A Letter From the Director
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Joe V. Selby, MD, MPH, Director of the Division of ResearchOn behalf of Kaiser Permanente Northern California's Division of Research (DOR), I am pleased to present the 2008 Research Report. In the last two years, we have experienced continued growth and several noteworthy new directions within the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) research enterprise.
The DOR's 47-year-old research program is built on a foundation of rigorous epidemiologic investigation in a large, well-characterized population. Many of the DOR's major contributions have been in the areas of risk factor identification, prevention, and drug safety. However, this is an exciting time in biologic, medical, and health services research, and the DOR is contributing to progress in many new areas.
New Research Programs
We are particularly pleased with the progress of Kaiser Permanente's Research Program on Genes, Environment and Health (RPGEH), led by Catherine Schaefer, PhD, in reaching its goal of building a world-class genetic epidemiology resource. Launched in February 2007, the RPGEH will become one of the world's largest biorepositories for conducting studies that examine how genes and the environment affect our health. Nearly 400,000 KPNC members have completed the RPGEH health survey and approximately 70,000 have already contributed saliva samples for the biorepository. Important research projects have begun.
Schaefer, executive director of the RPGEH, was funded to participate in one of the largest studies on bipolar disorder and Stephen K. Van Den Eeden, PhD, will conduct a study of the causes of prostate cancer in African-American men.
We have also recognized KPNC's remarkable potential for conducting strategically important clinical trials through partnerships between the DOR and clinicians from The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG). In 2008, the DOR established the Comprehensive Clinical Research Unit (CCRU), led by Alan S. Go, MD, and supported by KPNC's Community Benefit Program, to support clinical trials conducted by DOR research scientists and TPMG clinicians across a variety of specialties.
"The most important health-related research today is done through inter-institutional collaboration."
Cutting-Edge Research
New technologies create new frontiers in research and new opportunities to innovate in health promotion and health care delivery. DOR researchers are currently studying the use of several new technologies, including innovations in population management made possible by Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect, Kaiser Permanente's electronic health record; e-mail-delivered interventions for health promotion; and Web-based programs to assist patients in managing chronic conditions. eCare for Moods, an intervention program led by Enid M. Hunkeler, MA, assists patients with major depression or bipolar disorder communicate with their providers and manage their condition.
With Kaiser Permanente's diverse Northern California population, the DOR has been home to many studies that investigate the causes of socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, to name just a few. In our article on health care disparities, we highlight the work of Andrew J. Karter, PhD, and Alyce S. Adams, PhD, who are focusing on understanding and eliminating health disparities in diabetes.
The most important health-related research today is done through inter-institutional collaboration. In the 2008 Research Report we describe some of our valued collaborations, including our partnership with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), which was awarded one of the first 12 Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health, and our close ties with researchers in 14 other HMO-based research centers through the HMO Research Network.
Visionaries
The DOR's direction can be traced back to our founder, Morris "Morrie" F. Collen, MD, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. In 1961, Morrie became founding director of the Department of Medical Methods Research, later renamed the Division of Research. In November 2008, we celebrated Morrie's 95th birthday by naming the DOR's conference center and library after Morrie in recognition of his vision and his contributions to the public's health, clinical medicine, and health care delivery. Morrie continues working on his trademark blockbuster projects. Currently, he is teaming with Joseph F. Terdiman, MD, PhD, the DOR's director of IT, to launch what we call the "Research Database." This database is a highly efficient and accessible relational database that captures all Kaiser Permanente electronic data from KP HealthConnect and earlier legacy systems, as well as important data from many other sources to facilitate large-scale drug safety research.
And finally, we want to thank our parent organization, The Permanente Medical Group, and its Associate Executive Director Philip Madvig, MD. The opportunity to work within such a remarkable organization is the reason we exist and thrive. Equally, we thank Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan (KFH/HP), its Community Benefit Program, and its Kaiser Foundation Research Institute (KFRI). The support of KFH/HP has been pivotal in many areas, including provision of major funding to the RPGEH, the CCRU, the Center for Health Policy Studies, and our research in health disparities. The collegial administrative support provided by KFRI is, as always, greatly appreciated.
I hope this report gives you a fuller picture of the accomplishments of DOR research and the direction in which we are headed. Don't hesitate to contact us with questions or suggestions.