement. Sun exposure, a cause of skin damage and skin cancer, is also the primary source of vitamin D which has been implicated as a protective factor for bone health, colorectal, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers, and autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis. The public health recommendation for optimal sun exposure and vitamin D level is a matter of current debate. Scientists addressing the "optimal level" questions must consider the complexity of behavior, diet, environment, and physical characteristics in their research, yet there is no validated instrument for studying all of these factors.

I am working to develop and validate a comprehensive and efficient self-report tool to facilitate sun exposure and vitamin D research. This requires working with an inter-disciplinary team of researchers to objectively measure ultraviolet B radiation, both ambient and personal doses, and the biomarker for vitamin D in the blood [25(OH)D]. My past work in the area of sun safety and sun habits provides the foundation for this work, and helps to inform how best to measure the full range of sun exposure, from too little to too much, while accounting for sun protection behavior and the environment.

This measurement tool will help facilitate epidemiology research on the effects of sun exposure and vitamin D on health.

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Selected Publications

O'Riordan, DL, Steffen, AD, Lunde, KB, Gies, P. A day at the beach while on tropical vacation: Sun protection practices in a high-risk setting for UVR exposure. Archives of Dermatology. In Press.

Glanz, K, Steffen, A. Development and reliability testing for measures of psychosocial constructs associated with adolescent girls' calcium intake. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2008; 108: 857-61.

Steffen, AD, Kolonel, LN, Nomura, AM, Nagamine, FS, Monroe, KR, Wilkens, LR. The effect of multiple mailings on recruitment: The multiethnic cohort. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 2008; 17: 447-54.

Steffen AD, Glanz K, Wilkens LR. Identifying Latent Classes of Adults at Risk for Skin Cancer Based on Constitutional Risk and Sun Protection Behavior. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007; 16:1422-1427.

Glanz, K, Steffen AD, Taglialatela, LA. Effects of colon cancer risk counseling for first-degree relatives. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007; 16:1485-1491.

Albright C.L., Steffen, A., Wilkens, L.R., Henderson B.E., Kolonel L.N. Body Mass Index and the Prevalence of Obesity in Monorace and Multiracial Adults: Results from the Multiethnic Cohort Study. Ethnicity and Disease, 2007.