Our Research
Featured
Researcher
Gregory E. Simon, MD, MPH
Senior Investigator, KPWHRI; Psychiatrist, Washington Permanente Medical Group
Dr. Simon with Amy Lee, MPH, research associate
Science to serve one goal: Better health
Scientists at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) have a rare advantage: We work within a system that provides both care and coverage. With a 360-degree view of people’s everyday health experience over time, we discover what works best to serve Kaiser Permanente's mission: Better health.
We collaborate closely with Kaiser Permanente Washington's medical staff and other providers—gaining from their perspectives on practical approaches to health care’s toughest problems. Together, we create a learning health care system—a place where research strengthens practice and practice strengthen research.
Scientists
Working in the public interest
Our faculty work on interdisciplinary research teams, conducting about 300 studies at any given time. They partner with affiliate researchers and others from academic institutions and health systems and share findings in the public domain to serve the public good.
See our KPWHRI researcher directory.
healthy findings blog
No going back: We must rise now to end structural racism
Dr. Rita Mangione-Smith shares 6 changes our research institute can make to address racism as a public health crisis.
committed to diversity
Washington state members begin joining the KP research biobank
KPWHRI will be launching a phone-based recruitment pilot project in May that aims to achieve higher recruitment of people of color.
Funding sources
A broad base of support
Most of our support comes from federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health. We also contract with biomedical companies and receive grants from private foundations. About 5 percent of our budget comes from Kaiser Permanente Washington.
See our list of funders.
News
Seattle team to build brain map of Alzheimer’s disease
$40.5M NIH-funded project aims to pinpoint cells at root of brain disease—and new therapeutic targets.
video
How can providers have better conversations about cost of care with patients?
Nora Henrikson talks about her paper in Annals of Internal Medicine, exploring more effective ways for clinical teams to discuss cost with cancer patients.
Recent publications
Jackson ML, Ferdinands J, Nowalk MP, Zimmerman RK, Kieke B, Gaglani M, Murthy K, Petrie JG, Martin ET, Chung JR, Flannery B, Jackson LA. Differences between Frequentist and Bayesian inference in routine surveillance for influenza vaccine effectiveness: a test-negative case-control study. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1):516. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10543-z. PubMed
Yeung K, Dorsey CN, Mettert K. Effect of new Medicare enrollment on health, healthcare utilization, and cost: a scoping review. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 Mar 15. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17113. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Katzan IL, Lapin B, Griffith S, Jehi L, Fernandez H, Pioro E, Tepper S, Crane PK. Somatic symptoms have negligible impact on PHQ-9 depression scale scores in neurological patients. Eur J Neurol. 2021 Mar 13. doi: 10.1111/ene.14822. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Simon GE, Matarazzo BB, Walsh CG, Smoller JW, Boudreaux ED, Yarborough BJH, Shortreed SM, Coley RY, Ahmedani BK, Doshi RP, Harris LI, Schoenbaum M. Reconciling statistical and clinicians' predictions of suicide risk. Psychiatr Serv. 2021 Mar 11:appips202000214. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202000214. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
research
Coronavirus vaccine trial now includes older people
Led by Dr. Lisa A. Jackson, first-ever trial of any experimental vaccine candidate for COVID-19 virus has expanded.
Collaborate with us
KPWHRI oversees all research conducted at Kaiser Permanente Washington, ensuring that all studies involving Kaiser Permanente Washington members are aligned with the organization’s primary mission: to improve health. Researchers from outside Kaiser Permanente Washington can learn more about our processes for collaborating with KPWHRI faculty members.
