Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series—Professor Ho's research focuses on understanding the way nutrients and molecular mechanisms affect the initiation and progression of chronic disease states such as cancer. She is currentlyinvestigating the role of antioxidant nutrients such as zinc in maintaining DNA integrity and cancer development. Professor Ho is specifically concerned with the effects of zinc status on DNA damage, DNA repair, and stress-response signal pathways. Her team is also examining the function of zinc across the lifespan, especially as we age because a large proportion of the population does not eat enough zinc and may be at increased risk for cancer and other disorders. Another major focus of her work is dietary influences on prostate cancer development and the molecular mechanisms by which foods like soy, tea, and cruciferous vegetables may prevent prostate cancer.

This lecture is sponsored by the Center for Research on Families’ Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series. The Center for Research on Families (CRF) is an endowed interdisciplinary research center in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and College of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series brings internationally recognized speakers with expertise in family research to campus each year. The lecture series began in 1999 through an endowment established in memory of Tay Gavin Erickson.