Dr. Bonnie Yankaskas is a distinguished radiologist and breast cancer imaging specialist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. She serves as a Professor in the Department of Radiology and holds a prominent position within the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Yankaskas has dedicated her career to advancing mammography research and clinical practice, most notably through her leadership of the Carolina Mammography Registry, a comprehensive statewide database that has provided invaluable data for breast cancer research for over a decade. Her expertise spans diagnostic radiology, oncology, and epidemiological research methods, establishing her as a leading authority in breast imaging and cancer surveillance.
Dr. Yankaskas has made significant contributions to understanding the relationship between mammographic density and breast cancer subtypes, particularly through her work linking the Carolina Mammography Registry with the Carolina Breast Cancer Study. Her research has pioneered methodological approaches for probabilistic linkage of registry data using multiple identifiers including name, date of birth, and social security number. This work has enabled sophisticated case-control and case-case analyses that have advanced our understanding of how mammographic density varies by breast cancer subtype, providing crucial insights for risk assessment and early detection strategies. Her studies have been instrumental in bridging clinical imaging data with molecular tumor characteristics to refine breast cancer screening approaches.
Beyond her research contributions, Dr. Yankaskas has played a vital role in shaping breast cancer surveillance methodology and practice guidelines through her leadership in the Carolina Mammography Registry. Her collaborative approach has fostered interdisciplinary partnerships between radiologists, oncologists, epidemiologists, and biostatisticians to address critical questions in breast cancer prevention and early detection. As a mentor to numerous researchers and clinicians, she has helped cultivate the next generation of breast imaging specialists and cancer epidemiologists. Dr. Yankaskas continues to lead innovative research projects that integrate advanced imaging data with genomic and clinical information to develop more personalized breast cancer screening recommendations, positioning her work at the forefront of precision medicine in breast cancer prevention.
