Title: Evidence synthesis and integration for cancer hazard identification: the approach of the IARC Monographs programme

Abstract: For over 50 years, the Monographs programme of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has evaluated the carcinogenic hazard posed by more than 1000 agents, bringing together international expert working groups in cancer epidemiology, animal cancer bioassays, and mechanistic evidence to conduct in-depth appraisals of carcinogenicity hazard. This presentation will provide examples of evidence triangulation, new priorities for evaluation, and will highlight past practice and future directions in causal inference for the preventable causes of human cancer.

Biography: Dr Mary Schubauer-Berigan, an occupational epidemiologist, heads the Monographs programme of IARC, after joining in 2018. Her team leads evaluations of the epidemiological and experimental evidence base to identify the preventable causes of human cancer. She has been Responsible Officer for monographs on night shift work, opium consumption, and occupational exposure as a firefighter. Previously, Mary led multidisciplinary teams conducting epidemiology studies of the health effects of occupational exposures to beryllium, carbon nanotubes, nuclear work, radon, cosmic radiation, and circadian disruption at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the USA. Mary has co-authored over 150 publications on the above topics. Her research on lung cancer from beryllium exposure in workers was used by the US OSHA in 2017 to support a more protective exposure limit for workers. She received a PhD in epidemiology from the Medical University of South Carolina and a MS in biology from the University of Minnesota.