Biography
Dr. Emeny received a B.S. degree in Science, Technology & Society (1993) from the College of Agriculture & Life Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. She earned her Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Science (2002) from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. As a graduate training fellow in the NIH Infectious Diseases & Inflammation Program, her work focused on host-pathogen interactions and immune responses to natural human papillomavirus infection as well as HPV-Viral Like Particle vaccines during the initial Phase I & II studies conducted at UNM. Dr. Emeny received postdoctoral training at the Wadsworth Center Public Health Laboratory of the New York State Department of Health as a Neuroimmunology Ruth L. Kirschstein Fellow. She translated her biomedical interests in neuroimmunology and chronic disease into epidemiology and public health by receiving an MPH at the Ludwig-Maximilian's University in Munich, Germany. From 2009-2015, she served as Deputy Head of the Mental Health Working Group, Institute of Epidemiology II at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munich as well as a Research Scientist and Lecturer at the Munich Cancer Registry. In 2015, Dr. Emeny returned to the states to receive further postdoctoral training at the Geisel School of Medicine in Quantitative Population Sciences in Cancer. She served as a Research Scientist and Lecturer at The Dartmouth Institute, conducting research and teaching in the MPH program until she relocated to New Mexico in 2022 to join the Center for HPV Prevention at UNM HSC.
Personal Statement
I am an interdisciplinary, molecular epidemiologist and translational scientist. My program of research employs tools from molecular biology to clinical trials, observational studies, and health systems epidemiology to demonstrate the impact of subclinical, clinical, social, and structural stressors on health disparities. My work is inspired by neuroimmune mechanisms of chronic disease in aging, and I am motivated to apply my understanding of these basic biologic principles to guide changes in clinical practice and policies in public health and health care, particularly in cancer prevention and care. I have a scientifically rigorous framework of knowledge based on underlying physiologic, social, and structural determinants of health and disease across the lifespan. As a Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow at the March 2015 program "The Promise of Data: Will this Bring a Revolution in Health Care?", my passion to leverage real-world data to transform public health was solidified. I am committed to applying data-driven, evidence-based knowledge to improve timely cancer screening and other chronic disease preventive measures to enhance patient and population health.
Areas of Specialty
Cancer Prevention
Neuroimmunology
Molecular Epidemiology
Population Health
Key Publications
Journal Article
Emeny, Rebecca, Carpenter, D, O Lawrence, D, A 2021 Health disparities: Intracellular consequences of social determinants of health. Toxicology and applied pharmacology, vol. 416
Journal Article
Engel, J, Emeny, Rebecca, H”lzel, D, 2012 Positive lymph nodes do not metastasize. Cancer metastasis reviews, vol. 31, Issue 1-2, 235-46
Journal Article
Livshits, G, Macgregor, A, J Gieger, C, Malkin, I, Moayyeri, A, Grallert, H, Emeny, Rebecca, Spector, T, Kastenmller, G, Williams FMK, , 2015 An omics investigation into chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain reveals epiandrosterone sulfate as a potential biomarker. Pain, vol. 156, Issue 10, 1845-1851
Journal Article
Emeny, Rebecca, Baumert, J, Zannas, A, S Kunze, S, Wahl, S, Iurato, S, Arloth, J, Erhardt, A, Balsevich, G, Schmidt - resign 5/31/24, Meic, Weber, P, Kretschmer, A, Pfeiffer, L, Kruse, J, Strauch, K, 2018 Anxiety Associated Increased CpG Methylation in the Promoter of Asb1: A Translational Approach Evidenced by Epidemiological and Clinical Studies and a Murine Model. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 43, Issue 2, 342-353
Gender
Female
Languages
- English
- German