Diana S.M. Buist, PhD, MPH
“My research goal is to gather solid evidence and to use it to improve patient care by increasing benefits and decreasing harms.”
Diana S.M. Buist, PhD, MPH
Senior Investigator and Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
206-287-2931
Biography
Diana Buist, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and health services researcher with extensive experience conducting comparative effectiveness research. Her work focuses on reducing harms and increasing benefits for patients in the area of cancer screening and outcomes spanning across patient, provider, and system factors.
Dr. Buist has an extensive record of practical research that has led to many efforts to improve care, including the development and refinement of national breast cancer screening guidelines and their implementation within Kaiser Permanente Washington. She has been conducting research within Kaiser Permanente Washington for more than 20 years and is a strong believer in patient-centered care and the important role patients play in improving the value and quality of health care. Dr. Buist is involved in several studies aimed at providing high-value health care that provides patients and their providers with information on the expected benefits and harms of cancer screening and treatment strategies.
Dr. Buist also has a long history collaborating with external researchers, including helping lead two large national research consortia focused on improving cancer screening and outcomes: the National Cancer Institute’s Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium and the Cancer Research Network of the Health Care Systems Research Network. Her extensive experience working with diverse data from these consortia in longitudinal studies and randomized trials in clinical systems puts Dr. Buist in a unique position to examine screening, care, and outcomes in health systems across the country.
As Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships, Dr. Buist works with other Kaiser Permanente regions, our local academic partners, and other external collaborators to build enduring strategic partnerships to enhance KPWHRI’s mission, align with KPWHRI faculty research priorities, and capitalize on our unique strengths in ways that are consistent with our mission.
Dr. Buist contributes to a variety of other projects at KPWHRI, including:
- conducting a pragmatic clinical trial of home testing for human papilloma virus, or HPV, among women overdue for cervical cancer screening
- optimizing long-term outcomes among women with a personal history of breast cancer through studying second breast events and second cancers associated with initial breast cancer, and investigating radiation therapy, breast density, tumor biology, and surveillance strategies for these women
- identifying screening strategies that detect breast cancer early, minimize harms, and reach diverse communities
- understanding the shared decision-making process for lung cancer screening from the patient and provider perspectives to help inform individuals about the harms and benefits of undergoing screening
- investigating how artificial intelligence can be used in cancer imaging for risk prediction and/or early detection
- evaluating the harms and benefits of different work-up intensities for incidentally detected lung nodules
- training individuals in how to conduct learning health system research.
Dr. Buist is also an affiliate professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Health Services at the University of Washington School of Public Health and an affiliate member at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She enjoys sharing her expertise by mentoring junior faculty and PhD and MPH candidates and teaching courses.
RESEARCH INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCE
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Cancer
Cancer screening and prevention; outreach and primary care prevention; comparative effectiveness; cost transparency; surveillance; secondary prevention; breast cancer treatment; breast cancer screening; outcomes following cancer diagnosis; cancer survivorship; provider variability in care
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Preventive Medicine
Cancer prevention and control; quality of care; preventive care; high-value care; consumer engagement in preventive medicine; systematic reviews
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Women's Health
Cancer prevention and control
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Health Services & Economics
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Learning Health Systems
Recent publications
Schifferdecker KE, Vaclavik D, Wernli KJ, Buist DSM, Kerlikowske K, Sprague BL, Henderson LM, Johnson D, Budesky J, Jackson-Nefertiti G, Miglioretti DL, Tosteson ANA. Women's considerations and experiences for breast cancer screening and surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: a focus group study. Prev Med. 2021;151:106542. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106542. Epub 2021 Jun 30. PubMed
Sprague BL, O'Meara ES, Lee CI, Lee JM, Henderson LM, Buist DSM, Alsheik N, Macarol T, Perry H, Tosteson ANA, Onega T, Kerlikowske K, Miglioretti DL. Prioritizing breast imaging services during the COVID pandemic: a survey of breast imaging facilities within the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. Prev Med. 2021;151:106540. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106540. Epub 2021 Jun 30. PubMed
Damschroder LJ, Knighton AJ, Griese E, Greene SM, Lozano P, Kilbourne AM, Buist DSM, Crotty K, Elwy AR, Fleisher LA, Gonzales R, Huebschmann AG, Limper HM, Ramalingam NS, Wilemon K, Ho PM, Helfrichfcr CD. Recommendations for strengthening the role of embedded researchers to accelerate implementation in health systems: findings from a sstate-of-the-art (SOTA) conference workgroup. Healthc (Amst). 2021;8 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):100455. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2020.100455. PubMed
Lee JM, Ichikawa LE, Wernli KJ, Bowles E, Specht JM, Kerlikowske K, Miglioretti DL, Lowry KP, Tosteson ANA, Stout NK, Houssami N, Onega T, Buist DSM. Digital mammography and breast tomosynthesis performance in women with a personal history of breast cancer, 2007-2016. Radiology. 2021 May 18:204581. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2021204581. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Michels KA, Geczik AM, Bauer DC, Brinton LA, Buist DSM, Cauley JA, Dallal CM, Falk RT, Hue TF, Lacey JV, LaCroix AZ, Tice JA, Xu X, Trabert B. Endogenous progestogens and colorectal cancer risk among postmenopausal women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2021 Apr 7:cebp.1568.2020. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-20-1568. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Feigelson HS, Bodelon C, Powers JD, Curtis RE, Buist DSM, Veiga LHS, Aiello Bowles EJ, Berrington de Gonzalez A, Gierach GL. Body mass index and risk of second cancer among women with breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2021 Apr 5:djab053. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djab053. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Kerlikowske K, Bissell MCS, Sprague BL, Buist DSM, Henderson LM, Lee JM, Miglioretti DL. Response to Pisano, Gastonis, Sparano, et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2021 Mar 30:djab056. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djab056. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Miglioretti DL, Bissell MCS, Kerlikowske K, Buist DSM, Cummings SR, Henderson LM, Onega T, O'Meara ES, Rauscher GH, Sprague BL, Tosteson ANA, Wernli KJ, Lee JM, Lee CI. Assessment of a risk-based approach for triaging mammography examinations during periods of reduced capacity. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(3):e211974. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.1974. PubMed
Farjah F, Monsell SE, Gould MK, Smith-Bindman R, Banegas MP, Heagerty PJ, Keast EM, Ramaprasan A, Schoen K, Brewer EG, Greenlee RT, Buist DSM. Association of the intensity of diagnostic evaluation with outcomes in incidentally detected lung nodules. JAMA Intern Med. 2021 Jan 19. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.8250. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Malone C, Buist DSM, Tiro J, Barlow W, Gao H, Lin J, Winer RL. Out of reach? correlates of cervical cancer underscreening in women with varying levels of healthcare interactions in a United States integrated delivery system. Prev Med. 2021 Apr;145:106410. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106410. Epub 2020 Dec 31. PubMed
CATALyST
2 new scholars join learning health systems program
Scholars will study in-home oxygen use for COPD and the use of patient portals for adolescent sexual and reproductive health
Cancer screening
Catching breast cancers when mammograms are limited
New study calculates risk-based approach to detect the most cancers with the fewest exams.
Healthy Findings Blog
Cancer screening in the time of COVID-19
Dr. Diana Buist reflects on the challenges of providing screening during a pandemic — and finds reason for optimism.
news
CATALyST Program selects 2 new K12 Scholars
The early-career scientists will receive 3 years of intensive training in Learning Health System research.
news
CATALyST adds scholar positions for learning health systems research
Admissions open for two new trainees as current scholars advance their projects.
Breast Cancer Surveillance
Kaiser Permanente Washington Breast Cancer Surveillance Registry
Kaiser Permanente Washington has been part of the national Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium since 1994. Learn about the Kaiser Permanente Washington Breast Cancer Surveillance Registry here.
KPWHRI In the Media
KPWHRI’s Diana Buist, PhD, quoted on one alternative to screening visits
At-home cancer screening could thrive after the pandemic
Reuters Health, published by Medscape, Nov. 24, 2020
Land Acknowledgment
Our Seattle offices sit on the occupied land of the Duwamish and by the shared waters of the Coast Salish people, who have been here thousands of years and remain. Learn about practicing land acknowledgment.