JoEllen Welsh

Dr. Welsh directs a basic research lab focused on nutrition and chronic disease at the University at Albany Cancer Research Center, located on the Health Sciences Campus. She is internationally recognized as an expert on nutrition and breast cancer, particularly the role of vitamin D, with over 100 publications, reviews and chapters. She has secured more than $4.8 million in research funding since her appointment as an Empire Innovation Professor at the University at Albany. Current projects in the Welsh lab focus on the roles of Vitamin D and Vitamin K in Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Dr. Welsh has a long history of teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level. At the University of Ottawa, she taught nutrition, metabolism and biochemistry courses. While at Notre Dame, Dr. Welsh developed a hands-on undergraduate Cell Biology Laboratory and taught a semester-long Cancer Biology course for graduate and undergraduate students. At UAlbany, Dr. Welsh continues to teach Cancer Biology and runs the Cancer Genomics Journal Club every Fall. 

In addition to her academic work, Dr. Welsh is extensively involved in the non-profit Vitamin D Workshop, an international scientific/educational organization devoted to the health implications of vitamin D.  She is an inaugural member of the Board of Directors and currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of the organization. She successfully obtained a five year, $250,000 NIH conference grant for the Vitamin D Workshop to organize annual international scientific conferences on the biology of vitamin D.

Research Interests:

• Breast Cancer
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin K
• Nuclear Receptors
• Mammary Gland Biology

Learn more about Dr. Welsh's work:

• Google Scholar Profile
• PubMed