Cathrine Hoyo
· ProfessorVerifiedNorth Carolina State University · Plant and Microbial Biology
Active 2000–2026
About
Cathrine Hoyo is a Professor and the Goodnight Innovation Distinguished Chair in the Department of Biological Sciences at NC State University. She is also a University Faculty Scholar and the Director of the Southern Liver Health Study (STRIVE). Her educational background includes a B.S. from the University of Sierra Leone, Njala College, an M.P.H. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on epidemiology with particular emphasis on early life factors, environmental exposures, and their impacts on health outcomes such as blood pressure, adiposity, and liver health. She has contributed to understanding the epigenetic alterations associated with environmental exposures and prenatal factors, as well as their implications for diseases like autism spectrum disorder and cirrhosis. Her work is supported by her leadership roles in various research centers, including the Center for Environmental and Health Effects of PFAS and the Center for Human Health and the Environment.
Research topics
- Biology
- Internal medicine
- Medicine
- Demography
- Physiology
- Genetics
- Biochemistry
- Food science
- Psychiatry
- Pediatrics
- Bioinformatics
- Psychology
- Clinical psychology
- Botany
- Psychotherapist
- Animal science
- Oncology
Selected publications
Gastroenterology · 2026-05-01
articleGastrointestinal Endoscopy · 2026-05-01
articleCurrent Zoology · 2026-01-01
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingExposure to environmental factors including contaminants and social conditions is implicated in a substantial proportion of common non-communicable diseases, and data from model systems repeatedly demonstrate that the process from environmental contributions to common chronic disease risk is mediated through maladaptive epigenetic responses. The field of environmental epigenetics leverages multiple disciplines to advance our understanding of environmental impacts on epigenomic processes to enhance etiologic investigation, guide biomarker discovery, and identify mechanisms of action that ultimately lead to behavioral and or therapeutic interventions. This article discusses examples of emerging research on the links between three common life course exposures linked to common non-communicable diseases, and their associated epigenetic modifications, with a major focus on DNA methylation-the most studied in humans. It also outlines current challenges when interpreting the accumulating body of knowledge, including the lack of consensus on regions reported to be targeted by these environmental exposures. Finally, given that the strongest predictors of epigenetic states are age and cell/tissue type, strategies to build novel platforms using existing technologies to surmount some of these challenges are discussed. Together, these advances in environmental epigenetics are paving the way for groundbreaking developments toward improved precision in developing prevention and intervention strategies to reduce common non-communicable disease morbidity and mortality.
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy · 2026-05-01
articleGastroenterology · 2026-05-01
articleEffects of Ambient Temperature During Pregnancy on Newborn Birthweight
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-06-15
preprintThis study evaluates the association between ambient temperature exposure during pregnancy and newborn birthweight, using a penalized generalized additive model (GAM) framework with distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM) to identify sensitive windows of exposure. The analysis includes 238 participants from the SHIP study with complete temperature exposure and birthweight data. Weekly maximum temperatures during pregnancy were estimated using Daymet data, and the impact of temperature on birthweight was assessed, adjusting for maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational age, race, smoking, diabetes status, and infant biological sex. The model incorporated a crossbasis function for temperature exposure across 42 gestational weeks and allowed penalization for smoother, data-driven lag estimation. Results from the combined-sex model indicated that higher ambient temperatures during the third trimester, particularly in the final weeks of pregnancy, were associated with increased birthweight. Stratified analyses suggested that this association was more pronounced in male infants. These findings highlight the importance of considering prenatal temperature exposures and timing when evaluating determinants of newborn health.
2025-11-26
articleOpen accessSupplementary Figure from Extended Human Papillomavirus Genotyping to Predict Progression to High-Grade Cervical Precancer: A Prospective Cohort Study in the Southeastern United States
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology · 2025-04-09
articleOpen accessEstimating exposure to neighborhood crime by race and ethnicity for public health research
UNC Libraries · 2025-06-11
articleOpen access2025-11-26
articleOpen accessSupplementary Table from Extended Human Papillomavirus Genotyping to Predict Progression to High-Grade Cervical Precancer: A Prospective Cohort Study in the Southeastern United States
Recent grants
Prenatal stress and diet, and the fetal epigenome
NIH · $3.2M · 2022–2027
NIH · $86k · 2013
NIH · $3.1M · 2015
Social adversities, epigenetics, and the obesity epidemic
NIH · $4.4M · 2017–2023
NIH · $671k · 2010
Frequent coauthors
- 282 shared
Susan K. Murphy
Duke University
- 162 shared
Stephen J. Freedland
Durham VA Medical Center
- 101 shared
Rachel L. Maguire
North Carolina State University
- 98 shared
Lauren E. Howard
- 94 shared
Alexis R. Freedland
University of California, Irvine
- 94 shared
Adriana C. Vidal
- 93 shared
Lourdes Guerrios‐Rivera
UC San Diego Health System
- 92 shared
Jay H. Fowke
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Education
- 1998
Ph.D, Epidemiology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- 1992
M.P.H. , Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of California, Berkeley
Awards & honors
- 2020, University Faculty Scholar
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