Gertraud Maskarinec, MD, PhD
Associate Director, Cancer Research Training, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center
Full Member, Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center
Academic Appointment(s):
Professor (Researcher) of University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Graduate Faculty, Office of Public Health Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Graduate Faculty, Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Degree(s):
MD (Preventive Medicine), Universität Freiburg, Germany
PhD (Epidemiology), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
MPH (Epidemiology), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Research Focus
Dr. Maskarinec, a physician in preventive medicine and nutritional epidemiologist, has the goal to contribute to chronic disease prevention by understanding the etiology of breast cancer, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL), and type 2 diabetes. To elucidate the difference in health status across ethnic groups, she has performed comparative studies that included participants from Hawaiʻi, Guam, the US, Japan, and Europe. Nutritional risk factors, especially dietary patterns, overweight and obesity, and soy foods are the main topics of numerous publications. In the area of breast cancer risk, she has worked with intermediate endpoints, such as mammographic densities, pathologic markers in tissue, serum hormone levels, urinary estrogen metabolites, adipokines, inflammatory markers, and nipple aspirate fluid. Dr. Maskarinec is dedicated to research education and training and career development. She leads the Cancer Center's Summer Internship Program for undergraduate students, oversees training programs for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and teaches at the University of Hawaiʻi and institutions in foreign countries.
Selected Publications
Ma E, Maskarinec G, Lim U, Boushey CJ, Wilkens LR, Setiawan VW, Le Marchand L, Randolph TR, Jenkins IC, Curtis KR, Lampe JW, Hullar MAJ. (2021). Long-term Association between Diet Quality and Characteristics of the Gut Microbiome in the Multiethnic Cohort Study. Br J Nutrition Br J Nutr.; 2021 Aug 9:1-29. doi: 10.1017/S0007114521002968. Online ahead of print.
Maskarinec G, Raquinio P, Kristal BS, Setiawan VW, Wilkens LR, Franke AA, Lim U, Le Marchand L, Randolph TW, Lampe JW, Hullar MAJ. (2021). The Gut Microbiome and Type 2 Diabetes Status in the Multiethnic Cohort. PLos One 2021; Jun 23;16(6):e0250855. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250855. eCollection 2021.
Maskarinec G, Lim U, Jacobs S, Monroe KR, Ernst T, Buchthal SD, Shepherd JA, Wilkens LR, Le Marchand L, Boushey CJ. (2017). Diet Quality Predicts Visceral Adiposity and Liver Fatness: The Multiethnic Cohort Study. Obesity; 25: 1442-50. doi:10.1002/oby.21868.
Maskarinec G, Jacobs S, Park SY, Haiman CA, Setiawan VW, Wilkens LR, Le Marchand L. (2017). Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, and Breast Cancer Risk: The Multiethnic Cohort.Cancer Epidemiol, Biomarkers Prev; Jun;26(6):854-861. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-16-0789. Epub 2017 Jan 13.
Publication list via PubMed
Active Grants
G. Maskarinec, MPI of Research Education Core
NCI
U54 CA143727
"Pacific Island Partnership for Health Equity (PIPCHE)"
09/01/20 – 08/31/25
G. Maskarinec, MPI (Contact PI)
NCI
R25 CA244073
"Cancer Research Education, Advancement, Training and Empowerment (CREATE) in the Pacific"
08/01/20 – 07/31/25
Maskarinec, Associate Director of Cancer Research Training; J. Ramos, PI
NCI
P30 CA071789
“University of Hawaii Cancer Center CCSG”
7/1997 - 6/2023
G. Maskarinec, Co-Investigator/; B. Kristal (Brigham and Women's Hospital), PI
NCI
R01 HL140335
"Lipidomics Biomarkers Link Sleep Restriction to Adiposity Phenotype, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Risk"
9/1/18 – 6/30/22
G. Maskarinec, Co-Investigator; J. Shepherd, PI
NCI
R01 DK109008
"Optical Body Composition and Health Assessment"
5/15/16 – 4/30/22
G. Maskarinec, Co-Investigator; J. Shepherd, PI
NCI
R01 DK111698
"Shape Up! Kids"
1/20/17 – 12/31/21
