Dr. Cynthia Thomson, PhD, RD is a Professor in the College of Public Health and holds joint appointments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences & the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona. Dr. Thomson received her Ph.D. from the Interdisciplinary Program in Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona and completed NCI-sponsored post-doctoral training at the Arizona Cancer Center with a focus on diet and cancer prevention. As a cancer prevention scientist and co-lead of the UACC Cancer Prevention and Control, her research emphases include lifestyle interventions in cancer survivors, as well as behavioral interventions for weight control and metabolic regulation. She serves as the Director of the Zuckerman Family Center for Prevention and Health Promotion at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, a center whose mission is to support a healthier Tucson community. She is also the Director of the Arizona Smokers’ Helpline (ASHLine), a direct service program for the public, funded by the Arizona Department of Health Services, to support smoking cessation and chronic disease risk reduction.

Educational Background

BS, Family & Consumer Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 1980

MS, Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 1987

PhD, Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 1998

Selected Publications:

1. Thomson CA, McCullough ML, Wertheim BC, Chlebowski R, Martinez ME, Stefanick ML, Rohan TE, Manson JE, Tindle HA, Ockene J, Vitolins MZ, Wactawski-Wende J, Sarto GE, Lane D, Neuhouser ML. Nutrition and physical activity cancer prevention guidelines, cancer risk, and mortality in the Women’s Health Initiative. Cancer Prevention Research.  2014 Jan;7(1):42-53. doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-13-0258. 2014. [PMID: 24403289].
2. Crane TE, Khulpateea BR, Alberts DS, Basen-Engquist K, Thomson CA. Dietary intake and ovarian cancer: a systematic review. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. Epub ahead of print October 2013. [PMID: 24142805].
3. Prentice RL, Neuhouser ML, Tinker LF, Pettinger M, Thomson CA, Mossavar-Rahmani Y, Thomas F, Qi L, Huang Y. An exploratory study of respiratory quotient calibration and association with postmenopausal breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 22(12): 2374-2383, 2013. [PMID: 24108790].
4. Beasley JM, Shikany JM, Thomson CA. The Role of Dietary Protein Intake in the Prevention of sarcopenia of aging. Nutr Clin Pract. 28(6): 684-690, 2013. [PMID: 24163319].
5. Wassertheil-Smoller S, McGinn A, Budrys N, Chlebowski R, Ho G, Johnson KC, Lane DS, Li W, Neuhouser ML, Saquib J, Shikany JM,Song Y, Thomson CA. Multivitamin and mineral use and breast cancer mortality in older women with invasive breast cancer. Breast Cancer Research Treat. 141(3): 495-505, 2013. [PMID: 24104882]. 
6. Prentice RL, Pettinger M, Tinker LF, Huang Y, Thomson CA, Johnson KC, Beasley J, Anderson G, Shikany JM, Chlebowski RT, Neuhouser ML. Regression calibration in nutritional epidemiology: example of fat density and total energy in relationship to postmenopausal breast cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 78(11): 1663-1672, 2013. [PMID: 24064741].
7. Dow CA, Wertheim BC, Patil BS, Thomson CA. Daily consumption of grapefruit for 6 weeks reduces urine F2-Isoprostanes in overweight adults with high baseline values but has no effect on plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein or soluble vascular cellular adhesion molecule 1. J Nutr. 143(10): 1586-1592, 2013. [PMID: 23902962].
8. Yousef F, Jacobs ET, Kang PT, Hakim IA, Going S, Yousef JM, Al-Raddadi RM, Kumosani TA, Thomson CA. Vitamin D status and breast cancer in Saudi Arabian women: case control study. Am J Clin Nutr. 98(1):105-110, 2013. [PMID: 23697705].
9. Stendell-Hollis NR, Thompson PA, Thomson CA, O’Sullivan MJ, Ray RM, Chlebowski RT. Investigating the association of lactation history and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the Women’s Health Initiative. Nutr Cancer. 65(7): 969-981, 2013. [PMID: 24127779].
10. Rohan T, Heo M, Choi L, Datta M, Freudenheim JL,Kamensky V, Ochs-Balcom H, Qi L, Thomson CA, Vitolins M, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Kabat G. Body fat and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women: a longitudinal study. J Cancer Epidemiol. 2013:754815. doi: 10.1155/2013/754815. Epub 2013 Apr 7. [Epub ahead of print]. [PMID: 23690776]. 
11. Kabat G, Heo M, Wactawski-Wende J, Messina C, Thomson CA, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Rohan TE.  Body fat and risk of colorectal cancer among postmenopausal women. Cancer Causes Control. 24(6):1198-1205, 2013. [PMID: 23546610].
12. Salmoirago-Blotcher E, Fitchett G, Hovey KM, Schnall E, Thomson CA, Andrews CA, Crawford S, O’Sullivan MJ, Post S, Chlebowski RT, Ockene J. Frequency of private spiritual activity and cardiovascular risk in post-menopausal women: the Women’s Health Initiative. Annals Epidemiol, 23(5): 239-245, 2013. [PMID: 23621989].
13. Jacobs ET, Thomson CA, Flatt SW, Newman VA, Rock CL, Pierce JP. Correlates of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and breast cancer stage in the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living Study. Nutr Cancer. 65(2): 188-194, 2013. [PMID: 23441606].
14. Thomson CA and Thompson PA. Fruit and vegetable intake and breast cancer risk: a case for subtype-specific risk? J Natl Cancer Inst. 105(3): 164-165, 2013. [PMID: 23349253].
15. Neuhouser ML, Di C, Tinker LF, Thomson CA, Sternfeld B, Mossavar-Rahmani Y, Stefanick ML, Sims S, Curb JD, Lamonte M, Seguin R, Johnson KC, Prentice RL. Physical activity assessment: biomarkers and self-report of activity-related energy expenditure in the Women’s Health Initiative. Am J Epidemiol. 177(6): 576-585, 2013. [PMID: 23436896].
16. Stendell-Hollis NR, Thompson PA, West JL, Wertheim BC, Thomson CA. A comparison of Mediterranean-style and MyPyramid diets on weight loss and inflammatory biomarkers in postpartum breastfeeding women. J Women’s Health. 22(1): 48-57, 2013. [PMID: 23276189].