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.
Epidemiology; colorectal cancer; medication use; survivorship; recurrence; secondary prevention; quality of life; automated data collection; screening; animal-assisted activities; survivorship
Screening
Cancer risk and use of common medications
Rasouli B, Chubak J, Floyd JS, Psaty BM, Nguyen M, Walker RL, Wiggins KL, Logan RW, Danaei G. Combining high quality data with rigorous methods: Emulation of a target trial using electronic health records and a nested case-control design. BMJ. 2023;383:e072346. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2022-072346. PubMed
White LL, Burnett-Hartman AN, Ichikawa LE, Goldberg SR, Chubak J, Spencer Feigelson H, Kamineni A. SARS-CoV-2 infection and related hospitalization among cancer survivors. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 Dec 21. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-23-1303. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
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
The findings can help guide colorectal cancer screening decisions later in life.
Understanding emergency department use among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors can help address care gaps.
How KPWHRI is contributing to better cancer screening and better outcomes for patients.