Philip Lupo, PhD ((pictured above, top photo), and Michael Scheurer, PhD (pictured above, bottom photo) are Co-Directors of REACH, Genetic Epidemiologists with Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, and Professors in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine.

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, a parent’s first instinct is to ask why. In many cases, there is no definitive answer to this question. Philip Lupo, PhD and Michael Scheurer, PhD, along with a dedicated team of researchers, are on a mission to find answers.

By unraveling the complex web of factors that contribute to pediatric cancer, they hope to not only understand the root causes but pave the way for earlier detection, better treatments and—ultimately—prevention of pediatric cancer.

“We are interested in learning why children develop cancer,” said Dr. Scheurer. “That’s been a focus of our epidemiologic work because without knowing, we will not be able to prevent or intervene at an earlier stage.”

While modifiable risk factors to cancer development such as smoking cigarettes are known for adults, there are few preventive measures for children.

“It’s frustrating as a pediatric cancer epidemiologist to have few, if any, strategies for preventing these conditions,” said Dr. Lupo. “Robust epidemiologic and population-based studies are needed to identify modifiable risk factors and implement prevention measures.”

Dr. Lupo and Dr. Scheurer, both distinguished epidemiologic researchers, joined Emory and Children’s in March 2025. In addition to working with Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, they also co-lead the Research and Epidemiology for Adolescent and Child Health (REACH) Center.

While they are new to these roles, they are not new to working together—they were colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine at Texas Children's Hospital where Dr. Scheurer worked for 17 years and Dr. Lupo for 12 years.

“When we were at Baylor and Texas Children’s, Michael and I were fortunate to leverage several resources to build one of the largest and most comprehensive pediatric cancer epidemiology programs and we fully intend to do the same thing here with Aflac,” said Dr. Lupo.

Both agree the decision to come to Emory and Children’s was easy. For one, they knew there were talented, engaged researchers working to answer a variety of questions about pediatric health here—and the idea of making REACH a center that engages the ecosystem to do more population-based research was exciting to them.

“At Children’s and Emory, there’s a state-wide outreach that is truly impressive,” said Dr. Scheurer. “We hope to work with the groundbreaking scientists and clinicians here to create a research community focused on improving child and adolescent health.”

Dr. Lupo and Dr. Scheurer both earned doctorates in epidemiology from the University of Texas School of Public Health, with Dr. Scheurer also earning a master’s degree in public health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

While at Baylor, Dr. Scheurer created the molecular cancer epidemiology program. His research is focused on how environmental, genetic and demographic factors influence outcomes after pediatric cancer therapy. Specifically, he wants to uncover the factors that contribute to long-term survivorship following cancer treatment. Much of his research focuses on patients diagnosed with brain tumors, leukemia and lymphoma.

Dr. Lupo’s research is focused on discovering novel genes associated with pediatric cancer and how genetic testing can improve outcomes for these children and their family members. Specifically, his goal is to identify those at risk of developing cancer early in life to improve outcomes through population-based research. In addition to a research focus on pediatric cancer, he also maintains a focus on birth defects research and prevention.

By providing connections between researchers and the community, Dr. Lupo and Dr. Scheurer want to build bridges between researchers, clinicians, patients and communities. To learn more about their research, visit the profile pages for Dr. Lupo and Dr. Scheurer.

Find more information about REACH.

Originally published here.