People & Programs—August 2014

Biomedical informatics researcher Dr. Andrea Hartzler to join GHRI

Andrea Hartzler, PhD, will join the GHRI faculty as an assistant investigator in September. Currently a research scientist at The Information School at the University of Washington, Dr. Hartzler will bring broad experience in information sciences and a special interest in user-centered design. She is currently working with GHRI Associate Investigator James Ralston, MD, MPH, on the Electronic Medical Records & Genomics (eMERGE) Pharmacogenomics project. Dr. Hartzler received her PhD in biomedical informatics from the UW in 2009.

Group Health & GHRI well represented among Seattle’s ‘Top Docs’

Thirty-eight providers from Group Health were honored as 2014 ‘Top Docs’ in the July issue of Seattle magazine, including two Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) affiliate investigators: Pediatrician John Dunn, MD, and Chief of Genetics Kathleen Leppig, MD. Dr. Leppig was also featured as a Doctor Making a Difference, while a spotlight article on patient access to health records cited research by GHRI Associate Investigator James Ralston, MD, MPH, and quoted Matt Handley, MD, Group Health’s medical director of Quality & Informatics.

ACT study makes a strong showing at international Alzheimer’s conference

July 11-15, scientists from around the globe gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the 2014 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC), the world’s largest research event focused on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Insights from the GHRI-UW Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study were shared in no less than seven presentations, including one by GHRI Affiliate Investigator Paul Crane, MD, MPH, of the UW, who discussed “Associations between glucose levels and neuropathological endpoints among people never treated for diabetes” in a session for the press. GHRI Senior Investigator Andrea LaCroix, PhD, also presented on “Trajectories of physical function prior to death and brain neuropathology.” The other ACT presentations and their GHRI co-authors included:

• “Genome-wide analysis of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide obtained from histelide identifies suggestive hits in RHBDF1, GRID1 and PTPRD regions in the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study,” co-authored by Dr. Crane and GHRI Executive Director Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH.
• “Cortical burden of amyloid beta and PHF tau in demented and non-demented individuals,” co-authored by Drs. Crane and Larson.
• “Associations between cardioprotective doses of aspirin and age-related neuropathology,” co-authored by Drs. Crane and Larson and GHRI Biostatistician Rod Walker, MS.
• “Use of automated pharmacy data to examine cumulative medication exposures and dementia: the Adult Changes in Thought Study (ACT),” co-authored by Drs. Crane and Larson; Mr. Walker; GHRI Associate Investigator and Group Health Physician Sascha Dublin, MD, MPH; GHRI Senior Biostatisticians Melissa Anderson, MS, and Onchee Yu, MS; and GHRI Associate Investigator Rebecca A. Hubbard, PhD.
• “Associations between lifetime history of traumatic brain injury and dementia-related neuropathological findings at autopsy: the Adult Changes in Thought study,” co-authored by Drs. Crane and Larson and Mr. Walker.

With support from AcademyHealth, Dr. Buist charts a course toward higher-value care

How can we ensure Americans get the care they need—no more, no less? Find out in Promoting the Appropriate Use of Health Care Services, a new report co-authored by GHRI Senior Investigator Diana Buist, PhD, MPH. Sponsored by AcademyHealth and the ABIM Foundation, the report sets research and policy priorities for reducing low-value care and advancing evidence-based medicine. Dr. Buist’s work in this area grew from the Group Health Partnership for Innovation’s low-value care project, which is funded by the Group Health Foundation.