Leslie Bernstein, PhD, a pioneer in the field of cancer epidemiology and prevention, died July 28, 2022, at the age of 82.
Born October 9, 1939, Bernstein graduated with highest honors from the University of California Los Angeles in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. She earned a master’s degree in gerontology and a PhD in biometry from the University of Southern California in 1978 and 1981, respectively.
Bernstein was a professor at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California for over 25 years, where she also served as senior associate dean for faculty affairs and vice provost for medical affairs before retiring from the institution in 2007. She had been a professor at the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope since 2007.
During her distinguished career, Bernstein led several groundbreaking studies on the factors underlying cancer development, with a focus on breast cancer. She was the first to report a link between physical activity and breast cancer risk and survival, and she also discovered an association between reproductive hormones and breast cancer development. In 1995, she cofounded the California Teachers Study, a cohort of more than 130,000 women who were active or retired public school professionals, to study the impact of health behaviors on disease development. Data from the California Teachers Study have led to numerous important findings and over 140 publications to date.
Bernstein’s seminal discoveries paved the way to identifying weight management and exercise as key ways to modify breast cancer risk. Her research also contributed to the understanding of other cancer types, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and esophageal cancer. More recently, she studied the long-term impacts of cancer treatment on survivors.
An AACR member since 1996, Bernstein served as cochair of the AACR Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Award Committee for the 2010-2011 term and was a member of various other AACR committees. She was a longtime member of the AACR’s Women in Cancer Research (WICR) group, serving as a council member from 2011 to 2013. She also participated in the Molecular Epidemiology Working Group and the Cancer Prevention Working Group.
Bernstein received the AACR-Prevent Cancer Foundation Award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention Research in 2007 and the AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention in 2018.
She was awarded the City of Hope’s Lifetime Achievement Mentorship Award for her commitment to mentoring students, postdoctoral researchers, and junior faculty. Among numerous other accolades, Bernstein received the Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the American Society for Preventive Oncology Distinguished Achievement Award, the University of Southern California Presidential Medallion, the Keck School of Medicine Stevely Hoffman Achievement Award, the Rosalind E. Franklin Award for Women in Science, and the Abraham Lilienfeld Award for Lifetime Contributions to Epidemiology.
“Leslie Bernstein made pioneering advances to the field of epidemiology and contributed significantly to our understanding of breast cancer,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of the AACR. “She will also be fondly remembered for supporting the next generation of cancer researchers and blazing trails for women in science.”
I knew Leslie Bernstein through her involvement in the Teacher Study related to Breast Cancer. I participated in the study and felt appreciative of being part of a study that was so important. The interesting fact was that her husband, Dr. Saul Bernstein, was my son’s orthopedic physician for many years. My son first saw Dr. Bernstein at CHLA and was followed for many years by him. I owe a debt of gratitude to both of these phenomenal people.
They dedicated their lives to helping others.
Leslie was my mother's employer. She was always so kind and generous in everything she did for everyone. We just found out that she passed this year and were sad that we didn't know. Especially my mother who had worked for her for 30+ years. She was an amazing person.
Leslie was a courageous scientist and colleague of great honesty and integrity. Her support and advice were critical to my career and to my confidence to pursue new ideas and take on daunting professional challenges. Her commitment to women's opportunity in science and the high standards she lived by for her science and for her conduct inspired and created room for me and for many to be our best selves in our work and in our personal lives. I am grateful to have known her and so sorry she is gone.
Prof. Bernstein was a remarkable woman and a true inspiration. Her genius and her compassion were unparalleled. She will be missed.
A kind and gracious woman, a prolific investigator and a role model and mentor to many. I remember her telling me how she delayed her graduate study and career to let her husband finish medical training and raise her children.
I feel lucky to have had the chance to meet and converse with Dr. Bernstein a couple of years ago. She was generous with her advise, honest and truly enthusiastic about research. What a big loss for cancer research and for women in science!
Leslie will remain an inspiration for me. I will miss her dearly.
Leslie led with courage, generosity, and wisdom. She was a giant among giants - despite her fame, she walked with gentle humility and compassion. She was always there to help others and was never too busy. When someone came to her for help, she would smile, toss her head back, and her eyes would sparkle with possibilities. With this encouragement - and her acts - she would help countless investigators find the courage to believe that they themselves could lead. Then she would open doors - and three generations of women investigators were born. I hope all the faculty whose career Leslie impacted can go forward and carry her message and good works into the future. Let the stars in the sky shine for Leslie.