Laura B. Harrington, PhD, MPH

“My research aims to improve our understanding of modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular events and sequelae and outcomes relevant to brain health, especially among women.”

Laura B. Harrington, PhD, MPH

Associate Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Affiliate Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health
Associate Professor, Department of Health Systems Science, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine

Laura.B.Harrington@kp.org
206-287-2066

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Biography

Laura B. Harrington, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist with expertise in cardiovascular epidemiology, the epidemiology of aging, and women’s health. As an Associate Investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI), her work leverages pharmacologic, medical-record based, lifestyle-based, and sex-specific exposure data to better understand associations between modifiable risk factors and cardiovascular and aging-related outcomes. She has particular interest and expertise in risk factors for incident and recurrent venous thromboembolism, in cardiovascular associations with brain health, and in sex-specific risk factors (e.g. endogenous sex hormone levels, vasomotor symptoms, hormone therapy use, characteristics of the menopause transition). She leads studies set in Kaiser Permanente Washington-based populations and existing epidemiologic cohort studies including the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), the Adult Change in Thought (ACT) study, the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), the Nurses’ Health Studies (NHS) I and II, the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, and the Heart and Vascular Health (HVH) case-control study. Dr. Harrington is actively leading a new National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-funded inception cohort study of venous thromboembolism sequelae, the After Venous Thromboembolism Research (AFTER) Study.

Prior to joining KPWHRI in 2018, Dr. Harrington completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, earned her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Washington, and her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan.

In addition to her role at KPWHRI, Dr. Harrington enjoys mentoring students and guest lecturing in her roles as Affiliate Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Assistant Professor of Health Systems Science at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

RESEARCH INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCE

Cardiovascular Health

Venous thromboembolism; lifestyle-based risk factors (e.g., physical activity, sedentary behavior); pharmacologic risk factors; women’s cardiovascular health
Women's Health

Endogenous sex hormones; oral contraceptive and hormone therapy use; characteristics of the menopause transition; adverse pregnancy outcomes and long-term women’s health outcomes
Aging & Geriatrics

Cardiovascular risk factors and events in relation to brain health
Medication Use & Patient Safety

Comparative safety studies; pharmacoepidemiology; prescription use in relation to cardiovascular and aging-related outcomes; oral contraceptive and hormone therapy use

Recent publications

Munsch G, Thibord F, Bezerra OC, Brody JA, van Hylckama Vlieg A, Gourhant L, Chen MH, Samaria F, Germain M, Caro I, Suchon P, Olaso R, Wiggins KL, Saut N, Besse C, Goumidi L, Bacq D, Harrington LB, Boland A, Emmerich J, Smadja DM, Lemarie CA, Danckwardt S, Debette S, Deleuze JF, Jacqmin-Gadda H, Rodger MA, Gagnon F, Rosendaal FR, Johnson AD, Smith NL, Couturaud F, Morange PE, Tregouet DA. Molecular determinants of thrombosis recurrence risk across venous thromboembolism subtypes. Blood. 2025 Aug 14:blood.2024027879. doi: 10.1182/blood.2024027879 [Epub ahead of print] PubMed

Greenwood-Hickman MA, Zhu W, Idu A, Harrington LB, McCurry SM, LaCroix AZ, Shaw PA, Rosenberg DE. Associations between 10-year physical performance and activities of daily living trajectories with physical behaviors in older adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Apr 29;22(5):704. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22050704. PubMed

Grasset L, Bis JC, Frenzel S, Kojis D, Simino J, Yaqub A, Beiser A, Berr C, Bressler J, Bülow R, DeCarli CS, Fohner AE, Harrington LB, Helmer C, Ikram MA, Lemaitre RN, Lopez OL, Longstreth WT, Odden MC, Palta P, Schmidt CO, Talluri R, Vernooij MW, Völzke H, Voortman T, Whalen Q, Wittfeld K, Gabe HJ, Mosley TH, Psaty BM, Wolters FJ, Seshadri S, Dufouil C. Selected social and lifestyle correlates of brain health markers: the Cross-Cohort Collaboration. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Apr;21(4):e70148. doi: 10.1002/alz.70148. PubMed

Harrington LB, Cushing-Haugen KL, Nguyen S, Bellettiere J, LaMonte MJ, Eaton CB, Allison MA, Wallace RB, Manson JE, Jensen MK, Kabrhel C, Wellenius GA, Lee IM, Mukamal KJ, LaCroix AZ. Sedentary behaviors and venous thromboembolism risk among older women: The Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health (OPACH) study. J Thromb Haemost. 2025 May;23(5):1636-1647. doi: 10.1016/j.jtha.2025.02.014. Epub 2025 Feb 20. PubMed

Greenwood-Hickman MA, Shapiro LN, Chen S, Crane PK, Harrington LB, Johnson K, LaCroix AZ, Lane LG, McCurry SM, Shaw PA, Rosenberg DE. Understanding resilience: Lifestyle-based behavioral predictors of mental health and well-being in community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Geriatr. 2024;24(1):676. doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-05251-3. PubMed