Dr. Hosgood has focused his research on inter-individual variations of cancer susceptibility associated with environmental exposures. Dr. Hosgood utilizes advanced molecular epidemiological methods that integrate cutting edge environmental exposure assessment data with biomarkers of susceptibility (i.e. genetic data) to elucidate the complex mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis. He is involved in a number of international case-control and cohort studies, as well as consortia evaluating the risk factors of lung cancer, primarily in Asia. Dr. Hosgood has worked extensively on lung cancer among never smokers, which is etiologically and genetically distinct from lung cancer attributed to tobacco smoking. He has expanded on experimental and epidemiological evidence that genetic variation and other intermediate endpoint biomarkers influence lung cancer susceptibility in populations with exposure to combustion-derived byproducts from in-home solid fuel use (i.e. coal and wood for heating and cooking). Household solid fuel use is one of the world's leading risk factors for disease, with 3 billion people exposed globally. To robustly assess solid fuel use’s carcinogenic potential, Dr. Hosgood has built a global consortium of prospective cohorts (HAPCO: Household Air Pollution Consortium) that have site- and disease-specific mortality and solid fuel use data, for a combined sample size of >750,000 participants.“
Dr. Hosgood's work has also shown that an inexpensive stove intervention can reduce the lung cancer mortality risk attributed to solid fuel use by at least 40%. Dr. Hosgood helped establish the Female Lung Cancer Consortium in Asia (FLCCA) to define genetic loci through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) that are associated with lung cancer independent of smoking. FLCCA also provides a unique opportunity to study how coal and wood smoke exposures and the genome influence each other to lead to lung cancer. He is also involved in the Asia Cohort Consortium and the International Lung Cancer Consortium. Additional work in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong focuses on the impact genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures have on susceptibility to hematologic malignancies, specifically non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia.