About

Elizabeth Hoover is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at UC Berkeley. She holds a BA in Anthropology & Psychology from Williams College, an MA in Anthropology with Museum Studies from Brown University, and a PhD in Anthropology from Brown University, with a focus on Environmental and Critical Medical Anthropology. Her research centers on Native American food sovereignty, environmental justice, food justice, and the role of heirloom seeds, with particular attention to Indigenous food systems, health, and environmental movements. Hoover has authored significant works including 'The River is in Us,' which received multiple awards, and has contributed extensively to the understanding of Native American perspectives on food security, environmental health, and sovereignty. Her scholarship also explores the intersections of environmental health, social movements, and Indigenous rights, emphasizing the importance of cultural knowledge and resilience in Native communities.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Political science
• Sociology
• Oncology

Selected publications

• Plinabulin to shorten neutropenia and improve quality of life peri-autologous hematopoietic cell transplant.

  Journal of Clinical Oncology · 2023-06-01

  article

  8023 Background: Plinabulin is a selective immunomodulating microtubule-binding agent, which prevents chemotherapy induced neutropenia (CIN) via a mechanism of action different from that of G-CSF analogues. It has been studied for CIN and anti-solid tumor activity in phase 3 trials. To decrease the period of myelosuppression and obligate neutropenia after high dose melphalan with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHCT) for patients with multiple myeloma, we studied the addition of plinabulin to standard growth factors. Methods: To achieve the primary objective of reducing the duration of absolute neutropenia post AHCT, 40mg of intravenous plinabulin was given 1-3 hours after stem cell infusion (Day 0) with pegfilgrastim on Day +1 in this pilot trial (NCT05130827). Secondary objectives include the safety, tolerability, and toxicity profile of plinabulin in combination with pegfilgrastim, neutrophil and platelet engraftment rate, disease response, progression free and overall survival, patient reported outcome (PRO) assessment of symptom burden, and plinabulin pharmacokinetic profiling. Exploratory objectives include transfusion requirements, phenotypic characterization of neutrophil population through day 30, and analysis of cytokine levels early post AHCT. Results: Between January 2022 and February 2023, 15 patients with median age of 64 (range 54-74) and 33% female received plinabulin after melphalan 140 (n = 4) or 200mg/m2 (n = 11). Median CD34+ cells/kg infused was 4.12 x 10^6 (range 2.18 – 7.85). Half of the patients had hypertension immediately after the plinabulin infusion, which is a known toxicity and resolved within a few hours. Median WBC on Day 0, 1, and 2 was 7.67(3.6 – 11.5), 5.2 (3.2 – 13.6), and 17.1 (5.1-59.1), respectively. Of the 14 patients who have engrafted to date, median time to ANC > 0.5 x 10^9 cell/L was 11 days (range 9-16) with median days from AHCT to ANC < 0.5 of 5 days (range 5-6). The median number of days of ANC < 0.1 and < 0.5 were 2 (range 1-5) and 5 days (range 4-9), respectively. For the 7 patients who had a fever, the median time to fever was 8 days from AHCT (range 8-12), and all except one were peri-engraftment. Median length of stay was 17 days (range 15-21). Median pRBC and platelet transfusions were 0 (range 0-3) and 3 (range 0-11), respectively. Conclusions: Plinabulin appears well tolerated without additional major toxicities post AHCT and provided a high WBC on Day +2 and decreased rate of neutropenic fever. Plinabulin PK, quality of life data, and PROs will be presented. Adjusting the schedule of plinabulin to later post AHCT pre engraftment may further shorten the duration of neutropenia using this novel mechanism of action. Clinical trial information: NCT05130827 .

  PublisherDOI

• Data from Disease- and Therapy-Specific Impact on Humoral Immune Responses to COVID-19 Vaccination in Hematologic Malignancies

  2023-04-04

  preprintOpen access

  <div>Abstract<p>Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) vaccine response data for patients with hematologic malignancy, who carry high risk for severe COVID-19 illness, are incomplete. In a study of 551 hematologic malignancy patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, anti–SARS-CoV-2 spike IgG titers and neutralizing activity were measured at 1 and 3 months from initial vaccination. Compared with healthy controls, patients with hematologic malignancy had attenuated antibody titers at 1 and 3 months. Furthermore, patients with hematologic malignancy had markedly diminished neutralizing capacity of 26.3% at 1 month and 43.6% at 3 months, despite positive seroconversion rates of 51.5% and 68.9% at the respective time points. Healthy controls had 93.2% and 100% neutralizing capacity at 1 and 3 months, respectively. Patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma on observation had uniformly blunted responses. Treatment with Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors, venetoclax, phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitors, anti-CD19/CD20–directed therapies, and anti-CD38/B-cell maturation antigen–directed therapies substantially hindered responses, but single-agent immunomodulatory agents did not.</p>Significance:<p>Patients with hematologic malignancy have compromised COVID-19 vaccine responses at baseline that are further suppressed by active therapy, with many patients having insufficient neutralizing capacity despite positive antibody titers. Refining vaccine response parameters is critical to guiding clinical care, including the indication for booster vaccines, for this vulnerable population.</p><p><i>See related article by Tamari et al., p. 577</i>.</p><p><i>This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 549</i></p></div>

  PublisherDOI

• Supplementary Table and Figures from Disease- and Therapy-Specific Impact on Humoral Immune Responses to COVID-19 Vaccination in Hematologic Malignancies

  2023-04-04

  supplementary-materialsOpen access

  <p>Figures S1- S4</p>

  PublisherDOI

• Prospective Collection of Adverse Events in Patients Undergoing HCT: The Real-Time Toxicity Team

  Transplantation and Cellular Therapy · 2023-02-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Supplementary Table and Figures from Disease- and Therapy-Specific Impact on Humoral Immune Responses to COVID-19 Vaccination in Hematologic Malignancies

  2023-04-04

  supplementary-materialsOpen access

  <p>Figures S1- S4</p>

  PublisherDOI

• Native American Food Security and Food Sovereignty

  2023-01-01

  other1st authorCorresponding

  Current Native American struggles to regain food sovereignty and fight food insecurity are rooted in centuries of disruption of Indigenous food systems as a function of colonization. Scorched-earth battle tactics utilized against Native American people in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries dest

  PublisherDOI

• Data from Disease- and Therapy-Specific Impact on Humoral Immune Responses to COVID-19 Vaccination in Hematologic Malignancies

  2023-04-04

  preprintOpen access

  <div>Abstract<p>Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) vaccine response data for patients with hematologic malignancy, who carry high risk for severe COVID-19 illness, are incomplete. In a study of 551 hematologic malignancy patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, anti–SARS-CoV-2 spike IgG titers and neutralizing activity were measured at 1 and 3 months from initial vaccination. Compared with healthy controls, patients with hematologic malignancy had attenuated antibody titers at 1 and 3 months. Furthermore, patients with hematologic malignancy had markedly diminished neutralizing capacity of 26.3% at 1 month and 43.6% at 3 months, despite positive seroconversion rates of 51.5% and 68.9% at the respective time points. Healthy controls had 93.2% and 100% neutralizing capacity at 1 and 3 months, respectively. Patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma on observation had uniformly blunted responses. Treatment with Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors, venetoclax, phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitors, anti-CD19/CD20–directed therapies, and anti-CD38/B-cell maturation antigen–directed therapies substantially hindered responses, but single-agent immunomodulatory agents did not.</p>Significance:<p>Patients with hematologic malignancy have compromised COVID-19 vaccine responses at baseline that are further suppressed by active therapy, with many patients having insufficient neutralizing capacity despite positive antibody titers. Refining vaccine response parameters is critical to guiding clinical care, including the indication for booster vaccines, for this vulnerable population.</p><p><i>See related article by Tamari et al., p. 577</i>.</p><p><i>This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 549</i></p></div>

  PublisherDOI

• P-162 Adding Plinabulin to pegfilgrastim to shorten neutropenia and improve quality of life peri-autologous hematopoietic cell transplant for multiple myeloma

  Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma & Leukemia · 2023-09-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Supporting meaningful conversations in stroke-induced aphasia

  2023-03-31

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Stroke is a leading cause of chronic disability in adults and approximately one-third of stroke survivors develop aphasia. Aphasia is the loss or reduction of language affecting the production or comprehension of spoken and written language. Many individuals with aphasia (IWA) recover some language function; however, the communication difficulties associated with aphasia are often chronic and may limit the ability to return to work and hobbies or engage in social relationships, and may lead to stigma and isolation. Thus, the consequences of aphasia can be wide reaching and severe for IWA, their community, and the healthcare system. This chapter briefly describes different types and causes of aphasia, along with the incidence and prevalence of the condition. Case studies will be included to illustrate the psychosocial and health consequences associated with aphasia across the continuum of care and to highlight the potential for communication breakdown in healthcare environments. IWA and their families report feeling excluded from healthcare discussions, receiving inadequate information to make decisions, and reduced involvement in decision making particularly surrounding hospital discharge. Further, observations of clinical interactions between clinicians and IWA reveal unbalanced conversations, with the clinician directing the topic, timing, and flow of the conversation. The chapter will provide strategies and illustrated examples to address the issues described above and support successful communication in healthcare environments, such as conducting a clinical interview and understanding health information, establishing patient-centered goals and gaining informed consent. Finally, the chapter will review patient-centered research relating to living successfully with aphasia.

  PublisherDOI

• Environmental Reproductive Justice: Intersections in an American Indian Community Impacted by Environmental Contamination

  2022-01-01 · 4 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Heather Landau

  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

  46 shared

• Hani Hassoun

  Cornell University

  39 shared

• Sergio Giralt

  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

  33 shared

• Gunjan L. Shah

  Kettering University

  28 shared

• Alexander M. Lesokhin

  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

  27 shared

• Charles L. Sawyers

  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

  23 shared

• Michael Scordo

  Cornell University

  22 shared

• Oscar Lahoud

  Kettering University

  22 shared

Labs

• Elizabeth Hoover LabPI

Education

• PhD, Anthropology

  Brown University

  2010

• BA, Anthropology and Psychology

  Williams College

  2001

Awards & honors

• Julian Steward book award from Anthropology & Environment Se…
• Stanford Humanities Center Fellowship (2018-2019)
• Oxford Food Symposium Outstanding New Presenter Award (2018)
• Labriola Center Book Award for The River is in Us (2018)
• Beatrice Medicine Award for Published Monograph for The Rive…