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
Suri P, Meier EN, Gold LS, Marcum ZA, Johnston SK, James KT, Bresnahan BW, O'Reilly M, Turner JA, Kallmes DF, Sherman KJ, Deyo RA, Luetmer PH, Avins AL, Griffith B, Heagerty PJ, Rundell SD, Jarvik JG, Friedly JL. Providing epidemiologic data in lumbar spine imaging reports did not affect subsequent utilization of spine procedures: secondary outcomes from a stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial. Pain Med. 2021 Feb 17:pnab065. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnab065. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Jackson ML, Starita L, Kiniry E, Phillips CH, Wellwood S, Cho S, Kiavand A, Truong M, Han P, Richardson M, Wolf CR, Heimonen J, Nickerson DA, Chu HY. Incidence of medically attended acute respiratory illnesses due to respiratory viruses across the life course during the 2018/19 influenza season. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Feb 16:ciab131. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab131. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Makhnoon S, Bowen DJ, Shirts BH, Fullerton SM, Larson EB, Ralston JD, Leppig KA, Crosslin DR, Veenstra D, Jarvik GP. The FamilyTalk randomized controlled trial: patient-reported outcomes in clinical genetic sequencing for colorectal cancer. Cancer Causes Control. 2021 Feb 16. doi: 10.1007/s10552-021-01398-1. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Wu MJ, Chung JR, Kim SS, Jackson ML, Jackson LA, Belongia EA, McLean HQ, Gaglani M, Reis M, Beeram M, Martin ET, Monto AS, Nowalk MP, Zimmerman R, Santibanez TA, Singleton JA, Patel M, Flannery B. Influenza vaccination coverage among persons seeking outpatient medical care for acute respiratory illness in five states in the United States, 2011-2012 through 2018-2019. Vaccine. 2021 Feb 15:S0264-410X(21)00106-7. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.01.065. [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.
