Johanna Lampe

Dr. Johanna Lampe serves as Professor and Associate Director of the Public Health Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and holds a Research Professor appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health. She is also an active member of the Pathogen-Associated Malignancies Integrated Research Center (PAM IRC).

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Nutrition Sciences, University of Minnesota, 1990
• BS in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Minnesota, 1982
• RD (Registered Dietitian) in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Minnesota, 1982

As an experimental nutritionist and cancer prevention researcher, Dr. Lampe specializes in how plant-based diets modulate cancer risk through molecular mechanisms. Her work pioneers controlled feeding studies to identify objective biomarkers of dietary exposure and investigates gut microbiome interactions with dietary components. Key discoveries include demonstrating that slow-digesting carbohydrates reduce inflammation in obese individuals and cruciferous vegetables enhance carcinogen-detoxifying enzymes, paving the way for personalized nutrition strategies.

Current research focuses on gut microbial phenotypes in health and disease, diet-microbiome-cancer risk interactions during interventions, and obesity-related inflammatory pathways. Her team integrates microbiome analysis with dietary intervention trials to uncover mechanisms linking diet, gut ecology, and cancer development.

Dr. Lampe's contributions are regularly featured in scientific spotlights including 'How stable is your gut? A two-year journey inside the microbiome' (July 2025), 'Healthy in 2025: Fred Hutch experts in nutrition, exercise and cancer prevention' (January 2025), and 'Connecting the dots between diet, adiposity, and cancer risk' (August 2019), highlighting translational applications of her work for cancer prevention.