5 Questions Archives

5 Questions for . . . Jennifer Ames

August 24, 2023

Autism investigator Jennifer Ames thought she’d go to medical school, but a research assistant job shifted her trajectory into research.

5 Questions for…Dana Sax

April 27, 2023

Kaiser Permanente physician researcher conducts studies focused on ways to improve how care is provided in the emergency department.

5 Questions for…Betty Suh-Burgmann

March 3, 2023

Kaiser Permanente physician researcher Betty Suh-Burgmann established a new standardized approach for assessing ovarian cancer risk that prevents patients from having unnecessary surgery.

5 Questions for… Monique Hedderson

December 20, 2022

Kaiser Permanente Division of Research investigator Monique Hedderson was going to be a doctor, but a college job introduced her to epidemiology and she never turned back.

5 Questions for…Mary Reed

November 22, 2022

Longtime DOR investigator Mary Reed didn’t expect to go into research, but she has built an important niche studying health information technology’s impact on health care at Kaiser Permanente.

5 Questions for…Luis A. Rodriguez

October 17, 2022

Newly minted Kaiser Permanente research scientist uses his clinical experience in pediatric diabetes prevention and obesity management to shape his research questions.

5 Questions for…Hélène Choquet

September 8, 2022

Researcher Hélène Choquet, PhD, was in college studying biology when she heard about the first complete sequencing of the human genome; her interest in genetics has led her to a career exploring the genome for the origins of disease.

5 Questions for… Theodore R. “T. R.” Levin

August 11, 2022

Kaiser Permanente research scientist and TPMG physician leads award-winning colorectal cancer screening program.

5 Questions for…Carlos Iribarren

July 11, 2022

Kaiser Permanente research scientist’s wide-ranging interests have built an expansive epidemiology career.

5 Questions for…Laura Myers

February 14, 2022

Kaiser Permanente research scientist and physician is helping to change the way pulmonary and critical care are provided.

5 Questions for…Mai Nguyen-Huynh

October 25, 2021

Kaiser Permanente neurologist and research scientist is dedicated to increasing awareness about stroke on World Stroke Day — Oct. 29 — and all year round.

5 Questions for…Ousseny Zerbo

August 23, 2021

Division of Research investigator Ousseny Zerbo, PhD, describes his long journey from his childhood and education in Burkina Faso to becoming an epidemiologist in Northern California.

5 Questions for…Elizabeth Cespedes Feliciano

May 25, 2021

Kaiser Permanente research scientist uses her expertise in epidemiology and nutrition to improve outcomes for cancer patients and enhance their survivorship.

5 Questions for… Andy Avins

May 4, 2021

Andy Avins, MD, MPH, has been studying what works, and what doesn’t, in medical care ever since a chance encounter in the hospital library with a journal that introduced him to the concept of evidence-based medicine.

5 Questions for…Anjali Gopalan

January 11, 2021

Research scientist uses her experiences as a physician to design studies that focus on and can improve care for people with early-onset type 2 diabetes.

5 Questions for… Lyndsay Avalos

November 16, 2020

To help pregnant women make informed decisions, Division of Research (DOR) investigator Lyndsay Avalos, PhD, MPH is leading a study to shed light on the nuances of depression treatment during pregnancy. Avalos recently received a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the topic.

5 Questions for…Esti Iturralde

September 1, 2020

Clinical psychologist and mental health services researcher Esti Iturralde, PhD, aims to improve the overall health of people with mental illness.

5 Questions for… Marvin Langston

July 28, 2020

Early career researcher Marvin Langston, PhD, MPH, studies potential links between infections, inflammation, and cancer as well as racial/ethnic and sexual minority health disparities.

5 Questions for… Stephen Van Den Eeden

June 24, 2020

Research scientist Stephen Van Den Eeden, PhD, is a co-founder of the California Men’s Health Study, one of the largest and longest-running cohort studies of men in the world.

5 Questions for… Paola Gilsanz

April 22, 2020

Kaiser Permanente Division of Research staff scientist Paola Gilsanz, ScD, is exploring the reasons for the unequal distribution of dementia risk among genders and ethnic groups.

5 Questions for… Cynthia Campbell

January 8, 2020

Cynthia Campbell is a Division of Research investigator who spearheaded the development of a multi-site prescription opioids registry to better understand opioid use and patient outcomes.

KP Research Radio: A promising treatment for ovarian cancer

October 7, 2019

5 Questions for…Dr. Michael A. Bookman, co-leader of a clinical trial that could provide an important new treatment option for women with advanced gynecological cancers.

5 Questions for… Yeyi Zhu

September 19, 2019

Yeyi Zhu, PhD, wants to use big data analytics to improve women’s and children’s clinical care and health.

5 Questions for… Drew Ambrosy

August 14, 2019

“To this day, my research interests and clinical practice remain intimately linked, and I firmly believe patient care drives the scientific process, and vice versa.”

5 questions for… Richard Grant

May 14, 2019

“As a first-year medical student, I enjoyed learning about the pathophysiology of disease. But as I gained more experience caring for patients suffering from these diseases, I realized I wanted to focus more on understanding the patient’s experience.”

5 Questions for … Stacy Sterling

April 3, 2019

The former social worker now researches how to prevent and treat alcohol abuse in primary care. She’s looking at ways to reduce alcohol, drug, and other behavioral health problems in at-risk children, adolescents, and adults.

5 Questions for…Bette Caan

March 18, 2019

Does weight gain — or loss — change a breast cancer patient’s cancer outcome? What about muscle mass? Epidemiologist Bette Caan wanted to find out about that, and more.

5 Questions for… Michael Silverberg

November 28, 2018

With December 1 marking World AIDS Day, this infectious disease expert looks at the state of HIV/AIDS research. And despite his Northern California location, admits he’s a diehard Los Angeles Lakers fan.

5 Questions for… Julie Schmittdiel

November 5, 2018

The math major-turned diabetes researcher now also leads several training programs, helping to form a new generation of researchers.

5 Questions for… Steve Sidney

October 24, 2018

“If other health care systems and providers had adopted Kaiser Permanente’s approach and achieved the same rate of decline, I estimated in this latest National Forum report that 40,000 heart disease and stroke deaths in this age group would have been prevented in 2015 alone.”

5 Questions for…Candyce Kroenke

October 1, 2018

“As long as I can remember, my family was interested in how diet and lifestyle influenced health and longevity. It was like living life according to an epidemiological textbook!”

5 Questions for… Marilyn Kwan

August 6, 2018

Marilyn Kwan’s research focuses on how wellness factors affect survivorship in breast and bladder cancer patients. Kwan is a certified CrossFit Level 1 trainer; she hopes to some day conduct lifestyle research involving CrossFit in cancer survivors.

5 Questions for… Alyce Adams

June 20, 2018

Alyce Adams, PhD, tackles 5 questions about the barriers to health care among vulnerable patient populations and her motivation towards finding solutions.

5 Questions for… Lisa Croen

April 19, 2018

Kaiser Permanente autism researcher answers 5 questions about what motivated her to move into this research field and the challenges in better understanding these disorders.

5 Questions for… Doug Corley

March 13, 2018

Kaiser Permanente gastroenterologist answers 5 questions about his research into colon cancer, what sparked his interest, and things about the colon you may never have known.

Member Health Survey Informs Care

March 7, 2018

Every three years since 1993, the Member Health Survey has been reaching out to members to find out what they are doing — and not doing — to stay healthy, helping Kaiser Permanente to better understand its membership and how to serve their health needs.

5 Questions for… Matthew Solomon

February 14, 2018

Matthew Solomon, MD, a Kaiser Permanente cardiologist and researcher, answers 5 questions about himself and the mysteries of the heart.

New Kaiser Permanente Study Reveals an Increase in Marijuana Use During Pregnancy

December 26, 2017

A new study from the Division of Research, using data from almost 300,000 pregnant women treated at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, found that maternal prenatal marijuana use increased from 4 to 7 percent from 2009 to 2016.

Targeted analysis program seeks quick answers to pressing health care questions

September 5, 2017

An innovative program based at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research is breaking down barriers between researchers and clinical leadership, allowing them to work together on short-term projects that can directly and quickly impact care.

Landmark Heart Study Pioneers Science of Health Disparities

February 20, 2013

Study pioneers the science of health disparities—and launches quest to solve big problems in health care.

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