Carolyn M. Rutter, PhD
Senior Investigator
206-287-2190
rutter.c@ghc.org
Recent publications
Curriculum vitae (CV)
Research interests and experience
- Biostatistics: microsimulation modeling; Bayesian methods; meta-analysis; assessment of diagnostic tests; provider profiling
- Cancer control: colorectal cancer screening; breast cancer screening
- Mental health: depression treatment and treatment adherence
Developing biostatistical methods to advance research related to health services and health policy is important to Carolyn Rutter. She provides consistent leadership and innovation that has helped Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) grow a world-class program in biostatistics.
Dr. Rutter’s current research focuses primarily on colorectal cancer screening. She is keenly interested in applying and developing microsimulation models for colorectal cancer—and in developing methods to calibrate these models. Dr. Rutter is the principal investigator for a colorectal cancer screening project funded through the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET), a nationwide collaboration that uses comparative modeling to help understand cancer screening, prevention, and treatment.
Dr. Rutter is also a principal investigator for one of three PROSPR Research Centers focused on colorectal cancer. PROSPR is a nationwide consortium focused on better understanding how to improve the screening process (recruitment, screening, diagnosis, referral for treatment) for breast, colon, and cervical cancer. The GHRI-led project, “Studying Colorectal Cancer: Effectiveness of Screening Strategies” (SuCCESS), focuses on developing evidence to inform personalized screening recommendations, with an emphasis on identifying optimal screening regimens that maintain most or all of the benefits of intensive regimens while minimizing risks and costs and respecting patient preferences.
Dr. Rutter also has extensive experience in Bayesian modeling, including developing Bayesian meta-analytic models to examine the accuracy of diagnostic tests. Her other areas of expertise include provider profiling and statistical methods for mental health research.
Dr. Rutter is past chair of the Health Policy Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association and is a fellow of the American Statistical Association. She was GHRI’s lead statistician from 2003 to 2008 and still actively supports the Institute’s biostatistics program. She is also an affiliate professor at the University of Washington in the Departments of Biostatistics and Health Services.
Recent publications
Lin EH, Von Korff M, Ciechanowski P, Peterson D, Ludman EJ, Rutter CM, Oliver M, Young BA, Gensichen J, McGregor M, McCulloch DK, Wagner EH, Katon WJ. Treatment adjustment and medication adherence for complex patients with diabetes, heart disease, and depression: a randomized controlled trial. Ann Fam Med. 2012;10(1):6-14. PubMed
Rutter CM, Johnson E, Miglioretti DL, Mandelson MT, Inadomi J, Buist DS. Adverse events after screening and follow-up colonoscopy. Cancer Causes Control. 2011 Nov 22 [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Von Korff M, Katon WJ, Lin EH, Ciechanowski P, Peterson D, Ludman EJ, Young B, Rutter CM. Functional outcomes of multi-condition collaborative care and successful ageing: results of randomised trial. BMJ. 2011 Nov 10;343:d6612. doi: 10.1136/bmj.d6612. PubMed
Rutter CM, Miglioretti DL, Savarino J. Evaluating risk factor assumptions: a simulation-based approach. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2011 Sep 7;11:55. PubMed
Kuntz KM, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I, Rutter CM, Knudsen AB, van Ballegooijen M, Savarino JE, Feuer EJ, Zauber AG. A systematic comparison of microsimulation models of colorectal cancer: the role of assumptions about adenoma progression. Med Decis Making. 2011 Jul-Aug;31(4):530-9. Epub 2011 Jun 14. PubMed
Silverberg MJ, Ray GT, Saunders K, Rutter CM, Campbell CI, Merrill JO, Sullivan MD, Banta-Green CJ, Von Korff M, Weisner C. Prescription long-term opioid use in HIV-infected patients. Clin J Pain. 2011 Jun 14 [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
van Ballegooijen M, Rutter CM, Knudsen AB, Zauber AG, Savarino JE, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I, Boer R, Feuer EJ, Habbema JD, Kuntz KM. Clarifying differences in natural history between models of screening: the case of colorectal cancer. Med Decis Making. 2011 Jul-Aug;31(4):540-9. Epub 2011 Jun 14. PubMed
Von Korff M, Merrill JO, Rutter CM, Sullivan M, Campbell CI, Weisner C. Time-scheduled vs. pain-contingent opioid dosing in chronic opioid therapy. Pain. 2011 Jun;152(6):1256-62. Epub 2011 Feb 5. PubMed
de Gonzalez AB, Kim KP, Knudsen AB, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I, Rutter CM, Smith-Bindman R, Yee J, Kuntz KM, van Ballegooijen M, Zauber AG, Berg CD. Radiation-related cancer risks from CT colonography screening: a risk-benefit analysis. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2011;196(4):816-23. PubMed
Rutter CM, Knudsen AB, Pandharipande PV. Computer disease simulation models: integrating evidence for health policy. Acad Radiol. 2011 Sep;18(9):1077-86. Epub 2011 Mar 23. PubMed
Rutter CM, Miglioretti DL, Savarino JE. Bayesian calibration of microsimulation models, Journal of the American Statistical Association, 2009; 104(488):1338–1350
To view more publications, please see Dr. Rutter's CV.