Jessica L. Petrick, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Medicine
Hematology & Medical Oncology

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



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.

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




PROSPECT: Pathways, Risk factors, and mOleculeS to Prevent Early-onset Colorectal Tumors
05/01/2024 - 04/30/2029 (Subcontract PI)
The Washington University NIH NCI
1OT2CA297576-01

The impact of biobehavioral factors and aspirin on ovarian cancer biology
09/19/2023 - 08/31/2028 (PI of Sub-Project / SP)
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute NIH NCI
5U54CA163068-12

Dietary Carbohydrate Quality and Circulating Bile Acids in Relation to Colorectal Carcinogenesis in Black Women
01/01/2024 - 12/31/2027 (PI)
American Cancer Society, Inc.


Risk Factors For And Consequences Of Endometriosis Among Black Women
07/23/2024 - 06/30/2026 (Subcontract PI)
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center NIH NICHD
1R21HD115018-01

Dietary Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Inflammatory Index, and Circulating Endocannabinoids/Oxylipins in Relation to Colorectal Carcinogenesis in Black Women
04/01/2022 - 03/31/2026 (PI)
Department of Defense/Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity


Understanding the Contribution of Colorectal Cancer Tumor Characteristics to Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Survival
07/15/2021 - 06/30/2025 (Subcontract PI)
University of Wisconsin, Madison NIH NCI
5R01CA255318-04

Harnessing DNA methylation in peripheral blood for improved colorectal cancer prevention
08/01/2024 - 06/04/2025 (Subcontract PI)
President and Fellows of Harvard College NIH NCI
1R01CA285851-01A1



Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

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  1. Lima SM, Minlikeeva AN, Johnson CE, Guertin KA, Bandera EV, Zheng W, Bethea TN, Petrick JL, Joslin CE, Myers ER, Harris HR, Peres LC, Setiawan VW, Wu AH, Rosenberg L, Schildkraut JM, Ochs-Balcom HM. Regular Physical Inactivity and Ovarian Cancer Risk in the Ovarian Cancer in Women of African Ancestry Consortium. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Dec 01; 34(12):2302-2305.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40956289; PMCID: PMC12631964; DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-25-1160;
     
  2. Watling CZ, Campbell PT, Graubard BI, Wang Y, Gewirtz AT, Zhang X, Barnett MJ, Buring JE, Chen Y, Eliassen AH, Gaziano JM, Hofmann JN, Huang WY, Kang JH, Koshiol J, Loftfield E, Lee IM, Moore SC, Mucci LA, Neuhouser ML, Newton CC, Purdue MP, Sesso HD, Shrubsole M, Sinha R, Tinker L, Triplette M, Um CY, Visvanathan K, Watts EL, Wactawski-Wende J, Willett W, Wu F, Zheng W, Barupal D, Petrick JL, McGlynn KA. Pre-diagnostic immunological markers of bacterial translocation and liver cancer risk: A nested case-control analysis of 12 prospective cohorts. Int J Cancer. 2025 Oct 23. PMID: 41129365; DOI: 10.1002/ijc.70201;
     
  3. Watling CZ, Petrick JL, Graubard BI, Zhang X, Barnett MJ, Buring JE, Chen Y, Eliassen AH, Gaziano JM, Hofmann JN, Huang WY, Kang JH, Koshiol J, Loftfield E, Lee IM, Moore SC, Mucci LA, Neuhouser ML, Newton CC, Palmer JR, Purdue MP, Rosenberg L, Sesso HD, Shrubsole M, Tinker L, Triplette M, Um CY, Visvanathan K, Watts EL, Wactawski-Wende J, Willett W, Wu F, Zheng W, Campbell PT, Barupal D, McGlynn KA. Pre-diagnostic circulating bile acid concentrations and liver cancer risk: a nested case-control analysis of 12 cohorts. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2025 Sep 01; 9(5).View Related Profiles. PMID: 40972035; PMCID: PMC12510164; DOI: 10.1093/jncics/pkaf086;
     
  4. Rothbard SM, Palmer JR, Chiu LS, Rosenberg L, Petrick JL. Fish Intake and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Relation to Colorectal Cancer Risk in the Black Women's Health Study. J Nutr. 2025 Nov; 155(11):3957-3966.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40865871; DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.08.021;
     
  5. Mendez JS, Queme B, Fu Y, Morrison J, Lewinger JP, Kawaguchi E, Mi H, Obón-Santacana M, Moratalla-Navarro F, Martín V, Moreno V, Lin Y, Bien SA, Qu C, Su YR, White E, Harrison TA, Huyghe JR, Tangen CM, Newcomb PA, Phipps AI, Thomas CE, Conti DV, Wang J, Platz EA, Keku TO, Newton CC, Um CY, Kundaje A, Shcherbina A, Murphy N, Gunter MJ, Dimou N, Papadimitriou N, Bézieau S, van Duijnhoven FJ, Männistö S, Rennert G, Wolk A, Hoffmeister M, Brenner H, Chang-Claude J, Tian Y, Le Marchand L, Cotterchio M, Tsilidis KK, Bishop DT, Melaku YA, Lynch BM, Buchanan DD, Ulrich CM, Ose J, Peoples AR, Pellatt AJ, Li L, Devall MA, Campbell PT, Albanes D, Weinstein SJ, Berndt SI, Gruber SB, Ruiz-Narvaez E, Song M, Joshi AD, Drew DA, Petrick JL, Chan AT, Giannakis M, Hsu L, Peters U, Gauderman WJ, Stern MC. Red meat intake interacts with a TGF-ß-pathway-based polygenic risk score to impact colorectal cancer risk: Application of a novel approach for polygenic risk score construction. medRxiv. 2025 Jun 16. PMID: 40568668; PMCID: PMC12191096; DOI: 10.1101/2025.06.13.25329599;
     
  6. 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.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40397817
     
  7. 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; PMCID: PMC12048206; DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-24-1544;
     
  8. 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 Jul; 122(1):263-273. PMID: 40306387; PMCID: PMC12308092; DOI: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.04.028;
     
  9. 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 Aug 01; 82(2):E28-E29. PMID: 40073273
     
  10. 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; PMCID: PMC11828989; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-89629-2;
     
Showing 10 of 111 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 111 publications over 13 distinct years, with a maximum of 15 publications in 2020 and 2022

YearPublications
20131
20143
201510
20165
20179
20187
201913
202015
20218
202215
20239
20245
202511
In addition to these self-described keywords below, a list of MeSH based concepts is available here.

Epidemiology
Colorectal Cancer
Liver Cancer
Esophageal Cancer
Nutrition Status
Metabolomics
Microbiome

I am available to mentor undergraduates through post-doctoral fellows, and I have previously mentored undergraduates through pre-doctoral fellows on projects that have resulted in peer-reviewed publications.

Available to Mentor as: (Review Mentor Role Definitions):
  • Advisor
  • Co-Mentor or Peer Mentor
  • Project Mentor
Contact for Mentoring:
  • Email (see 'Contact Info')
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