Joseph Unger

Joseph Unger, PhD, MS is a Professor in the Cancer Prevention Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (Public Health Sciences Division) and an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Public Health’s Department of Health Services Research. His research focuses on leveraging big data to study cancer treatment outcomes, disparities in clinical trial participation, and barriers to healthcare access. He pioneered linking Medicare claims data with clinical trial records to address research gaps. His work examines socioeconomic factors (income, comorbidities) and structural issues (trial availability) affecting trial enrollment.

Dr. Unger holds a PhD in Health Services Research (UW, 2013) and an MS in Biostatistics (UW, 1993). He is a member of Fred Hutch’s Translational Data Science Integrated Research Center. His research spans clinical trial design, symptom management, and quality-of-life metrics in oncology care. Notable projects include developing risk prediction models for treatment toxicities and analyzing pandemic impacts on trial operations.

His articles address industry vs federal sponsorship trends, rural healthcare disparities, and the role of genomic testing in oncology. He collaborates with SWOG Cancer Research Network, contributing to trials like S2010 (breast cancer endocrine therapy) and S2108CD (genomic tumor boards).

Labs/Teams: Cancer Prevention Program, Translational Data Science IRC, SWOG Statistical Center.