William L. Bigbee, PhD

Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and the Center for Environmental and Occupational Health and Toxicology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
Leader of the Molecular Biomarkers Group at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI)
Director of the Proteomics Core Laboratory at UPCI
Assistant Director of the Lung Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE)

Dr. Bigbee's interests and expertise are in the development and validation of biochemical methods to measure and assess individual cancer risk. His work also concerns the application of newly-developed efficient and cost-effective diagnostic methods to cancer population screening and clinical research studies. Due to the far-reaching applications of his research, Dr. Bigbee collaborates with many groups within UPCI, including programs related to colon and gastrointestinal cancer, gynecological cancer, and lung and esophageal cancer.

Outside of the lab, Dr. Bigbee investigates the effects of disease on biological or genetic markers. He is principal investigator and co-investigator on several UPCI studies investigating the efficacy of several biomarkers as predictors of cancer risk. He also is involved with several studies investigating the effects of pollution or medication on fetal genetic irregularity.

Dr. Bigbee received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Oregon in Eugene. He performed postdoctoral work in membrane biology at Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs in Richland, Wa., and additional work in tumor markers at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab in Livermore, Ca. Dr. Bigbee served as a senior biomedical scientist at Livermore prior to joining UPCI in 1993.