Sarah S. Knox

Professor

biography

Sarah S. Knox, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health & Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, received her PhD and MS degrees from Stockholm University (S.U.), Sweden; and began her career as a Principal Investigator at S.U. and the Karolinska Institute. She subsequently focused on cardiovascular research at the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. before assuming a leadership position to guide the implementation of the National Children’s Study.Dr. Knox has published widely and been the recipient of multiple honors and awards. In addition to being on the editorial board of multiple journals, she reviews for a broad range of other medical and scientific journals and travels widely to present data at scientific meetings.

 

Area of Interest

Her current research interests focus on a systems biology approach to carcinogenesis, integrating gene x environment interactions and biophysical signaling. She teaches graduate courses in epigenetics and systems biology.


top publication

ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS IN REFEREED JOURNALS (* denotes student publications)
1) Manzo K*, Teisman H, Stuart J, Hobbs G, Knox S. A comparison of risk factors associated with suicide ideation / attempts in American Indian and White youth in Montana. Archives of Suicide Research 2015; Arch Suicide Res. 19:89-102
2) Knox SS. Tumor Biology and Biophysics: A Systems Approach. The International Journal of Molecular Medicine. 2014;35 (Supple 1):S15.
3) Knox SS, Basu S, Remick S. A systems approach to cancer health disparities in Appalachia. Austin J of Public Health, 2014, 1(1):10.
4) Knox SS, Funk R. Oncology and Biophysics: The need for integration. J of Clinical and Experimental Oncology. 2014, S1, doi: 10.4172/2324-9110.S1-001.
5) Salsman JM, Butt Z, Pildonis PA, Cyranowski JM, Zill N, Hendrie HC, Kupst MJ, Kelly MAR, Bode RK, Choi W, Lai S, Griffth W, Stoney CM, Brouwers P, Knox SS, Cella D. Emotion assessment using the NIH Toolbox. Neurology 2013;80(Suppl 3):S76-S86.
6) Pilkonis PA, Choi SW, Salsman JM, Butt Z, Moore TL, Lawrence SM, Zill N, Jill CM, Kelly MAR, Knox SS, Cella D. Assessment of self-reported negative affect in the NIH Toolbox. Psychiatry Research 2013;206:88-97.
7) Knox SS, Ochs MF. Implications of systemic dysfunction for the etiology of malignancy. Gene Regulation and Systems Biology 2013;7:11-22.
8) Javins B,* Hobbs G, Ducatman AM, Pilkerton C*, Tacker D, Knox SS. Circulating maternal perfluoroalkyl substances during pregnancy in the C8 health study. Environmental Science and Technology 2013;47:1606-13.
9) Stewart JC, Zielke DJ, Hawkins MAW, Williams DR, Carnethon MR, Knox SS, Matthews KA. Depressive symptom clusters and 5-year incidence of coronary artery calcification: The coronary artery risk development in young adults study. Circulation 2012;126:410-417.
10) Hartley TA*, Knox SS, Fekedulegn D, Barosa-Leiker C, Violanti JM, Andrew ME, Burchfiel CM. Association between depressive symptoms and metabolic syndrome. J Environ & Pub Health. 2012, doi:10.1155/2012/861219.
11) Knox SS, Jackson T, Frisbee SJ, Javins B*, Ducatman AM. Perfluorocarbon exposure, gender and thyroid function in the C8 Health Project. The J Toxicol Sci, 2011;36:403-410.
12) Hartley TA*, Shankar A, Fekedulegn D, Violanti JM, Andrew ME, Knox S, Burchfiel C. Metabolic syndrome and carotid intima media thickness in urban police officers. J Occup Environ Medicine 2011;53:553-561.
13) Knox SS, Jackson T, Javins B, Frisbee SJ, Shankar A, Ducatman AM. Implications of early menopause in women exposed to perfluorocarbons. J of Clin Endocrinol Metab, 96:1747-1753, 2011.
14) Knox SS. The elusiveness of major heart disease genes. Science 2011, Feb 10, 1148.
15) Knox SS, Guo X, Zhang Y, Weidner G, Williams S, Ellison RC. AGT M235T genotype / anxiety interaction and gender in the HyperGEN Study. PLoS One 2010;5:e13353.
16) Knox SS. From “omics” to complex disease: a systems biology approach to gene-environment interactions in cancer. Cancer Cell Int. 2010; 10:11.
17) Frisbee SJ, Shankar A, Knox SS, Steenland K, Savitz DA, Fletcher T, Ducatman AM. Perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate and serum lipids in children and adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2010;164:1-10.
18) Frisbee, SJ, Brooks AP, Maher A. Flensborg P, Arnold S, Fletcher K, Steenland K, Shankar A, Knox SS, Pollard C, Halverson JA, Vierira VM, Jin Chuanfang, Leyden KM, Ducatman AM. The C8 Health Project: Design, Methods and Participants. Environmental Health Perspectives 2009; 117:1873-82.
19) Knox SS, Echeveria D. Methodological issues related to longitudinal, epidemiologic assessment of Developmental Trajectories in children. J Epidemiol Community Health, 2009; 63 (Suppl I):i1-i3.
20) Rosenbaum P, Missiuna C, Echeverria D, Knox S. Proposed motor assessment development assessment protocol for epidmiologic studies of children. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2009; 63 (Suppl I):i27-i36.
BOOKS, CHAPTERS AND MONOGRAPHS
1) Knox SS. Biomedicine needs a paradigm shift. IONS 9, 1-6, 2011.
2) Knox SS. Science, God, and the Nature of Reality: Bias in Biomedical Research. (book) BrownWalker Press, 2010.
3) Knox S, Uvnas-Moberg K. Social Isolation and Cardiovascular Disease: An Atherosclerotic Pathway? in Cacioppo JT et al (eds) Foundations in Social Neuroscience., MIT Press, 2002, pp1241-1254.
4) Knox S, Viigmaa M, Unden A-L, Elofsson S, Holzman M, Johansson J. Psychosocial factors and cardiovascular risk in the East-West divide: The SWESTONIA Study. In Weidner, G., Kopp, M., and Kristenson, M. Heart Disease: Environment, Stress and Gender, NATO Science Series, Series I: Life and Behavioral Sciences. 2002;327:138-152.
5) Haynes S, Czajkowski S, Knox S. Psychosocial and environmental correlates of heart disease. In PA Douglas, (ed.). Cardiovascular Health and Disease in Women. W.B. Saunders Co. Philadelphia, 2002, 191-204.
6) Knox S. Psychosocial stress and the physiology of atherosclerosis. In Theorell, T. (ed.) Everyday Biological Stress Mechanisms. Advances in Psychosomatic Medicine. Basel, Karger, vol. 22, pp.139-151, 2001.
7) Knox S. and Czajkowski S. The influence of behavioral and psychosocial factors on cardiovascular health in women. In: Gallant, K, and Royak-Schaler, R. (Eds.) Health Care for Women: Psychological, social, and Behavioral Influences. American Psychological Association, 1997.
8) Knox S. Psychophysiological mechanisms in the development and treatment of essential hypertension. In: Byrne, D. and Cady, G. (Eds.) International Perspectives in Behavioral Medicine, Vol. I, 93-119, 1992.
9) Knox S, Siden P. Autogenic Training - Theory and Practice. In: Theorell T, and Svensson J. (Eds.) Psychosocial interventions in Psychosomatic Illness. Natur och Kultur, Stockholm, 138-157, 1991.
10) Knox S. Psychosocial and physical work environment measured from three different perspectives: Chest pain symptoms in twins. Report from the Karolinska Institute for Environmental Hygiene, Report 1/91, Stockholm, 1991.