Vaccines save lives by protecting people against infectious diseases — polio, influenza, and pneumonia to name a few. Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) is working to protect communities through research to continually improve the safety and effectiveness of vaccines for infectious diseases of public health importance.
Central to this work is testing new vaccines against emerging diseases — such as COVID-19. In March 2020, KPWHRI gave the world’s first-ever injection of an investigational vaccine for COVID-19 in a phase 1 clinical trial led by Senior Investigator Lisa A. Jackson, MD, MPH. We continue to be at the forefront of efforts to understand and combat COVID-19. To learn more, see COVID-19 research at KPWHRI.
Successes over 3 decades of KPWHRI vaccine research include:
Our current research projects on vaccines and infectious diseases include:
Benkeser D, Montefiori DC, McDermott AB, Fong Y, Janes HE, Deng W, Zhou H, Houchens CR, Martins K, Jayashankar L, Castellino F, Flach B, Lin BC, O'Connell S, McDanal C, Eaton A, Sarzotti-Kelsoe M, Lu Y, Yu C, Borate B, van der Laan LWP, Hejazi NS, Kenny A, Carone M, Williamson BD, Garver J, Altonen E, Rudge T, Huynh C, Miller J, El Sahly HM, Baden LR, Frey S, Malkin E, Spector SA, Andrasik MP, Kublin JG, Corey L, Neuzil KM, Carpp LN, Pajon R, Follmann D, Donis RO, Koup RA, Gilbert PB; Immune Assays; Moderna Inc.; Coronavirus Vaccine Prevention Network (CoVPN)/Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE); United States Government (USG)/CoVPN Biostatistics Teams. Comparing antibody assays as correlates of protection against COVID-19 in the COVE mRNA-1273 vaccine efficacy trial. Sci Transl Med. 2023 Apr 19;15(692):eade9078. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.ade9078. Epub 2023 Apr 19. PubMed
Benoit A, Beran J, Devaster JM, Esen M, Launay O, Leroux-Roels G, McElhaney JE, Oostvogels L, van Essen GA, Gaglani M, Jackson LA, Vesikari T, Legrand C, Tibaldi F, Innis BL, Dewe W. Hemagglutination inhibition antibody titers as a correlate of protection against seasonal A/H3N2 influenza disease. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2015 May 14;2(2):ofv067. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofv067. eCollection 2015. PubMed
Benson PJ, Jackson LA, Rees TG, Dunn JB. Changes in DT vaccine frequency and indications for use following introduction of DTaP vaccine. Hum Vaccin. 2008;4(3). PubMed
Berrueta M, Ciapponi A, Bardach A, Cairoli FR, Castellano FJ, Xiong X, Stergachis A, Zaraa S, Meulen AS, Buekens P; Scoping Review Collaboration Group. Maternal and neonatal data collection systems in low- and middle-income countries for maternal vaccines active safety surveillance systems: a scoping review. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2021 Mar 17;21(1):217. doi: 10.1186/s12884-021-03686-9. PubMed
Bi Q, Dickerman BA, McLean HQ, Martin ET, Gaglani M, Wernli KJ, Goundappa B, Flannery B, Lipsitch M, Cobey S; US Flu Vaccine Effectiveness Network Investigators. Evaluating reduced effectiveness after repeat influenza vaccination while accounting for confounding by recent infection and within-season waning. medRxiv. 2023 Mar 17:2023.03.12.23287173. doi: 10.1101/2023.03.12.23287173. Preprint. PubMed
Lisa A. Jackson, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
Jennifer C. Nelson, PhDDirector, Biostatistics; Senior Investigator |
Andrea J. Cook, PhDSenior Biostatistics Investigator |
Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
Onchee Yu, MSPrincipal Collaborative Biostatistician |
Robert D. Wellman, MSPrincipal Collaborative Biostatistician |
Clarissa Hsu, PhDAssociate Investigator |
Brian D. Williamson, PhDAssistant Biostatistics Investigator |
Noorie Hyun, PhDAssociate Biostatistics Investigator |
Pamela A. Shaw, PhD, MSSenior Biostatistics Investigator |
Annie Piccorelli, PhDSenior Collaborative Biostatistician |
Doug Opel, MD, MPH
University of Washington (UW) Department of Bioethics and Humanities; UW Department of Pediatrics; UW Medical Center
John Dunn, MD, MPH
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington
Elizabeth Lin, MD, MPH
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington Family Practice;
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute