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:
Rowhani-Rahbar A, Fireman B, Lewis E, Nordin J, Naleway A, Jacobsen SJ, Jackson LA, Tse A, Belongia EA, Hambidge SJ, Weintraub E, Baxter R, Klein NP. Effect of age on the risk of fever and seizures following immunization with measles-containing vaccines in children. JAMA Pediatr. 2013 Dec 1;167(12):1111-7. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.2745. Epub 2013 Oct 14. PubMed
Russell K, Chung JR, Monto AS, Martin ET, Belongia EA, McLean HQ, Gaglani M, Murthy K, Zimmerman RK, Nowalk MP, Jackson ML, Jackson LA, Flannery B. Influenza vaccine effectiveness in older adults compared with younger adults over five seasons. Vaccine. 2018;36(10):1272-1278. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.01.045. PubMed
Sandford R, Yadav R, Noble EK, Sumner K, Joshi D, Tartof SY, Wernli KJ, Martin ET, Gaglani M, Zimmerman RK, Talbot HK, Grijalva CG, Belongia EA, Carlson C, Coughlin M, Flannery B, Pearce B, Rogier E. Antibody response to symptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant viruses, December 2021-June 2022. medRxiv. 2023:2023.11.17.23298700. doi: 10.1101/2023.11.17.23298700. Preprint. PubMed
Satizabal CL, Aparicio HJ, Adams HHH, Reiner AP, Longstreth WT Jr, Fornage M, Tracy RP, Lopez O, Psaty BM, Levy D, Seshadri S, Bis JC. Order of Live and Inactivated Vaccines and Risk of Non-vaccine-targeted Infections in US Children 11-23 Months of Age. Neurology. 2020 Jan 21;94(3):e254-e266. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000008682. Epub 2019 Dec 9. PubMed
Schmoele-Thoma B, Jackson LA, Greenberg RN, Frenck R, Gurtman A, Sundaraiyer V, Gruber WC, Scott DA, Isturiz RE. Immunogenicity of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in immunocompetent older adults with stable underlying medical conditions. J Vaccines Immun. 2015;3:7-12.
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