Dr. Figueroa received a B.S. in genetics and developmental biology from the Pennsylvania State University, a Ph.D. (2004) in molecular genetics and microbiology from Stony Brook University, and an M.P.H. from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.[1] Michael J. Hayman was her doctoral advisor.[2] From 2005 to 2008, she completed postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Montserrat García-Closas in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a cancer prevention fellow.[3][2]
From 2008 to 2015, Dr. Figueroa was an investigator in the DCEG.[3] She was a tenured professor and chair of molecular epidemiology and global cancer prevention at the University of Edinburgh, where she is an honorary fellow.[1] Her research at the University of Edinburgh focused in understanding the interactions between genetic and environmental factors in both breast and bladder cancer development by utilizing case-control, cohort, and large consortium epidemiology studies globally.[4] In 2023, she returned to the NCI as a senior investigator and NIH distinguished scholar in the integrative tumor epidemiology branch.[3] She researches the interplay of biological, environmental, and socioeconomic determinants in cancer epidemiology studies by utilizing supplemental data records derived from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER).[1][3] Her specialties are focused on prevention and detection of breast cancer epidemiology and to analyze the links of socioeconomic factors associated with chronic disease.[1][3] These integrative research efforts aim to improve outcomes in the public health sector via statistical applications and use of molecular lab technologies.[1]
