Victoria Kristence Cortessis, PhD

Dr. Cortessis’ professional activities are dedicated mainly to research and teaching. Her primary scientific identity is as an epidemiologist, but her work integrates approaches from anthropology, epidemiology, human genetics and molecular biology. In her most long-standing research programs, she investigates complex etiology of urogenital malignancies and congenital disorders by implementing hypothesis-driven research at USC and by collaborating with international consortia to accelerate forms of agnostic discovery that require extraordinarily large data resources. She has recently expanded her work to address cervical cancer disparities, a topic in which her expertise in cancer etiology intersects an enduring interest in the health of underserved communities. Her teaching at undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels focuses on epidemiologic methods and epidemiologic approaches to understanding chronic disease; she also brings the perspective of population science to interdisciplinary instruction in clinical-translational research.

• Incident testicular cancer in relation to using marijuana and smoking tobacco: A systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studiesUrol Oncol. 2020 07; 38(7):642. e1-642. e9. . View in PubMed
• Progesterone therapy for prevention of recurrent spontaneous preterm birth in a minority patient population: a retrospective study BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024 Apr 08; 24(1):252. . View in PubMed
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers and dysregulation of MicroRNA expression in humans and animals-A systematic review Environ Res. 2024 Mar 01; 244:117832. . View in PubMed
• Survival in Agent Orange exposed and unexposed Vietnam-era veterans who were diagnosed with lymphoid malignancies Blood Adv. 2024 Feb 27; 8(4):1037-1041. . View in PubMed
• GDF15 linked to maternal risk of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy Nature. 2024 Jan; 625(7996):760-767. . View in PubMed
• Cochlear implantation in Waardenburg syndrome: Systematic review and meta-analysis Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2023 Dec; 175:111738. . View in PubMed
• Fetally-encoded GDF15 and maternal GDF15 sensitivity are major determinants of nausea and vomiting in human pregnancy bioRxiv. 2023 Jun 04. . View in PubMed
• Effects of parity on preterm delivery in twin gestations conceived with in vitro fertilization F S Rep. 2023 Mar; 4(1):49-54. . View in PubMed
• Mind- and Body-Based Interventions Improve Glycemic Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis J Integr Complement Med. 2023 Feb; 29(2):69-79. . View in PubMed
• Genome-wide Association Study of Bladder Cancer Reveals New Biological and Translational Insights Eur Urol. 2023 07; 84(1):127-137. . View in PubMed
• Interethnic Differences in Bladder Cancer Incidence and the Association between Type 2 Diabetes and Bladder Cancer in the Multiethnic Cohort Study Cancer Res Commun. 2023 05; 3(5):755-762. . View in PubMed
• Embryo morphology and live birth in the United States F S Rep. 2022 Jun; 3(2):131-137. . View in PubMed
• Patterns of Use and Self-reported Effectiveness of Cannabis for Hyperemesis Gravidarum Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 2022 May; 82(5):517-527. . View in PubMed
• Association Study between Polymorphisms in DNA Methylation-Related Genes and Testicular Germ Cell Tumor Risk Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2022 09 02; 31(9):1769-1779. . View in PubMed
• Epigenetic Dysregulation of Trophoblastic Gene Expression in Gestational Trophoblastic Disease Biomedicines. 2021 Dec 17; 9(12). . View in PubMed
• Marijuana use and perinatal outcomes in obstetric patients at a safety net hospital Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2021 Nov; 266:36-41. . View in PubMed
• J Assist Reprod Genet. 2021 Aug; 38(8):2151-2156. . View in PubMed
• Identification of 22 susceptibility loci associated with testicular germ cell tumors Nat Commun. 2021 07 23; 12(1):4487. . View in PubMed
• Neonatal hypoglycemia after initiation of late preterm antenatal corticosteroids J Perinatol. 2020 09; 40(9):1339-1348. . View in PubMed
• Role of sex steroid hormones in pelvic organ prolapse Menopause. 2020 08; 27(8):941-951. . View in PubMed
• A Systematic Review of the Efficacy of Preclinical Models of Lung Cancer Drugs Front Oncol. 2020; 10:591. . View in PubMed
• Non-prescription cannabis use for symptom management amongst women with gynecologic malignancies Gynecol Oncol Rep. 2019 Nov; 30:100497. . View in PubMed
• Dysregulation of Placental Functions and Immune Pathways in Complete Hydatidiform Moles Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Oct 10; 20(20). . View in PubMed
• Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Testicular Germ Cell Tumors Following In Utero Exposure to Diethylstilbestrol JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2019 Sep; 3(3):pkz045. . View in PubMed
• ASGE guideline on the role of endoscopy in the evaluation and management of choledocholithiasisGastrointest Endosc. 2019 06; 89(6):1075-1105. e15. . View in PubMed
• Comprehensive meta-analysis reveals association between multiple imprinting disorders and conception by assisted reproductive technology J Assist Reprod Genet. 2018 Jun; 35(6):943-952. . View in PubMed
• Availability of long-acting reversible contraceptives in Los Angeles County clinics through a Medicaid state plan amendment program Contraception. 2018 12; 98(6):471-475. . View in PubMed
• The use of a low-literacy version of the Medicaid sterilization consent form to assess sterilization-related knowledge in Spanish-speaking women: results from a randomized controlled trial Contraception. 2018 06; 97(6):546-551. . View in PubMed
• Integrated Molecular Characterization of Testicular Germ Cell Tumors Cell Rep. 2018 06 12; 23(11):3392-3406. . View in PubMed
• Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Muscle-Invasive Bladder CancerCell. 2017 Oct 19; 171(3):540-556. e25. . View in PubMed
• Meta-analysis of five genome-wide association studies identifies multiple new loci associated with testicular germ cell tumor Nat Genet. 2017 Jul; 49(7):1141-1147. . View in PubMed
• Intrauterine Device Use and Cervical Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Obstet Gynecol. 2017 12; 130(6):1226-1236. . View in PubMed
• Does the type of progestin influence the production of clotting factors? Contraception. 2017 02; 95(2):113-116.. View in PubMed
• Winner’s Curse Correction and Variable Thresholding Improve Performance of Polygenic Risk Modeling Based on Genome-Wide Association Study Summary-Level Data PLoS Genet. 2016 Dec; 12(12):e1006493. . View in PubMed
• Identification of a novel susceptibility locus at 13q34 and refinement of the 20p122 region as a multi-signal locus associated with bladder cancer risk in individuals of European ancestry. Hum Mol Genet. 2016 Mar 15; 25(6):1203-14. . View in PubMed
• Analysis of Heritability and Shared Heritability Based on Genome-Wide Association Studies for Thirteen Cancer Types J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015 Dec; 107(12):djv279. . View in PubMed
• The Influence of Screening for Precancerous Lesions on Family-Based Genetic Association Tests: An Example of Colorectal Polyps and Cancer Am J Epidemiol. 2015 Oct 15; 182(8):714-22. . View in PubMed
• Imputation and subset-based association analysis across different cancer types identifies multiple independent risk loci in the TERT-CLPTM1L region on chromosome 5p1533. Hum Mol Genet. 2014 Dec 15; 23(24):6616-33. . View in PubMed
• Validation of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results TNM staging for testicular germ cell tumor Urol Oncol. 2014 Nov; 32(8):1341-6. . View in PubMed
• The 19q12 bladder cancer GWAS signal: association with cyclin E function and aggressive disease Cancer Res. 2014 Oct 15; 74(20):5808-18. . View in PubMed
• Genome-wide interaction study of smoking and bladder cancer risk Carcinogenesis. 2014 Aug; 35(8):1737-44. . View in PubMed
• Comprehensive analyses of DNA repair pathways, smoking and bladder cancer risk in Los Angeles and Shanghai Int J Cancer. 2014 Jul 15; 135(2):335-47. . View in PubMed
• A meta-analysis of Hodgkin lymphoma reveals 19p133 TCF3 as a novel susceptibility locus. Nat Commun. 2014 Jun 12; 5:3856. . View in PubMed
• Three authors reply Am J Epidemiol. 2014 Apr 15; 179(8):1037. . View in PubMed
• Genome-wide association study identifies multiple loci associated with bladder cancer risk Hum Mol Genet. 2014 Mar 01; 23(5):1387-98. . View in PubMed
• Dietary sources of N-nitroso compounds and bladder cancer risk: findings from the Los Angeles bladder cancer study Int J Cancer. 2014 Jan 01; 134(1):125-35. . View in PubMed
• Null association between histology of first and second primary malignancies in men with bilateral testicular germ cell tumors Am J Epidemiol. 2013 Oct 15; 178(8):1240-5. . View in PubMed
• Testicular germ cell tumor susceptibility associated with the UCK2 locus on chromosome 1q23 Hum Mol Genet. 2013 Jul 01; 22(13):2748-53. . View in PubMed
• Meta-analysis identifies four new loci associated with testicular germ cell tumor Nat Genet. 2013 Jun; 45(6):680-5. . View in PubMed
• Elevated 4-aminobiphenyl and 2,6-dimethylaniline hemoglobin adducts and increased risk of bladder cancer among lifelong nonsmokers–The Shanghai Bladder Cancer Study Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 May; 22(5):937-45. . View in PubMed
• Potential impact of age at first marijuana use on the development of nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumors Cancer. 2013 Mar 15; 119(6):1284-5. . View in PubMed
• Combination of molecular alterations and smoking intensity predicts bladder cancer outcome: a report from the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Program Cancer. 2013 Feb 15; 119(4):756-65. . View in PubMed
• Reducing the Excess Burden of Cervical Cancer Among Latinas: Translating Science into Health Promotion Initiatives Calif J Health Promot. 2013; 11(1):45-57. . View in PubMed
• Commentary: rapid steps forward in environmental epigenetics: implications for epidemiologic investigation of chronic disease Int J Epidemiol. 2012 Dec; 41(6):1761-3. . View in PubMed
• Population-based case-control study of recreational drug use and testis cancer risk confirms an association between marijuana use and nonseminoma risk Cancer. 2012 Nov 01; 118(21):5374-83. . View in PubMed
• Environmental epigenetics: prospects for studying epigenetic mediation of exposure-response relationships Hum Genet. 2012 Oct; 131(10):1565-89. . View in PubMed
• Shorter androgen receptor CAG repeat lengths associated with cryptorchidism risk among Hispanic white boys J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Mar; 97(3):E393-9. . View in PubMed
• Cigarette smoking and subtypes of bladder cancer Int J Cancer. 2012 Feb 15; 130(4):896-901. . View in PubMed
• A review of cancer in US. Hispanic populations. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2012 Feb; 5(2):150-63. . View in PubMed
• A genome-wide meta-analysis of nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma identifies risk loci at 6p2132. Blood. 2012 Jan 12; 119(2):469-75. . View in PubMed
• Cryptorchidism and testicular germ cell tumors: comprehensive meta-analysis reveals that association between these conditions diminished over time and is modified by clinical characteristics Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2012; 3:182. . View in PubMed
• Repeated assessment by high-throughput assay demonstrates that sperm DNA methylation levels are highly reproducible Fertil Steril. 2011 Dec; 96(6):1325-30. . View in PubMed
• Heterogenous effect of androgen receptor CAG tract length on testicular germ cell tumor risk: shorter repeats associated with seminoma but not other histologic types Carcinogenesis. 2011 Aug; 32(8):1238-43. . View in PubMed
• Lower risk in parous women suggests that hormonal factors are important in bladder cancer etiology Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2011 Jun; 20(6):1156-70. . View in PubMed
• Genetic variations on chromosomes 5p15 and 15q25 and bladder cancer risk: findings from the Los Angeles-Shanghai bladder case-control study Carcinogenesis. 2011 Feb; 32(2):197-202. . View in PubMed
• Risk of urinary bladder cancer is associated with 8q24 variant rs9642880[T] in multiple racial/ethnic groups: results from the Los Angeles-Shanghai case-control study Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010 Dec; 19(12):3150-6. . View in PubMed
• A multi-stage genome-wide association study of bladder cancer identifies multiple susceptibility loci Nat Genet. 2010 Nov; 42(11):978-84. . View in PubMed
• Hypertension, diuretics and antihypertensives in relation to bladder cancer Carcinogenesis. 2010 Nov; 31(11):1964-71. . View in PubMed
• Sequence variant on 3q28 and urinary bladder cancer risk: findings from the Los Angeles-Shanghai bladder case-control study Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Nov; 18(11):3057-61. . View in PubMed
• Polymorphisms in DNA repair genes, smoking, and bladder cancer risk: findings from the international consortium of bladder cancer Cancer Res. 2009 Sep 01; 69(17):6857-64. . View in PubMed
• Urinary tract infections and reduced risk of bladder cancer in Los Angeles Br J Cancer. 2009 Mar 10; 100(5):834-9. . View in PubMed
• Water intake and bladder cancer risk in Los Angeles County Int J Cancer. 2008 Oct 01; 123(7):1649-56. . View in PubMed
• Effect of cervicitis on visual inspection with acetic acid J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2008 Oct; 12(4):282-6. . View in PubMed
• Re: Prepubertal orchiopexy for cryptorchidism may be associated with lower risk of testicular cancer J Urol. 2008 Aug; 180(2):783-4; author reply 784-5. . View in PubMed
• RUNX3 methylation reveals that bladder tumors are older in patients with a history of smoking Cancer Res. 2008 Aug 01; 68(15):6208-14. . View in PubMed
• Analysis of the DND1 gene in men with sporadic and familial testicular germ cell tumors Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2008 Mar; 47(3):247-52. . View in PubMed
• Widespread epigenetic abnormalities suggest a broad DNA methylation erasure defect in abnormal human sperm PLoS One. 2007 Dec 12; 2(12):e1289. . View in PubMed
• Male infertility and variation in CAG repeat length in the androgen receptor gene: a meta-analysis J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Nov; 92(11):4319-26. . View in PubMed
• Alcohol consumption and risk of bladder cancer in Los Angeles County Int J Cancer. 2007 Aug 15; 121(4):839-45. . View in PubMed
• Genome-wide linkage screen for testicular germ cell tumour susceptibility loci Hum Mol Genet. 2006 Feb 01; 15(3):443-51. . View in PubMed
• The Y deletion gr/gr and susceptibility to testicular germ cell tumor Am J Hum Genet. 2005 Dec; 77(6):1034-43. . View in PubMed
• Meat intake, cooking-related mutagens and risk of colorectal adenoma in a sigmoidoscopy-based case-control study Carcinogenesis. 2005 Mar; 26(3):637-42. . View in PubMed
• A molecular/epidemiologic analysis of expression of cyclooxygenases 1 and 2, use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, and risk of colorectal adenoma Clin Colorectal Cancer. 2005 Mar; 4(6):390-5. . View in PubMed
• Mutation analysis of INSL3 and GREAT/LGR8 genes in familial cryptorchidism Urology. 2004 Nov; 64(5):1032-6. . View in PubMed
• Toxicokinetic genetics: an approach to gene-environment and gene-gene interactions in complex metabolic pathways IARC Sci Publ. 2004; (157):127-50. . View in PubMed
• A case-control study of cyclin D1 CCND1 870A–>G polymorphism and bladder cancer Carcinogenesis. 2003 Oct; 24(10):1645-50. . View in PubMed
• Bayesian modeling of complex metabolic pathways Hum Hered. 2003; 56(1-3):83-93. . View in PubMed
• A case-control study of microsomal epoxide hydrolase, smoking, meat consumption, glutathione S-transferase M3, and risk of colorectal adenomas Cancer Res. 2001 Mar 15; 61(6):2381-5. . View in PubMed
• Multiple elements regulate GAD65 transcription Dev Neurosci. 1997; 19(6):465-75. . View in PubMed
• Linkage analysis of DRD2, a marker linked to the ataxia-telangiectasia gene, in 64 families with premenopausal bilateral breast cancer Cancer Res. 1993 Nov 01; 53(21):5083-6. . View in PubMed
• A linkage analysis of D17S74 (CMM86) in thirty-five families with premenopausal bilateral breast cancer Cancer Res. 1993 Jan 15; 53(2):212-4. . View in PubMed
• A Gibbs sampling approach to linkage analysis Hum Hered. 1992; 42(1):63-76. . View in PubMed
• Ornithine aminotransferase (OAT): recombination between an X-linked OAT sequence (75 kb) and the Norrie disease locus. Genomics. 1990 Jan; 6(1):123-8. . View in PubMed
• Duplicate report crossing over in Norrie disease family Am J Med Genet. 1989 Jun; 33(2):286. . View in PubMed
• Norrie disease: linkage analysis using a 42-kb RFLP detected by a human ornithine aminotransferase cDNA probe. Genomics. 1989 May; 4(4):539-45. . View in PubMed
• Comparison of the affected-pedigree-member and lod-score methods Prog Clin Biol Res. 1989; 329:135-40. . View in PubMed
• Recombinational event between Norrie disease and DXS7 loci Clin Genet. 1988 Jul; 34(1):43-7. . View in PubMed
• Genes for salivary proline-rich proteins and taste for phenylthiourea are not closely linked in humans Cytogenet Cell Genet. 1988; 49(4):315-7. . View in PubMed
• Genetic linkage studies with neurofibromatosis: the question of heterogeneity J Med Genet. 1987 Sep; 24(9):527-9. . View in PubMed
• Correcting for variable age of onset in the estimation of familial relative risk when there is a secular trend in incidence of disease Hum Hered. 1986; 36(4):227-32. . View in PubMed

• Daneshmand, Siamak
• Djaladat, Hooman
• Amatruda, James
• Haiman, Christopher
• Lenz, Heinz-Josef
• Matsuo, Koji
• Krailo, Mark
• Quinn, David
• Peters, Anne
• Alsyouf, Muhannad
• Gill, Inderbir
• Stanczyk, Frank
• Conti, David
• Leventhal, Adam
• Stram, Daniel
• Wiemels, Joseph
• Gilliland, Frank
• Gauderman, William
• Unger, Jennifer
• Wu-Williams, Anna
• Xiao, Guang-Qian
• Stern, Mariana
• Monk, David