Robert Wellman, MS

Wellman_Robert_D_205x293.jpg

“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

  •  
  •  

Recent publications

Hecht F, Wellman R, Busch M, Little S, Markowitz M, Collier A, Margolick J, Norris P, Routy JP, Holte S Identifying the early post-HIV antibody seroconversion period. J Infect Dis. 2011 Aug 15;204(4):526-33. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jir304.

Cherkin DC, Sherman KJ, Kahn J, Wellman R, Cook AJ, Johnson E, Erro JH, Delaney KM, Deyo RA. A comparison of the effects of 2 types of massage and usual care on chronic low back pain: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2011 Jul 5;155(1):1-9. PubMed

Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Cook AJ, Hawkes RJ, Deyo RA, Wellman R, Khalsa PS. Comparison of yoga versus stretching for chronic low back pain: protocol for the Yoga Exercise Self-care (YES) trial.  Trials. 2010;11(1):36. PubMed

 

New findings

Suicide-risk-modeling-story_1col.jpg

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

Insomnia-phone-therapy-elderly-blog_1col.jpg

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

Video-screen_grab-bariatric-young_couple-_1_column.jpg

Best weight-loss surgery for diabetes and severe obesity?

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