The Division of Research has a long tradition of training post-graduate fellows. Our fellows work directly with our research scientists and with Kaiser Permanente physicians and clinical operations leaders to develop and implement innovative research studies. DOR fellows:
- Access rich data resources and disease registries, including a robust longitudinal electronic medical record system
- Conduct rigorous population-based, epidemiologic, and health services research
- Develop science research and writing skills for presentations and publications
- Are mentored by experienced research scientists
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated delivery system with a diverse membership in 8 regions across the U.S. In the Northern California region, Kaiser Permanente has a network of 21 hospitals and 269 medical offices and more than 9,580 physicians who provide care to more than 4.6 million members.
The Division of Research is part of Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Based in Oakland, we are currently home to 66 faculty-level research scientists and staff scientists, 11 research fellows, and nearly 640 employees. Our work has significantly influenced many research areas, including disease prevention, patient engagement, chronic illness management, clinical trials, clinical effectiveness, the role of genes and the environment in health, inpatient care, predictive modeling, program evaluation, health informatics, and delivery science.
We currently have 7 types of fellowship opportunities:
- The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) Delivery Science Fellowship
- The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) Informatics Fellowship
- Women’s and Children’s Health Fellowship Division of Research
- Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH)
- T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mental Health Services Research
- Urological Epidemiology Research Career Development Program
- Translational Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) Delivery Science Fellowship
The TPMG Delivery Science Fellowship program is a 2-year, post-doctoral research fellowship at Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research in Oakland. Fellows work on the cutting edge of delivery science, partnering directly with Division of Research scientists, Kaiser Permanente physicians, and clinical operations leaders to learn how to develop and implement innovative research and quality improvement projects for patient care.
Fellows have the unique opportunity to develop delivery science research and writing skills for presentations and publications while being mentored by experienced scientists in one of the nation’s leading integrated delivery systems.
The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) Informatics Fellowship
The TPMG Informatics Fellowship Track is a 1- to 2-year, full-time fellowship at Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research in Oakland embedded within the KP DOR Delivery Science Fellowship. The focus on clinical informatics, the application of informatics, data science, and health information technology to care delivery, is exceptionally well aligned with frontiers of innovation in the health care ecosystem. The program goals for the Delivery Science Informatics Fellow will be to address critical clinical, health care delivery, and/or operational priority areas specifically by leveraging a broad set of existing and emerging informatics tools. These tools may include the electronic health record, data science and machine learning, clinical decision support, telemedicine, and/or user interface design, among others.
Fellows will be closely mentored by an interdisciplinary team of clinician-scientists engaged in improving care delivery through informatics. During their training period, fellows will be expected to collaborate closely with leaders in our health care delivery system in order to accelerate the implementation of novel informatics-based approaches. This fellow will participate in the same structured curriculum as the Delivery Science Fellows and be expected to complete additional training tailored to this field, as relevant to their training background.
Women’s and Children’s Health Fellowship, Division of Research
The postdoctoral fellowship training program in women’s and children’s health is a 2-year, full-time fellowship sponsored by the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research in Oakland. The fellowship trains aspiring independent researchers broadly in epidemiology, health systems/health services and delivery science research with a focus on women’s and children’s health across the life course.
The postdoctoral fellowship offers an individually tailored program of career development and practical experience in a multidisciplinary team setting embedded in the health care delivery system. Fellows will have the opportunity to investigate health system data combined with clinical research data with the ultimate goal of providing findings that may lead to improved health and health care of women and children. Areas of particular interest and training are in cohort studies, clinical interventions, use of big data from our longitudinal electronic health records, and perinatal epidemiology.
Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH)
BIRCWH is a career development program (K12) for women’s health research. Through financial support, targeted mentorship, and educational programs, we are supporting the next generation of scholars. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the BIRCWH program is a collaborative effort of the University of California, San Francisco and the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, based in Oakland. Focus areas include reproductive health across the lifespan, women’s cancers, infectious diseases, social determinants of health, metabolism and bone health, environmental health, and mental health, addiction, and cognition.
T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mental Health Services Research
The Mental Health Research Network T32 Post-Doctoral Fellowship is a National Institute of Mental Health-supported, two-year fellowship program. Aspiring independent researchers are trained broadly in health systems/health services research with a focus on mental health conditions and services, as well as suicide prevention. Areas of particular interest and training are in clinical interventions, healthcare service delivery, big data, implementation science, comorbidities, health equity, and health policy.
The overall goal of the program is to support fellows in the transition to becoming independent mental health services researchers able to pursue NIMH-funding to support research within health system settings. Fellows work locally alongside a primary mentor at Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, Oakland, CA or the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI.
Urological Epidemiology Research Career Development Program
The UroEpi K12 program supports junior faculty researchers from diverse disciplines who are committed to advancing understanding of the incidence, progression, risk factors, impact, and/or prevention and treatment of non-malignant urologic conditions. UroEpi scholars receive career development training and support to develop the skills and accomplishments necessary to become outstanding investigators capable of spearheading high-impact research programs in non-malignant urologic epidemiology.
Potentially relevant non-cancerous urologic conditions or problems include urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, chronic pelvic pain, prostate enlargement, bladder outlet obstruction, congenital urologic conditions, sexual development disorders, urinary tract infections, dysfunctional voiding, urolithiasis, erectile dysfunction, vesicoureteral reflux, neurogenic bladder, interstitial cystitis, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, neurogenic bladder, nocturia, Peyronie’s disease, priapism, prostate infections, sexually transmitted diseases, urosepsis, and underactive bladder. The UroEpi K12 program is a collaboration between the University of California San Francisco and the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research in Oakland (NIH K12DK111028).
Translational Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
The Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Translational Research is sponsored by the Division of Research (DOR) at Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC). This two-year multidisciplinary fellowship program will train the next generation of researchers to conduct research embedded within an integrated healthcare delivery system. The program will support postdoctoral fellows interested in research across the translational and population sciences research continuum spanning epidemiology, outcomes research, intervention research, disease prevention, and care evaluation and improvement.
The successful applicant will have opportunities to develop research, writing, and grant preparation skills and enhance presentations and publications under the mentorship of one of over 60 experienced DOR investigators with well-developed research programs in behavioral health and aging, infectious diseases, cardiovascular and metabolic conditions, cancer, health care delivery and policy, and women’s and children’s health.
