Faculty

Jen Balkus

Clinical Associate Professor, Epidemiology


Education

PhD Epidemiology, University of Washington, 2012
MPH Epidemiology, University of Washington, 2005
BA Women Studies, Wesleyan University, 2000

Contact


Public Health Seattle and King County
401 Fifth Avenue
Suite 1250
Seattle, WA 98104

Bio

Dr. Balkus (she/her/hers) is an infectious disease epidemiologist whose work spans across the fields of sexual and reproductive health. She is the Senior Epidemiologist for the HIV/STI/HCV Program at Public Health – Seattle & King County. Her work in public health practice and research is centered in health equity and focusses on approaches to understanding which communities are most impacted by HIV, STIs and hepatitis C in King County and informing novel approaches for intervention and communication to reduce disease burden. Dr. Balkus is open to working with students who are interested in these topic areas who are seeking to gain experience in public health practice-related epidemiology. 

Previously, Dr. Balkus was core faculty in the Epidemiology Department where her research focused on sexual health across the lifecourse. She has expertise in conducting both clinical trials and observational studies, in the US and globally, and led multiple NIH-funded projects related to vaginal health and STIs among people assigned female sex at birth. In addition to her research, Dr. Balkus developed and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in the School of Public Health and served as the inaugural faculty co-chair or the Department’s Equity and Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Research Areas

Research Interests

  • Vaginal microbiome
  • STI prevention
  • HIV risk prediction
  • Hormonal contraception
  • Women
  • Africa

Recent Publications (PubMed)

Trichomonas vaginalis Among Cisgender Women Taking Doxycycline Postexposure Prophylaxis.
(2025 Oct 9)
J Infect Dis
Sesay FA, Oware K, Violette LR, Donnell D, Odoyo JB, Omollo V, Mogaka FO, McClelland RS, Balkus JE, Bukusi EA, Baeten JM, Stewart J
Racial Affinity Caucuses (RACs) as Anti-Racist Pedagogy in an Epidemiology Course.
(2025 Aug 21)
Am J Epidemiol
Barrington WE, Kumar R, Frivold C, Massey AE, Mugo C, Cox SN, Sesay FA, Hajat A, Balkus JE
Evaluating the utility of public-facing jail registers to inform public health practice, Washington state 2023.
(2025 Aug 8)
BMC Public Health 25(1): 2714
Erly S, Lechtenberg RJ, Georgoulas-Sherry V, Berzkalns A, Moore A, Dombrowski JC, Balkus JE
Validation of Rapid Point-of-Care Diagnostic Tests for Sexually Transmitted Infection Self-Testing Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women.
(2025 Jun 25)
Diagnostics (Basel) 15(13):
Reddy K, Hao J, Sigcu N, Govindasami M, Matswake N, Jiane B, Kgoa R, Kew L, Ndlovu N, Stuurman R, Mposula H, Balkus JE, Heffron R, Palanee-Phillips T
Safety and drug quantification of the dapivirine vaginal ring and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis in breastfeeding mother-infant pairs (MTN-043): a phase 3B, open-label, randomised trial.
(2025 Mar)
Lancet HIV 12(3): e180-e190
Noguchi LM, Owor M, Mgodi NM, Gati Mirembe B, Dadabhai S, Horne E, Gundacker H, Richardson BA, Bunge K, Scheckter R, Song M, Marzinke MA, Anderson PL, Livant E, Jacobson C, Piper JM, Chakhtoura N, Hillier SL, Balkus JE, MTN-043 Study Team
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