Robert Wellman, MS
“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
Robert.D.Wellman@kp.org
206-287-2557
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
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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
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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
Recent publications
Stekler JD, Wellman R, Holte S, Maenza J, Stevens CE, Corey L, Collier AC. Are there benefits to starting antiretroviral therapy during primary HIV infection? Conclusions from the Seattle Primary Infection Cohort vary by control group. Int J STD AIDS. 2012;23(3):201-6. PubMed
Cook AJ, Tiwari RC, Wellman RD, Heckbert SR, Li L, Heagerty P, Marsh T, Nelson JC. Statistical approaches to group sequential monitoring of postmarket safety surveillance data: current state of the art for use in the Mini-Sentinel pilot. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2012;21 Suppl 1:72-81. doi: 10.1002/pds.2320. PubMed
Delate T, Bowles E, Pardee R, Wellman R, Habel L, Yood M, Nekhlyudov L, Goddard K, Davis R, McCarty C, Onitilo A, Feigelson H, Freml J, Wagner E. Validity of HMO administrative data for breast cancer chemotherapy exposure. Clin Med Res. 2011;9(3-4):146. PubMed
Bowles EA, Wellman R, Delate T, Allen L, Feigelson HS, Yood MU, Davis R, Nekhlyudov L, McCarty C, Habel L, Magid D, Onitilo A, Freedman A, Wagner E. Cardiotoxic chemotherapy is associated with increased heart failure risk among women with breast cancer in the Cancer Research Network. Clin Med Res. 2011;9(3-4):148. PubMed
Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Wellman RD, Cook AJ, Hawkes RJ, Delaney K, Deyo RA. A randomized trial comparing yoga, stretching, and a self-care book for chronic low back pain. Arch Intern Med. 2011 2011 Dec 12;171(22):2019-26. Epub 2011 Oct 24. PubMed
New findings
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
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
Best weight-loss surgery for diabetes and severe obesity?
Watch video on latest results from PCORnet Bariatric Study. (Spoiler alert: Bypass, not sleeve.)
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