Jongeun Rhee

Jongeun Rhee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, with primary research focus on environmental and occupational epidemiology related to cancer risk. Her work integrates military health contexts, particularly examining exposures to firefighting agents and occupational hazards among service members.

Dr. Rhee's educational background includes a Sc.D. and M.S. in Environmental Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, with dual bachelor's degrees in Environmental Health and Life Sciences from Korea University. Her postdoctoral training was completed at the National Cancer Institute's Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch.

Her research program centers on cancer epidemiology, with emphasis on genitourinary cancers (prostate and kidney), environmental carcinogens like PFAS, heavy metals, and air pollution. She develops military-specific exposure assessment tools including job exposure matrices for service-related hazards. Current work examines PFAS exposure in military populations and its association with testicular and renal cancers.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals strong thematic focus on environmental exposures (particularly PFAS) and cancer outcomes across multiple organ systems, with increasing emphasis on military populations and multi-ethnic cohorts. Her methodology combines advanced exposure assessment with molecular epidemiology approaches.

• National Cancer Institute Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics Cancer Health Disparities Award (2022)
• National Institutes of Health Pamela Anne Cafritz Renal Cell Carcinoma Award (2020)
• NCI Director's Award (2022)
• American Association for Cancer Research Scholar-in-Training Award (2022)
• NIH Award to Mentor Undergraduate Scholars (2024)

Dr. Rhee leads multiple NIH-funded projects examining military carcinogens and environmental cancer risks. She mentors early-career researchers through NIH scholarship programs and collaborates extensively with NCI investigators. Her work bridges environmental health sciences with clinical oncology, particularly in military healthcare contexts.