Dr Shuai Li

University of Melbourne 

Integrating epigenomics and genomics to understand the causal pathways and mechanisms of how menarche and menopause modify breast cancer risk 

Age at menarche (puberty) and age at menopause are well-known breast cancer risk factors. DNA methylation is a mechanism that changes the way genes work. This project will integrate large-scale genome-wide genetic and DNA methylation data from two population cohorts and apply novel bioinformatic methods to find out how and why menarche and menopause change breast cancer risk. This will provide new evidence about the causes, and possible prevention and intervention, of breast cancer.