Jessica Petrick, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Jessica Petrick’s research program focuses on the epidemiology of gastrointestinal cancers, including colorectal, liver, and esophageal. Dr. Petrick became a co-Investigator with the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS) in 2019, but she has been collaborating with BWHS since she began her post-doctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 2014. BWHS is a member of the NCI Cancer Cohort Consortium and participated in the Liver Cancer Pooling Project, within which Dr. Petrick led numerous studies. The emphasis of her current research portfolio is on nutritional and molecular factors, including the metabolome and microbiome, which may contribute to racial disparities along the cancer continuum—from precursor lesions to invasive cancer through mortality.

Publications

  • Published 5/21/2025

    Watling CZ, Petrick JL, Graubard BI, Zhang X, Barnett MJ, Buring JE, Chen Y, Eliassen AH, Gaziano M, Kang JH, Koshiol J, Huang WY, Lee IM, Moore SC, Mucci LA, Neuhouser ML, Newton CC, Palmer JR, Rosenberg L, Sesso HD, Shrubsole M, Tinker L, Triplette M, Um CY, Visvanathan K, Wactawski-Wende J, Willett W, Wu F, Zheng W, Hofmann J, Purdue MP, Campbell PT, Barupal D, McGlynn KA. Circulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and liver cancer risk: a nested case-control analysis of individual participant data from 12 prospective cohorts. Environ Health Perspect. 2025 May 21. PMID: 40397817.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/2/2025

    Omofuma OO, Rusiecki JA, Petrick JL, Falk RT, Wheeler W, Pfeiffer RM, Camargo MC, Cook MB. Circulating Inflammation Biomarkers and the Risk of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: A Nested Case-Control Study in the Department of Defense Serum Repository. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 May 02; 34(5):649-657. PMID: 40079721.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/28/2025

    Liu X, Zhang X, Zhao L, Petrick JL, Liao LM, Wang W, He N, Giovannucci E, Zhang ZF, McGlynn KA, Zhang X. The associations between dairy intake and chronic liver disease mortality and liver cancer incidence: a prospective cohort study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2025 Apr 28. PMID: 40306387.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/12/2025

    Watling CZ, Wojt A, Florio AA, Butera G, Albanes D, Weinstein SJ, Huang WY, Parisi D, Zhang X, Graubard BI, Petrick JL, McGlynn KA. Reply: Fiber and whole grain intakes in relation to liver cancer risk-An analysis in 2 prospective cohorts and systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Hepatology. 2025 Mar 12. PMID: 40073273.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/14/2025

    Watling CZ, Hua X, Petrick JL, Zhang X, Do WL, Wang L, Maestri E, Yu K, Wang XW, McGlynn KA. Pan-serological antibodies and liver cancer risk: a nested case-control analysis. Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 14; 15(1):5450. PMID: 39953193.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Center Faculty Member, Slone Epidemiology Center
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Education

  • University of North Carolina, PhD
  • Case Western Reserve University, MPH
  • Case Western Reserve University, BS