Cher M. Dallal
Associate Professor, Epidemiology
cdallal@umd.edu (301) 405-7065Atlantic Building | 1340J
Dr. Cher Dallal is a cancer epidemiologist whose research integrates molecular and classical epidemiological approaches to investigate the complex interrelationships between hormones, lifestyle factors, and carcinogenesis. Dr. Dallal holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine and is currently Senior Advisor for the the UMCP Institute for Clinical Translational Research (ICTR), University of Maryland ICTR partners (https://www.umaryland.edu/ictr/about-umb-ictr/ictr-leadership/university-system-of-maryland-ictr-partners/).
Department Information
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Dr. Cher Dallal joined the faculty of the University of Maryland in 2013 as an Assistant Professor after completing her postdoctoral training as a Cancer Prevention Fellow at the National Cancer Institute (NIH). In 2019, she was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure.
As a molecular cancer epidemiologist, her research program employs transdisciplinary approaches to investigate the complex interrelationships between hormones, metabolomic profiles, lifestyle factors, and carcinogenesis. Dr. Dallal’s research interests and hypotheses have focused on the following key areas: (1) endogenous sex steroids with an emphasis on estrogen metabolism, (2) active and sedentary behavior, obesity, and obesity-derived hormones, and (3) the integration of metabolomic profiling in population-based studies.
Using classical and molecular epidemiological approaches, her research examines potentially modifiable health behaviors, their influence on biology and their role in cancer prevention and survivorship. The overall objective of Dr. Dallal’s research program is to improve our understanding of cancer risk and prognostic factors, to identify explanations for persistent racial disparities and to inform more precise, biology-informed and targeted cancer prevention strategies. Dr. Dallal collaborates with investigators at the National Cancer Institute, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, other Institutes within the University of Maryland System as well as academic collaborators across the U.S. and internationally.
Dr. Dallal’s research interests and expertise inform her teaching and mentoring and has recently developed two new courses for the department - EPIB 642 Obesity Epidemiology: Hormones and Cancer and EPIB 644: Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.
Cancer epidemiology; Population-based study design and analysis; Obesity, physical activity and sedentary behavior; Measurement of hormones and lifestyle factors; Metabolomics
American Cancer Society, Mentored Research Scholar Grant Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Breast Cancer Racial Disparities, 2017-2023
American Cancer Society, UMGCCC Institutional Research Grant, Obesity Phenotypes, Metabolic Health and Breast Cancer Racial Disparities, 2019-2021
NIH Loan Repayment Program, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, 2017-2019
University of Maryland MPower: Population Science Research Initiative, 2015-2016
NIH/NCI Funding Award to Advance Research on Cancers in Women, 2011
Delta Omega Honorary Society, Induction to Gamma Zeta Chapter, 2018
NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence, 2011 & 2012
EPIB611 Intermediate Epidemiology
EPIB642 Obesity Epidemiology: Hormones and Cancer
EPIB644 Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
EPIB788 Critical Readings
Cancer Prevention Fellow, Post-Doctoral Training
National Cancer Institute
PhD, Epidemiology
University of Pittsburgh
MS, Applied Biostatistics and Epidemiology
University of Southern California
MPH, Chronic Disease Epidemiology
Yale University
BA, Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California at Berkeley
PubMed Link to Publications:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1PCI5g5-8h5Qi/bibliography/public/
Select Publications:
Ghosh R, Pfeiffer RM, Ramin C, Xu X, Turner PC. He X, Gierach GL, Dallal CM. The effects of tamoxifen and its metabolites on circulating concentrations of estrogen metabolites among pre- and postmenopausal women. Steroids. 2026; E-pub.
Ogbenna B, He X, Wu AH, Le Marchand L, Wilkens L, Butler J, Dyer T, Cheng I, Dallal CM. Healthy Lifestyle Index and Invasive Breast Cancer Risk among Postmenopausal Women in the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study. CEBP. 2025; 34(6):875-884.
Ghosh R#, Pfeiffer RM, Roberts S, Gierach GL, Dallal CM. Adjuvant endocrine therapy and risk of contralateral breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Cancer Causes Control. 2025; 36(2): 107-126.
Dorgan JF, Ryan AS, LeBlanc ES, Van Horn L, Magder LS, Snetselaar LG, Zhang Y, Dallal CM, Jung S, Shepherd JA. A Comparison of Associations of BMI and DXA Measured Percent Fat and Total Fat with Global Serum Metabolites in Young Women. Obesity. 2023; 31(2):525-536.
Sampson J, Falk R, Schairer C, Moore SC, Fuhrman B, Dallal CM, Brinton LA, Gail MH, Ziegler RG, Hoover RN, Gierach G. Association between estrogen metabolism and breast cancer risk in four cohorts of postmenopausal women. Cancer Res 2017; 77(4): 918-925.
Dallal CM, Brinton LA, Matthews CE, Pfeiffer R, Hartman T, Lissowska J, Falk R, Garcia Closas M, Xu X, Veenstra TD, Gierach GL. Is accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary behavior associated with urinary estrogens and estrogen metabolites among postmenopausal women? Med Sci Sports Exerc 2016; 48(3): 439-48.
Dallal CM, Tice JA, Buist DSM, Bauer DC, Lacey JV, Cauley JA, Hue TF, LaCroix A, Falk RT, Pfeiffer R, Fuhrman B, Veenstra TD, Xu X, Brinton LA. Estrogen metabolism and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the B~FIT cohort. Carcinogenesis 2014; 35(2): 346-55.
Dallal CM, Brinton LA, Bauer DC, Buist DSM, Cauley JA, Hue TF, LaCroix A, Tice JA, Chia VM, Falk RT, Pfeiffer R, Pollak M, Veenstra TD, Xu X, Lacey JV. Obesity-related hormones and endometrial cancer among postmenopausal women: a nested case-control study within the B~FIT Cohort. Endocr Relat Cancer 2013; 20(1): 151-160.
Dallal CM, Sullivan-Halley J, Ross RK, Wang Y, Deapen D, Horn-Ross PL, Reynolds P, Stram DO, Clarke CA, Anton-Culver H, Ziogas A, Peel D, West DW, Wright W, and Bernstein L. Long-term recreational physical activity and risk of invasive and in situ breast cancer: the California Teachers Study. Arch Intern Med 2007; 167(4): 408-15.