Jessica Chubak, PhD

“My research focuses on improving cancer control by finding effective ways to get screened for cancer and to navigate treatment and survivorship.”

Jessica Chubak, PhD

Senior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute

Jessica.Chubak@kp.org
206-287-2556
Animal-assisted interactions research on Facebook

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Biography

Jessica Chubak, PhD, is an epidemiologist who works to improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, control, and survivorship. She contributes to several national collaborations that are finding practical, efficient, effective ways to screen for cancer, especially colorectal cancer. She also studies how common medications affect cancer risk and recurrence. Intrigued by how pets positively affect health, Dr. Chubak is studying animal-assisted activities in clinics and hospitals where children get treated for cancer. Dr. Chubak’s methodological research focuses on the use of administrative and electronic health record data in epidemiologic and health services studies.

Dr. Chubak joined KPWHRI in 2007, bringing expertise in epidemiologic methods, pharmacoepidemiology, and cancer. Awarded a Fulbright graduate student grant, Dr. Chubak pursued her master's degree in bioethics and health law in New Zealand before completing her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Washington (UW). Dr. Chubak is an affiliate associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UW School of Public Health, where she enjoys guest-lecturing and getting to work with students.

Research interests and experience

Cancer

Epidemiology; colorectal cancer; medication use; survivorship; recurrence; secondary prevention; quality of life; automated data collection; screening; animal-assisted activities; survivorship
Health Services & Economics

Screening
Medication Use & Patient Safety

Cancer risk and use of common medications

Recent publications

Chubak J, Hawkes R. Animal-assisted activities in pediatric oncology: results from a survey of top-ranked pediatric oncology hospitals. J J Pediatr Oncol Nurs. 2016 Jul;33(4):289-96. doi: 10.1177/1043454215614961. Epub 2015 Nov 20.

Kroenke CH, Chubak J, Johnson L, Castillo A, Weltzien E, Caan BJ. Enhancing breast cancer recurrence algorithms through selective use of medical record data. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015 Nov 18;108(3). pii: djv336. Print 2016 Mar.

Chubak J, Bowles EJ, Yu O, Buist DS, Fujii M, Boudreau DM. Breast cancer recurrence in relation in antidepressant use. Cancer Causes Control. 2015 Oct 30. [Epub ahead of print].

Green BB, Anderson ML, Chubak J, Fuller S, Meenan RT, Vernon SW. Impact of continued mailed fecal tests in the patient-centered medical home: year 3 of the systems of support to increase colon cancer screening and follow-up randomized trial. Cancer. 2016 Jan 15;122(2):312-21. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29734. Epub 2015 Oct 21. PubMed

Chubak J, Kamineni A, Buist DSM, Anderson ML, Whitlock EP. Aspirin use for the prevention of colorectal cancer: an updated systematic evidence review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2015 Sep. Report No.: 15-05228-EF-1. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Evidence Syntheses, formerly Systematic Evidence Reviews.

Jones SM, Ziebell R, Walker R, Nekhlyudov L, Rabin BA, Nutt S, Fujii M, Chubak J. Psychometric investigation of benefit finding among long-term cancer survivors using the medical expenditure panel survey. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2016 Feb;20:31-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2015.07.005. Epub 2015 Jul 26. PubMed

Meenan RT, Anderson ML, Chubak J, Vernon SW, Fuller S, Wang CY, Green BB. An economic evaluation of colorectal cancer screening in primary care practice. Am J Prev Med. 2015;48(6):714-21. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.12.016. PubMed