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
Wolock CJ, Williamson BD, Shortreed SM, Simon GE, Coleman KJ, Yeargans R, Ahmedani BK, Daida Y, Lynch FL, Rossom RC, Ziebell RA, Cruz M, Wellman RD, Coley RY Importance of variables from different time frames for predicting self-harm using health system data 2024 Sep 20 doi: 10.1101/2024.04.29.24306260. Epub 2024-09-20. PubMed
Mahmud A, Cushing-Haugen K, Wellman R, Brown MC, Lewis CC Understanding the Relationship Between Social Risk Factors and COVID-19 Contacts 2023 Jun 15;27(2):18-22. doi: 10.7812/TPP/22.146. Epub 2023-04-18. PubMed
Balderson BH, Gray SL, Fujii MM, Nakata KG, Williamson BD, Cook AJ, Wellman R, Theis MK, Lewis CC, Key D, Phelan EA A health-system-embedded deprescribing intervention targeting patients and providers to prevent falls in older adults (STOP-FALLS trial): study protocol for a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial 2023 May 11;24(1):322. doi: 10.1186/s13063-023-07336-7. Epub 2023-05-11. PubMed
DeBar LL, Justice M, Avins AL, Cook A, Eng CM, Herman PM, Hsu C, Nielsen A, Pressman A, Stone KL, Teets RY, Wellman R Acupuncture for chronic low back pain in older adults: Design and protocol for the BackInAction pragmatic clinical trial 2023 May;128:107166. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2023.107166. Epub 2023-03-27. PubMed
Gray SL, Fornaro R, Turner J, Boudreau DM, Wellman R, Tannenbaum C, Marcum ZA, Balderson B, Cook A, Jacobsen AL, Phelan EA Provider knowledge, beliefs, and self-efficacy to deprescribe opioids and sedative-hypnotics 2023 May;71(5):1580-1586. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18202. Epub 2022-12-22. PubMed
Research
Acupuncture safe and effective for chronic low back pain in older adults
NIH-funded study finds that acupuncture improves pain, physical functioning.
Research
Remote programs effective for chronic pain, study finds
Telehealth and online cognitive behavioral therapy could expand treatment options for chronic pain in rural areas.
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.
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