Anna Plym

Anna Plym serves as an Assistant Professor at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics since 2022, while maintaining adjunct faculty status at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and research affiliation at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Her work centers on genetic epidemiology within Fredrik Wiklund's research group, focusing on prostate and testicular cancer risk prediction.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Cancer Epidemiology (Karolinska Institutet, 2019)
• MSc in Public Health Epidemiology (Karolinska Institutet, 2013)
• MSc in Biomedical Science (Uppsala University, 2007)

Dr. Plym's research pioneers genetic-risk based prevention strategies for prostate cancer, demonstrating that men with high polygenic risk scores face ~50% lifetime prostate cancer risk versus <10% for low-risk men. Crucially, her work establishes that healthy lifestyle factors can mitigate genetic susceptibility, challenging deterministic views of genetic risk. Her methodology integrates multi-ancestry genomic data with clinical and behavioral factors to refine risk stratification.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2022-2025) reveals three dominant trends: 1) Development of multi-ancestry polygenic risk scores validated across diverse populations; 2) Investigation of gene-lifestyle interactions for risk compensation; 3) Clinical translation of genetic tools for early detection and prevention. Her work consistently bridges epidemiological discovery with practical clinical applications.

Her scientific contributions have been recognized through:

• 2021 Young Investigator Award (Prostate Cancer Foundation)
• 2021 Scholar-in-Training Award (American Association for Cancer Research)

Dr. Plym's research is supported by substantial institutional funding, including nearly 120 million SEK secured by her department in 2024 Swedish grants and Karolinska Institutet's 254 million SEK award from the Swedish Cancer Society in 2021. She actively mentors trainees and contributes to large-scale initiatives like the Million Veteran Program. Her laboratory work within Fredrik Wiklund's group employs cutting-edge genomic epidemiology approaches, with current projects focusing on integrating MRI with genetic risk scores and developing ethnicity-specific risk prediction tools for global clinical implementation.