Claire Snyder, Ph.D., M.H.S.

Dr. Snyder researches the quality of cancer care, with a particular focus in two areas: (1) quality of life for cancer patients and (2) cancer survivorship care.

For her quality-of-life research, she is investigating the use of patient-reported outcome questionnaires in routine oncology practice so that patients’ reports of their symptoms, functioning, and well-being can inform their care in the same way that laboratory tests and imaging studies do. This intervention involves having patients complete questionnaires and providing the responses to their clinicians. Dr. Snyder’s research has investigated technologies to collect patients’ reports and integrate them with the electronic health record, informed the selection of questionnaires to administer, and helped patients and clinicians understand the questionnaire results to address them in practice. Dr. Snyder’s quality-of-life research also seeks to optimize the collection and communication of patients’ reports in clinical trials and other research studies. Dr. Snyder currently leads the PROTEUS Consortium (Patient-Reported Outcomes Tools: Engaging Users & Stakeholders), which is partnering with key patient, clinician, research, health system, funding, and regulatory groups from the U.S. and internationally to promote systematic use of methodologic tools developed to optimize the capture and communication of patient-reported outcomes in research studies and clinical care.

In her cancer survivorship research, Dr. Snyder conducted multiple studies using large databases to examine which physician specialties are involved in cancer survivors’ care, and how this relates to whether survivors receive recommended follow-up. She is working with a multidisciplinary team here in our Cancer Center to develop survivorship care strategies. She has also studied interventions, such as survivorship care plans, to improve coordination between primary care providers and cancer specialists. Dr. Snyder co-chairs the Cancer Control & Intervention Working Group of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.