Anna Plym

Anna Plym

Assistant Professor
Telephone: +46852482272
Visiting address: Nobelsväg 12 a, 17165 Stockholm
Postal address: C8 Medicinsk epidemiologi och biostatistik, C8 MEB II Wiklund Plym, 171 77 Stockholm
Part of:

About me

  • I am a dedicated cancer researcher, epidemiologist, and an Assistant Professor at
    the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (MEB) at Karolinska
    Institutet. I also have an adjunct faculty position at Harvard T.H. Chan
    School of Public Health and a research affiliation at Brigham and Women's
    Hospital, Boston, MA.

    Career Highlights:
    2023 Adjunct Assistant Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
    2022 Assistant Professor at Karolinska Institutet
    2022 Postdoc at Karolinska Institutet
    2019-2021 Postdoc at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital
    2019 PhD Cancer Epidemiology (Karolinska Institutet)
    2013 MSc Public Health Epidemiology (Karolinska Institutet)
    2007 MSc Biomedical Science (Uppsala University)

Research

  • My research aims at generating evidence-based knowledge that can be used in a
    genetic-risk based prevention strategy for prostate cancer. My research
    centers around evaluating and improving genetic risk-stratification for
    aggressive prostate cancer, and on identifying ways for prevention among men
    at high genetic risk.

    In my research, I have demonstrated that close to 50% of men with a high
    polygenic risk score will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their
    lifetime, as compared with less than 10% among men with a low polygenic risk
    score. My research also indicates that a high polygenic risk score is not
    deterministic for a poor prostate cancer outcome and that factors linked to a
    healthy lifestyle may compensate for a high genetic risk for prostate
    cancer.

    Selected awards:
    2021 Young Investigator Award, Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) US
    2021 Scholar-in-Training Award, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2024 - 31 December 2027
    Prostate cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer death. A major barrier to reducing death from prostate cancer is the lack of a clear prevention strategy. PSA testing has long been available, but has overall only had a modest impact on reducing prostate cancer mortality. New strategies are urgently needed. We hypothesize that a more personalized prevention approach that take genetic predisposition into account may be the way forward. Genetic testing has emerged as a powerful predictor for prostate cancer, in particular when multiple inherited genetic risk variants are combined into a polygenic risk score (PRS). Men with a high PRS have a lifetime risk of prostate cancer exceeding 50% and are at increased risk of dying from the disease. A tailored strategy may not only allow for early diagnosis and targeted treatment of potentially fatal cancers, but also provide additional motivation for healthy lifestyle behaviors which may lower the risk of prostate cancer death substantially. The overarching aim of this project is to generate evidence-based knowledge that can be used for a new genetic risk-based prevention strategy for prostate cancer that focus on preventing development of metastatic disease and death. The project center around evaluating and improving genetic risk-stratification for prostate cancer death, and on identifying ways for prevention among men at high genetic risk leveraging data from nearly 70,000 Swedish and U.S. men.
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2024 - 31 December 2026
    This project aims to further advance the understanding of inherited genetic determinants for prostate cancer (PCa) aggressiveness and prognosis. To achieve this, we will apply large-scale genomic assessments in several study populations of PCa in collaboration with international research groups. Genome-wide association studies of individual genetic variants and combined effects of genetic risk scores will be explored. In addition, gene expression imputation to perform transcriptome-wide association studies will be applied. Through this approach, we enable a comprehensive assessment of inherited genomic variants with respect to PCa aggressiveness and prognosis. Of importance, the clinical translatability of identified genetic markers will be investigated. The proposed project has the possibility to contribute to considerable advancement in the understanding of the underlying etiology of the development of aggressive disease and disease progression, as well as improving the clinical management of this disease.

Employments

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 2022-2028

Degrees and Education

  • Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 2019
  • Degree Of Master Of Medical Science 120 Credits, Karolinska Institutet, 2013

News from KI

Events from KI