Jen Poynter

Jen Poynter is a Professor in Pediatric Epidemiology & Clinical Research at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on screening, prevention, etiology, and cancer survivorship in pediatric and adolescent populations, particularly germ cell tumors.

Her research interests span pediatric oncology, cancer epidemiology, genetics and epigenetics of pediatric cancers, environmental causes of cancer, socioeconomic determinants of cancer outcomes, biological aging, and gut microbiome. She utilizes large cohort studies and national databases to investigate risk factors and long-term outcomes in childhood cancer survivors.

Recent publications highlight trends in clinical trial enrollment for pediatric liver and kidney tumors, disparities in ovarian germ cell tumor care, dietary influences on biliary tract cancer, biological aging, and comprehensive reviews on adolescent and young adult germ cell tumors. Her work is highly collaborative, involving multi-institutional teams and pooling projects.

Jen Poynter leads several major research grants, including NIH-funded studies on the genetics of pediatric germ cell tumors and the 10,000 Families Cohort to understand environmental causes of cancer. She also contributes to the Cancer Center Support Grant at the University of Minnesota. These grants reflect substantial funding and leadership in pediatric cancer research.

She is actively involved in research networks such as the Children's Oncology Group and collaborates with numerous national and international researchers. Her work is supported by the NIH National Cancer Institute and the US Department of Defense.