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
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
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Cancer
Epidemiology; colorectal cancer; medication use; survivorship; recurrence; secondary prevention; quality of life; automated data collection; screening; animal-assisted activities; survivorship
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Health Services & Economics
Screening
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Medication Use & Patient Safety
Cancer risk and use of common medications
Recent publications
Aiello Bowles EJ, Kroenke CH, Chubak J, Bhimani J, O'Connell K, Brandzel S, Valice E, Doud R, Theis MK, Roh JM, Heon N, Persaud S, Griggs JJ, Bandera EV, Kushi LH, Kantor ED. Evaluation of algorithms using automated health plan data to identify breast cancer recurrences. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 Dec 13. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-23-0782. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Chubak J, Adler A, Bobb JF, Hawkes RJ, Ziebell RA, Pocobelli G, Ludman EJ, Zerr DM. A randomized controlled trial of animal-assisted activities for pediatric oncology patients: Psychosocial and microbial outcomes. J Pediatr Health Care. 2023 Nov 4:S0891-5245(23)00279-1. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2023.09.010. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Alimena S, Lykken JM, Tiro JA, Chubak J, Kamineni A, Haas JS, Werner C, Kobrin SC, Feldman S. Timing of colposcopy and risk of cervical cancer. Obstet Gynecol. 2023 Nov 1;142(5):1125-1134. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005313. Epub 2023 Aug 21. PubMed
Dalmat RR, Ziebell RA, Kamineni A, Phipps AI, Weiss NS, Breslau ES, Burnett-Hartman AN, Corley DA, Doria-Rose VP, Green BB, Halm EA, Levin TR, Schottinger JE, Chubak J. Risk of colorectal cancer and colorectal cancer mortality beginning one year after a negative fecal occult blood test, among screen-eligible 76-85-year-olds. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 Oct 2;32(10):1382-1390. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-23-0265. PubMed
McCarthy AM, Tiro JA, Hu E, Ehsan S, Chubak J, Kamineni A, Feldman S, Atlas SJ, Silver MI, Kobrin S, Haas JS. Factors associated with shorter-interval cervical cancer screening for young women in three United States healthcare systems. Prev Med Rep. 2023 Jun 11;35:102279. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102279. eCollection 2023 Oct. PubMed
Corley DA, Jensen CD, Chubak J, Schottinger JE, Halm EA, Udaltsova N, Prospr Precise Consortium. Evaluating different approaches for calculating adenoma detection rate: Is screening colonoscopy the gold standard? Gastroenterology. 2023 Sep;165(3):784-787.e4. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2023.05.025. Epub 2023 May 30. PubMed
Nichols H, Wernli KJ, Chawla N, O’Meara ES, Figueroa Gray M, Green LE, Baggett CD, Casperson M, Chao C, Jones SM, Kirchhoff AC, Kuo T, Lee C , Malogolowkin M, Quesenberry CP, Ruddy KJ, Wun T, Zebrack B, Chubak J, Hahn EE, Keegan TH, Kushi LH. Challenges and opportunities of epidemiological studies to reduce the burden of cancers in young adults. Curr Epidemiol Rep. 2023 Sep;10(3):115-124. doi: 10.1007/s40471-022-00286-9. Epub 2022 Mar 29. PubMed
Research
Study sheds light on needs of young people with cancer
Understanding emergency department use among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors can help address care gaps.
Research
Improving cancer prevention and early detection
How KPWHRI is contributing to better cancer screening and better outcomes for patients.
Research
How did the pandemic impact hospital visits with animals?
Top pediatric oncology hospitals reported lasting changes to programs involving visits with animals.
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