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 collaborate with affiliate researchers and others from leading academic institutions and health systems and share their findings freely in the public domain to serve the public good.
See our KPWHRI researcher directory.
healthy findings blog
Preventing firearm injury and death: A priority for care providers and researchers
Health care systems, hospitals, and researchers have a role in preventing harm from guns, says Dr. David Grossman. Kaiser Permanente is showing how.
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, including the Group Health Foundation. About 5 percent of our budget comes from Kaiser Permanente Washington.
See our list of funders.
recent news
Top pediatrician-scientist chosen as next head of KPWHRI
Dr. Rita Mangione-Smith brings expertise in quality improvement and health systems from leadership posts at Seattle Children’s and UW Medicine.
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
Newcomer SR, Daley MF, Narwaney KJ, Xu S, DeStefano F, Groom HC, Jackson ML, Lewin BJ, McLean HQ, Nordin JD, Zerbo O, Glanz JM. Order of live and inactivated vaccines and risk of non-vaccine-targeted infections in U.S. children 11-23 months of age. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2020 Mar;39(3):247-253. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000002550. PubMed
Marcum ZA, Hohl SD, Barthold D, Zaslavsky O, Larson EB, Gray SL. Beliefs about benefits and harms of medications and supplements for brain health. Prev Med Rep. 2020 Jan 25;17:101060. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2020.101060. eCollection 2020. PubMed
Marcum ZA, Hohl SD, Barthold D, Zaslavsky O, Larson EB, Gray SL. Beliefs about benefits and harms of medications and supplements for brain health. Prev Med Rep. 2020 Jan 25;17:101060. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2020.101060. eCollection 2020. PubMed
Shi X, Wellman R, Heagerty PJ, Nelson JC, Cook AJ. Safety surveillance and the estimation of risk in select populations: Flexible methods to control for confounding while targeting marginal comparisons via standardization. Stat Med. 2020;39(4):369-386. doi: 10.1002/sim.8410. Epub 2019 Dec 10. PubMed
Research findings
Breast MRI after cancer may lead to unneeded biopsies
A Kaiser Permanente-led BCSC study is among the largest to evaluate adding MRI surveillance for breast cancer survivors.
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.
