Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Jason D. Pole PhD (Epidemiology)

Research Interests

• Pediatric Oncology
• Epidemiological Methods
• Health Service Utilization
• Complex Survey Methods / Analysis
• Administrative Data

Education & Training History

PhD – University of Toronto, 2007
Department of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine
Doctor of Philosophy in Epidemiology
Thesis titled ‘Antenatal Steroid Therapy for Fetal Lung Maturation and the Subsequent Risk of childhood asthma.’

MSc – Queen’s University, 2000
Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine
Master of Science in Epidemiology
Thesis titled ‘Quantifying Misclassification in Water Disinfection By Product Analysis.’

BSc (Hon) – University of Waterloo, 1998
Department of Health Studies, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences
Honours Bachelor of Science in Health Studies
Honours project titled ‘Weight Changes Across Subsequent Pregnancies: An Investigation of Maternal and Infant Outcomes.’

Other Affiliations

Professor – Centre for Health Services Research, University of Queensland, Australia

Adjunct Scientist – Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute

Adjunct Senior Scientist – Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences

Current Research Projects

• 2015-2020, Site Principal Investigator: Risk of Pediatric and Adolescent Cancer Associated with Medical Imaging
• 2013-2020, Co-Investigator:Initiative to Maximize Progress in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Therapy (IMPACT)
• 2013-2018, Co-Investigator:Enhancing the Quality of Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Children with Cancer
• 2013-2019, Principal Investigator: Long‑Term Family Economic Consequences of a Childhood Cancer Diagnosis
• 2013-2015, Co-Investigator: Defining Treatment-Related Mortality in Pediatric Cancer
• 2013-2014, Co-Investigator: Health Care Utilization Following Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis in Childhood
• 2013-2014, Principal Investigator: A pilot study evaluating caregiver’s out of pocket costs and financial burden related to pediatric cancers

Representative Publications

• Pole JD, Barber R, Bergeron RÉ, Carret AS, Dix D, Kulkarni K, Martineau E, Randall A, Stammers D, Strahlendorf C, Strother DR, Truong TH, Sung L. (2017). Most children with cancer are not enrolled on a clinical trial in Canada: a population-based study. BMC Cancer. 17(1).
• Pole JD, Zuk AM, Wasserman JD. (2017). Diagnostic and Treatment Patterns among Children, Adolescents and Young Adults with Thyroid Cancer in Ontario: 1992-2010. Thyroid. 27(8).
• Alexander, S., Pole, JD., Gibson, P., Lee, M., Hesser, T., Chi, S., Dvorak, CC., Fisher, B., Hasle, H., Kanerva, J., Moricke, A., Phillips, B., Raetz, E., Rodriguez-Galindo, C., Samarasinghe, S., Schmiegelow, K., Tissing, W., Lehrnbecher, T. and L. Sung. (2015). Development of a Reliable and Valid System for Classifying Treatment-Related Mortality in Children with Cancer. Lancet Oncology, 16(16).
• Pole, JD., Gu, LY., Kirsh, V., Greenberg ML. and PC. Nathan. (2015). Subsequent malignant neoplasms occurring within 5 years of diagnosis in a population-based cohort of pediatric cancer patients in Ontario, Canada. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 24(10).
• Marjerrison, S., Pole, JD. and L. Sung. (2014). Inferior Survival among Aboriginal Children with Cancer in Ontario. Cancer. 120(17).
• Gupta, S., Wilejto, M., Pole JD., Guttmann, A. and L. Sung. (2014). Low Socioeconomic Status is Associated with Worse Survival in Children with Cancer: A Systematic Review. PLoS ONE. 9(2).
• Cheng, S., Pole, JD. and L. Sung. (2014). Early Deaths in Pediatric Acute Leukemia: A Population-Based Study. In Press: Leukemia and Lymphoma.
• Pole JD., Darmawikarta, D., Alibhai SMH., Brandwein JM. and L. Sung. (2013). Differential survival improvement for patients 20‑29 years of age with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia Research. 37(10): 1258-64.
• Pole JD., Schechter, T., Darmawikarta, D., Doyle, J., Ali, M., Egeler, M., Gassas, A., Irwin, MS., Greenberg, ML. and PC. Nathan. (2013). Late mortality after hematopoietic SCT for a childhood malignancy. Bone Marrow Transplantation. 48: 1291-1295. (Note: Pole and Schechter are co-primary authors.)
• Gupta, S., Pole JD., Guttmann, A. and L. Sung. (2013). Validation of a registry-derived risk algorithm based on treatment protocol as a proxy for disease risk in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. BMC Medical Research Methodology. 13:68. doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-13-68.
• Darmawikarta, D., Pole, JD., Gupta, S., Nathan, PC. and M. Greenberg. (2013). The association between socioeconomic status and survival among children with Hodgkin and non‑Hodgkin lymphomas in a universal health care system. Pediatric Blood & Cancer. 60(7): 1171-7.
• Lee Chong, A., Pole, JD., Scheinemann, K., Hukin, J., Tabori, U., Huang, A., Bouffet, E. and U. Bartels. (2013). Optic Pathway Gliomas in Adolescence – time to challenge treatment choices? Neuro-Oncology. 15(3):391‑400.
• Pole JD., Alibhai SMH., Ethier MC., Teuffel O., Portwine C., Zelcer S., Johnston DL., Silva M., Alexander S., and L. Sung. (2013). Adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Ontario have similar outcomes when treated at pediatric or adult hospitals. Annals of Oncology. 24(3):801‑6
• Mandelcorn‑Monson, R., Marrett, L., Kricker, A., Armstrong, B., Orlow, I., Goumas, C., Paine, S., Rosso, S., Thomas, N., Millikan, RC., Pole, JD., Cotignola, J., Rosen C., Kanetsky, P., Begg C. and M. Berwick for the GEM Study Group. (2011). Sun Exposure, Vitamin D Receptor Polymorphisms FokI and BsmI and Risk of Multiple Primary Melanoma. Cancer Epidemiology, 35(6):e105‑10.
• Flicker S., Travers R., Flynn S., Larkin J., Guta A., Salehi R., Pole JD., and C. Layne. (2010) Sexual health research for and with urban youth: The Toronto Teen Survey story. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 19(4):133-144.
• Pole, JD. and S. Flicker (2010). Sexual Behaviour Profile of a Diverse Group of Urban Youth: An analysis of the Toronto Teen Survey. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 19(4):145-156.
• Causarano, N., JD. Pole, S. Flicker. (2010). Adolescents, Religion and Sexual Health Knowledge Gaps in Toronto. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 19(4):169-184.
• Pole, JD., CA. Mustard, T. To, J. Beyene and AC. Allen. (2010). Antenatal Steroid Therapy for Fetal Lung Maturation and the Subsequent Risk of Childhood Asthma: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Pregnancy. Volume 2010 (2010), Article ID 789748, doi:10.1155/2010/789748.
• Flicker, S., A. Guta, J. Larkin, S. Flynn, A. Fridkin, JD. Pole, R. Travers, C. Layne, and K. Chan. (2010). Survey Design from the Ground Up: Collaboratively Creating the Toronto Teen Survey. Health Promotion and Practice, 11(1): 112-122.
• Pole, JD., CA. Mustard, T. To, J. Beyene and AC. Allen. (2009). Antenatal Steroid Therapy for Fetal Lung Maturation: Is there an association with childhood asthma?. Journal of Asthma, 46(1):47-52.
• Breslin, FC. and JD. Pole. (2009). Employment and work injury risk among Canadian young people with learning disabilities and attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Public Health, 99(8): 1423-1430.