The major research interest of our program is the prevention of cancer, which is based on understanding the interrelationship between environmental carcinogens, genetic susceptibility, drug exposure, and human behavior. Tobacco smoke continues to be the leading cause of cancer mortality. We are working to understand behavioral differences in smoking patterns that lead to increased carcinogen exposure, the development of biomarkers that measure cigarette smoke toxicity or changes in protein function caused by such exposure, and the relationship between these parameters, genetic susceptibility and cancer risk.