Robert Wellman, MS

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“Being part of Kaiser Permanente research teams gives me a chance to develop cutting-edge biostatistical methods while contributing to health care research with a national impact.”

Robert Wellman, MS

Principal Collaborative Biostatistician, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute

Biography

A graduate of the University of Washington (UW) biostatistics program, Robert Wellman, MS, joined the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) Biostatistics Unit in 2009. His work spans a diverse collection of topics including mental health, pharmacoepidemiology, postmarketing drug safety surveillance, obesity, diagnostic test accuracy, back pain, and breast cancer. Prior to this, he spent 5 years in the Biostatistics Core at the UW Center for AIDS Research.

Research interests and experience

  • Biostatistics

    Causal inference; longitudinal data; diagnostic and screening test accuracy; clinical trials; survival analysis: rare disease outcomes; nonparametrics; missing data; electronic data; distributed data; statistical computing

    Vaccines & Infectious Diseases

    Biostatistics; HIV/AIDS; vaccine safety

    Complementary & Integrative Health

    Biostatistics; clinical trials; back pain

    Obesity

    Biostatistics; bariatric surgery

  • Cancer

    Biostatistics; breast cancer; effects of chemotherapy; accuracy of automated data; screening test accuracy; advanced imaging

    Medication Use & Patient Safety

    Biostatistics; pharmacoepidemiology; postmarketing drug safety surveillance; big data; electronic health record and claims data

    Mental Health

    Biostatistics; suicide risk prediction, machine learning

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Recent publications

Toh S, Wellman R, Coley RY, Horgan C, Sturtevant J, Moyneur E, Janning C, Pardee R, Coleman KJ, Arterburn D, McTigue K, Anau J, Cook AJ. Combining distributed regression and propensity scores: a doubly privacy-protecting analytic method for multicenter research.  Clin Epidemiol. 2018 Nov 27;10:1773-1786. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S178163. eCollection 2018.  PubMed

Hill DA, Haas JS, Wellman R, Hubbard RA, Lee CI, Alford-Teaster J, Wernli KJ, Henderson LM, Stout NK, Tosteson ANA, Kerlikowske K, Onega T. Utilization of breast cancer screening with magnetic resonance imaging in community practice. J Gen Intern Med. 2018 Mar;33(3):275-283. doi: 10.1007/s11606-017-4224-6. Epub 2017 Dec 6. PubMed

Toh S, Rasmussen-Torvik LJ, Harmata EE, Pardee R, Saizan R, Malanga E, Sturtevant JL, Horgan CE, Anau J, Janning CD, Wellman RD, Coley RY, Cook AJ, Courcoulas AP, Coleman KJ, Williams NA, McTigue KM, Arterburn D, McClay J for the PCORnet Bariatric Study Collaborative. The national Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) bariatric study cohort: rationale, methods, and baseline characteristics. JMIR Res Protoc. 2017 Dec 5;6(12):e222. doi: 10.2196/resprot.8323. PubMed

Floyd JS, Wellman R, Fuller S, Bansal N, Psaty BM, de Boer IH, Scholes D. Use of electronic health data to estimate heart failure events in a population-based cohort with CKD. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2016 Nov 7;11(11):1954-1961. Epub 2016 Aug 9. PubMed

Haas JS, Hill DA, Wellman RD, Hubbard RA, Lee CI, Wernli KJ, Stout NK, Tosteson AN, Henderson LM, Alford-Teaster JA, Onega TL. Disparities in the use of screening magnetic resonance imaging of the breast in community practice by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Cancer. 2016 Feb 15;122(4):611-7. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29805. Epub 2015 Dec 28. PubMed

 

New findings

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Simpler models to identify suicide risk perform similarly to more complex ones

Models that are easier to explain, use could have better uptake in health care settings.

Research

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Phone therapy for insomnia shown to improve sleep

A study among KP members with sleep problems and osteoarthritis shows promise for overcoming obstacles to treatment.

healthy findings blog

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Best weight-loss surgery for diabetes and severe obesity?

Watch video on latest results from PCORnet Bariatric Study. (Spoiler alert: Bypass, not sleeve.)