The mission of the Department of Population Sciences is to advance the science and application of cancer etiology, prevention and outcomes, and reduce the burden of cancer and its sequelae across all populations, through collaborative multidisciplinary programs in clinical service, research and education.

The Department of Population Sciences team brings together expertise from a variety of disciplines and consists of the following divisions: 

Cancer Etiology
The emphasis of the Division of Cancer Etiology is to understand the causes of cancer using a variety of classical epidemiological and molecular epidemiological tools. This understanding would then form the basis of targeted intervention to prevent the occurrence of cancer in high risk populations.

Outcomes Research
The Division of Outcomes Research seeks to better understand the long-term physical and psychosocial consequences of cancer both in cancer survivors, as well as in the families; to identify populations at high risk for developing these long-term health-related problems; and to develop interventions to reduce the long-term morbidity in high risk individuals. An integral part of the Outcomes Research is the Center for Cancer Survivorship.
 
Nursing Research and Education
The Division of Nursing Research and Education is nationally renowned for its collaborative, multidisciplinary scientific studies on oncology nursing care. The research program is organized around two major themes: quality of life and symptom management.  

Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Division of Clinical Cancer Genetics is a multidisciplinary clinical, research and education program which focuses on recognition and assessment of people at increased risk for developing cancer because of family history or personal risk factors.