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:
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.
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
Cancer prevention and control; quality of care; preventive care; high-value care; consumer engagement in preventive medicine; systematic reviews
Cancer prevention and control
Demb J, Abraham L, Miglioretti DL, Sprague BL, O'Meara ES, Advani S, Henderson LM, Onega T, Buist DSM, Schousboe JT, Walter LC, Kerlikowske K, Braithwaite D. Screening mammography outcomes: risk of breast cancer and mortality by comorbidity score and age. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2019 Sep 6. pii: 5556084. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djz172. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Henderson LM, Ichikawa L, Buist DSM, Lee JM, Bush M, Johnson D, Onega T, Nekhlyudov L, Kerlikowske K, Miglioretti DL, Sprague BL, Wernli KJ. Patterns of breast imaging use among women with a personal history of breast cancer. J Gen Intern Med. 2019 Oct;34(10):2098-2106. doi: 10.1007/s11606-019-05181-6. PubMed
Wernli KJ, Brandzel SD, Buist DM, Bush M, DeMartini W, Ichikawa L, Haas C, Henderson LM, Johnson D, Kerlikowske K, McColgin D, Miglioretti DL, Nekhlyudov L, Onega T, Rosenberg DE. Is breast MRI better at finding second breast cancers than mammograms alone for breast cancer survivors? Washington (DC): Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute(PCORI); 2019 May. PubMed
Kerlikowske K, Sprague BL, Tosteson ANA, Wernli KJ, Rauscher GH, Johnson D, Buist DSM, Onega T, Henderson LM, O'Meara ES, Miglioretti DL. Strategies to identify women at high risk of advanced breast cancer during routine screening for discussion of supplemental imaging. JAMA Intern Med. 2019 Jul 1. pii: 2737320. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.1758. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Wernli KJ, Ichikawa K, Kerlikowske K, Buist DSM, Brandzel SD, Bush M, Johnson D, Henderson LM, Nekhlyudov L, Onega T, Sprague BL, Lee JM, Lehman C, Miglioretti DL. Surveillance breast MRI and mammography performance measures in women with a personal history of breast cancer. Radiology. 2019 Aug;292(2):311-318. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2019182475. Epub 2019 Jun 4. PubMed
Wernli KJ, Ichikawa L, Kerlikowske K, Buist DSM, Brandzel SD, Bush M, Johnson D, Henderson LM, Nekhlyudov L, Onega T, Sprague BL, Lee JM, Lehman CD, Miglioretti DL. Surveillance breast MRI and mammography: comparison in women with a personal history of breast cancer. Radiology. 2019 Aug;292(2):311-318. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2019182475. Epub 2019 Jun 4. PubMed
Miglioretti DL, Abraham L, Lee CI, Buist DSM, Herschorn SD, Sprague BL, Henderson LM, Tosteson ANA, Kerlikowske K. Digital breast tomosynthesis: radiologist learning curve. Radiology. 2019;291(1):34-42. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2019182305. Epub 2019 Feb 26. PubMed
Doria-Rose VP, Greenlee RT, Buist DSM, Miglioretti DL, Corley DA, Brown JS, Clancy HA, Tuzzio L, Moy LM, Hornbrook MC, Brown ML, Ritzwoller DP, Kushi LH, Greene SM. Collaborating on data, science, and infrastructure: the 20-year journey of the Cancer Research Network. eGEMS (Wash DC). 2019;7(1):7. doi: 10.5334/egems.273. PubMed
Knerr S, Bowles EJA, Leppig KA, Buist DSM, Gao H, Wernli KJ. Trends in BRCA test utilization in an integrated health system, 2005-2015. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2019 Feb 8. pii: 5310095. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djz008. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Arasu VA, Miglioretti DL, Sprague BL, Alsheik NH, Buist DSM, Henderson LM, Herschorn SD, Lee JM, Onega T, Rauscher GH, Wernli KJ, Lehman CD, Kerlikowske K. Population-based assessment of the association between magnetic resonance imaging background parenchymal enhancement and future primary breast cancer risk. J Clin Oncol. 2019 Apr 20;37(12):954-963. doi: 10.1200/JCO.18.00378. Epub 2019 Jan 9. PubMed
Dr. Diana Buist reflects on the challenges of providing screening during a pandemic — and finds reason for optimism.
The early-career scientists will receive 3 years of intensive training in Learning Health System research.
Admissions open for two new trainees as current scholars advance their projects.
Dr. Diana Buist and team reflect on HOME trial showing 50 percent screening boost in underscreened women.
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.
Interdisciplinary group shows that home-based HPV tests can boost cervical cancer screening for women at high risk.
Reuters Health, published by Medscape, Nov. 24, 2020