Ashley Felix, PhD
Associate Professor
Epidemiology
“What I love most about epidemiology is that we use data to make an impact in the lives of people who need it the most. In my work as a cancer epidemiologist, I focus on understanding why cancer health disparities exist so that we can provide data-informed solutions to reduce the unequal burden. I also work to understand the larger context that creates racial disparities in cancer occurrence and outcomes, which is a unique part of public health. Our goal is to create healthier environments so that people can live their best lives.”
Biography
Dr. Felix is a cancer epidemiologist with strong interests in the molecular epidemiology of gynecologic malignancies. Specifically, Dr. Felix’s research activities include refining risk factors associations for heterogeneous endometrial cancer subtypes, investigating the molecular mechanisms that underlie these relationships, and identifying modifiable factors that can improve prognosis among endometrial cancer patients. Her work has specifically focused on women diagnosed with clinically aggressive endometrial tumors, which represent a diverse and understudied group of tumors, characterized by racial disparities.
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cancer Prevention
- National Cancer Institute, 2011-2015
- PhD
- Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, 2007-2011
- MPH
- Epidemiology, University of Michigan, 2005-2007
- BA
- Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 2001-2005
Research interests
Cancer epidemiology; women’s health; racial disparities; molecular epidemiology; screening and early detection
Select publications
- Meade CE, Sinnott JA, Padamsee TJ, Clarke MA, Plascak JJ, Cosgrove CM, Trabert B, Felix AS. Geographic variation of racial and ethnic differences in uterine cancer survival. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(40:e257227. PubMed PMID: 40279127
- Khadraoui W, Sinnott JA, Meade CE, Plascak J, Carey AB, Backes FJ, Dood RL, Trabert B, Felix AS. Clinical trial enrollment during first course of gynecologic cancer treatment and survival. Gynecol Oncol. 2025;192:59-64. PubMed PMID: 39546930
- Felix AS, Sinnott JA, Caan BJ, Gillespie S, Meade CE, Strafford KE, Cosgrove CM, Soma L, Noria S, Bixel KB, Salani R, Nagel CI, Chambers LM, Cohn DE, Suarez AA, and Paskett ED. Changes in anthropometry, adiposity, and inflammation in Black and White women engaged in intentional weight loss. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2024;32(12):2398-2409. PubMed PMID: 39496520
- Sinnott JA, Torkashvand E, Meade CE, Salani R, Vetter MH, Hall B, Skolnick R, Bixel KL, Cohn DE, Cosgrove CM, Copeland LJ, Hebert C, Felix AS. Changes in prospectively collected patient-reported outcomes among women with incident endometrial cancer. J Cancer Surviv. 2024; doi: 10.1007/s11764-024-01536-z. PubMed PMID: 38265703.
- Khadraoui W, Meade CE, Backes FJ, Felix AS. Racial and ethnic disparities in clinical trial enrollment among women with gynecologic cancer. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(12):e2346494. PubMed PMID: 38060227; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10704282
- Felix AS, Sinnott JA, Cohn DE, Duggan MA, Havrilesky LJ, Olawaiye AB, Mariani A, Rodriquez M, Brett M, Dinoi G, Meade CE, Hall B, Goldfeld E, Elishaev E, Sherman ME, Suarez AA. Intraluminal tumor cells and prognostic accuracy of endometrial cancer stage criteria: A multi-institution study. Gynecol Oncol. 2023;178:130-137. PubMed PMID: 37862792; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10842547
- Felix AS, Nafiu T, Cosgrove CM, Ewing A, Mpody C. Racial disparities in surgical outcomes among women with endometrial cancer. Ann Surg Oncol. 2022;29(13):8338-8344. PubMed PMID: 36138286.
- Felix AS, Nolan TS, Glover LG, Sims M, Addison D, Smith S, Anderson C, Warren BJ, Woods-Giscombe C, Hood DB, Williams KP. The modifying role of resilience on allostatic load and cardiovascular disease risk in the Jackson Heart Study. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2023 Oct;10(5):2124-2135. PubMed PMID: 36136291.
- Barrington DA, Sinnott JA, Nixon D, Cohn DE, Doll K, Donneyong M, Felix AS. More than treatment refusal: a National Cancer Database analysis of adjuvant treatment refusal and racial survival disparities among women with endometrial cancer. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022. 10:S0002-9378(22)00174-0. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.03.004. PubMed PMID: 35283091; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9308654.
- Felix AS, McLaughlin E, Caan BJ, Cohn DE, Anderson GL, Paskett ED. Guideline-concordant endometrial cancer treatment and survival in the Women’s Health Initiative Life and Longevity After Cancer study. Int J Cancer. 2020;147(2):404-412. PubMed PMID: 31618444; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7160046.