Margaret Anne Tucker is an American oncologist and physician-scientist specialized in environmental and

genetic epidemiology Genetic epidemiology is the study of the role of genetic factors in determining health and disease in families and in populations, and the interplay of such genetic factors with environmental factors. Genetic epidemiology seeks to derive a statist ...

, familial cancers, and melanomas. She is a scientist emeritia at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Tucker was a commissioned officer in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as director of the NCI human genetics program from 2005 until her retirement in June 2018.

Life

Margaret A. Tucker completed a bachelor's degree at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

. She earned a M.D. from the Harvard Medical School and completed training in internal medicine and medical oncology at

Stanford University Medical Center Stanford University Medical Center is a medical complex which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. It is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the United States and serves as a teaching hospital for the ...

. Tucker joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1978 as a commissioned officer in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC). She served as chief of the family studies section of the environmental epidemiology branch from 1987 to 1992, chief of the genetic epidemiology branch (GEB) from 1992 to 2011, and director of the human genetics program from 2005 until her retirement in June 2018. Tucker was the acting director of the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics DCEG between 2012 and 2013. She is a recipient of a Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal. During her tenure at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Tucker led the Institute’s research program on familial cancers. Tucker's scientific contributions have improved our understanding of the mechanisms underlying familial cancers, the etiology of

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

, and predisposition to multiple malignancies. Her research team and collaborators identified the first major susceptibility genes for melanoma. Tucker and her team published a melanoma atlas, created training videos for the clinical examination of members of high-risk families, developed the first calculator to estimate an individual’s risk of developing melanoma, and more launched a website with the first-ever serial collection of

dysplastic nevi A dysplastic nevus or atypical mole is a nevus (mole) whose appearance is different from that of common moles. In 1992, the NIH recommended that the term "dysplastic nevus" be avoided in favor of the term "atypical mole". An atypical mole may also ...

and melanomas, documenting skin changes over nearly four decades of clinical follow-up. Tucker retired in June 2018 and was named as a scientist emerita by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientific directors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Margaret A Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Wellesley College alumni Harvard Medical School alumni National Institutes of Health people American oncologists American women oncologists Physician-scientists American women epidemiologists American epidemiologists Genetic epidemiologists Cancer epidemiologists 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians 21st-century American women physicians 21st-century American physicians Recipients of the Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers