Jennifer McClure, PhD
“We create programs and tools to empower people and help them lead healthier lives. By doing so, we can reduce the need for health care and the growing burden of health care costs for all.”
Jennifer McClure, PhD
Director, Investigative Science; Senior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Professor, Department of Health Systems Science, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Jennifer.B.Mcclure@kp.org
206-287-2737
Biography
Jennifer McClure, PhD, is director of Investigative Science at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI). She is also a senior investigator and clinical psychologist whose research focuses on developing new interventions to reduce people’s risk of chronic disease and cancer or help them better manage existing chronic disease through:
- Smoking cessation
- Dietary improvement
- Increased physical activity
- Treatment adherence
- Stress management
- Better oral health
- Informed decision-making
Much of Dr. McClure’s research emphasizes creating highly individualized behavioral treatments that can be disseminated on a population level, through health care systems and tobacco quitlines or directly to individuals via digital health tools, such as mobile health (mHealth) apps. Her goal is to design programs that are effective, convenient, engaging, and cost-effective, understanding that to make the leap from research to real world, interventions should meet these criteria.
Dr. McClure is best known for her research creating novel treatments for nicotine dependence, particularly interventions targeted to smokers who are ambivalent about quitting. These individuals may want to quit smoking some day, but are not yet ready to give up tobacco. Most smokers fall into this category, but few interventions are targeted to this important group. Her research has demonstrated the effectiveness of using proactive counseling and online interventions to motivate and support smoking cessation among ambivalent smokers. Her work has also shed light on the potential risks and benefits of using biological indicators of disease or disease risk to motivate quitting. Now she is developing two new mHealth apps to help ambivalent smokers kick the habit: one designed for anyone who smokes and one designed specifically for smokers living with HIV.
Dr. McClure’s collaborative research covers a range of topics from reducing sedentary behavior to comparing the effectiveness of various strategies for assessing and diagnosing high blood pressure.
In recognition of her scientific contributions, Dr. McClure was named a fellow in the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) in 2013 and a fellow in the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco in 2018. In 2019 she joined the faculty of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J Tyson School of Medicine as a professor in Health Systems Science. Dr. McClure is also an affiliate professor of health services at the University of Washington School of Public Health and an affiliate investigator in the Division of Public Health Sciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She currently serves as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
RESEARCH INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCE
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Behavior Change & Behavioral Medicine
Tobacco cessation; pharmocogenomics of nicotine addiction; treatment adherence; population-based behavior interventions; health risk communications; oral health promotion; dietary change; physical activity promotion; informed decision-making; psychoneuroimmunology; HIV
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Health Informatics & Digital Health
Development of eHealth and mHealth intervention tools
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Mental Health
Depression treatment and development of behavior change interventions for people with serious mental illness
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Cancer
Prevention
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Chronic Illness Management
HIV
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Addictions
Prevention and treatment
Recent publications
Heffner JL, Watson NL, Dahne J, Croghan I, Kelly MM, McClure JB, Bars M, Thrul J, Meier E. Recognizing and preventing participant deception in online nicotine and tobacco research studies: suggested tactics and a call to action. Nicotine Tob Res. 2021 Apr 20:ntab077. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab077. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Schnoll R, Bernstein SL, Kaufman A, Gross R, Catz SL, Cioe PA, Hitsman B, Marhefka SL, Pacek LR, Vidrine DJ, Vilardaga R, Edelman EJ, McClure JB, Ashare R, Lockhart E, Crothers K. Covid-19 challenges confronted by smoking cessation clinical trials for people living with HIV: the experience of grantees of the United States National Cancer Institute. Nicotine Tob Res. 2021 Feb 28;ntab035. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab035. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Greenwood-Hickman MA, Dahlquist J, Cooper J, Holden E, McClure JB, Mettert KD, Perry SR, Rosenberg DE. "They're going to Zoom it": a qualitative investigation of impacts and coping strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic among older adults. Front Public Health. 2021 May 19;9:679976. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.679976. eCollection 2021. PubMed
McClure JB, Lapham G. Tobacco quitline engagement and outcomes among primary care patients reporting use of tobacco or dual tobacco and cannabis: an observational study. Subst Abus. 2020 Dec 3:1-6. doi: 10.1080/08897077.2020.1846665. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Heffner JL, Catz SL, Klasnja P, Tiffany B, McClure JB. Development of a mobile health intervention with personal experiments for smokers who are ambivalent about quitting: formative design and testing. JMIR Form Res. 2020;4(8):e21784. doi: 10.2196/21784. PubMed
Ashare RL, Bernstein SL, Schnoll R, Gross R, Catz SL, Cioe P, Crothers K, Hitsman B, Marhefka SL, McClure JB, Pacek LR, Vidrine DJ, Vilardaga R, Kaufman A, Edelman EJ. The United States National Cancer Institute’s coordinated research effort on tobacco use as a major cause of morbidity and mortality among people with HIV. Nicotine Tob Res. 2021 Jan 22;23(2):407-410. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa155. PubMed
Rosenberg DE, Anderson ML, Renz A, Matson TE, Lee AK, Greenwood-Hickman MA, Arterburn DE, Gardiner PA, Kerr J, McClure JB. Reducing sitting time in obese older adults: the I-STAND randomized controlled trial. J Aging Phys Act. 2020 Jun 4:1-11. doi: 10.1123/japa.2019-0470. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Watson NL, Heffner JL, Mull KE, McClure JB, Bricker JB. Which method of assessing depression and anxiety best predicts smoking cessation: screening instruments or self-reported conditions. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 Jun 2. pii: ntaa099. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa099. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Grekin E, Beatty JE, McGoron L, Kugler KC, McClure JB, Pop DE, Ondersma SJ. Testing the efficacy of motivational strategies, empathic reflections, and lifelike features in a computerized intervention for alcohol use: a factorial trial. Psychol Addict Behav. 2019 Sep;33(6):511-519. doi: 10.1037/adb0000502. Epub 2019 Aug 22. PubMed
Pocobelli G, Ziebell R, Fujii M, Hutcheson KA, Chang S, McClure JB, Chubak J. Symptom burden in long-term survivors of head and neck cancer: patient-reported versus clinical data. EGEMS (Wash DC). 2019;7(1):25. doi: 10.5334/egems.271. PubMed
Research
Digital tool could help people change smoking habits
A mobile application designed to engage smokers who are ambivalent about quitting shows promising results.
Healthy findings blog
For Women's History Month: Q&A with scientific leaders
KPWHRI’s executive director and scientific division leaders share their career paths, advice.New findings
There’s no place like home … to track blood pressure
Research led by KPWHRI’s Beverly Green, MD, MPH, finds that patients prefer at-home monitoring of blood pressure.
Behavioral Health
Surviving an FFP: COVID-19
Dr. Jennifer McClure shares advice and resources for staying physically and emotionally well during the COVID-19 crisis, and beyond.
research
Oral Health 4 Life: 10 years of research to improve smokers’ health and dental care
As Dr. Jennifer McClure completes the last of three innovative studies, she reflects on how the work began, the difference it may make, and what happens next.
healthy findings blog
Can being accepting and mindful help you stop smoking?
Tobacco remains a public health priority. Jennifer McClure, PhD, discusses her findings comparing ’acceptance and commitment therapy’ to standard care.
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