Robert Wellman, MS
“Being part of Kaiser Permanente research teams gives me a chance to develop cutting-edge biostatistical methods while contributing to health care research with a national impact.”
Robert Wellman, MS
Principal Collaborative Biostatistician, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Robert.D.Wellman@kp.org
206-287-2557
Biography
A graduate of the University of Washington (UW) biostatistics program, Robert Wellman, MS, joined the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) Biostatistics Unit in 2009. His work spans a diverse collection of topics including mental health, pharmacoepidemiology, postmarketing drug safety surveillance, obesity, diagnostic test accuracy, back pain, and breast cancer. Prior to this, he spent 5 years in the Biostatistics Core at the UW Center for AIDS Research.
Research interests and experience
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Biostatistics
Causal inference; longitudinal data; diagnostic and screening test accuracy; clinical trials; survival analysis: rare disease outcomes; nonparametrics; missing data; electronic data; distributed data; statistical computing
Vaccines & Infectious Diseases
Biostatistics; HIV/AIDS; vaccine safety
Complementary & Integrative Health
Biostatistics; clinical trials; back pain
Obesity
Biostatistics; bariatric surgery
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Cancer
Biostatistics; breast cancer; effects of chemotherapy; accuracy of automated data; screening test accuracy; advanced imaging
Medication Use & Patient Safety
Biostatistics; pharmacoepidemiology; postmarketing drug safety surveillance; big data; electronic health record and claims data
Mental Health
Biostatistics; suicide risk prediction, machine learning
Recent publications
Wartko PD, Boudreau DM, Turner JA, Cook AJ, Wellman RD, Fujii MM, Garcia RC, Moser KA, Sullivan MD STRategies to Improve Pain and Enjoy life (STRIPE): Protocol for a pragmatic randomized trial of pain coping skills training and opioid medication taper guidance for patients on long-term opioid therapy 2021 Nov;110:106499. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106499. Epub 2021-07-01. PubMed
Pocobelli G, Akosile MA, Hansen RN, Eavey J, Wellman RD, Johnson RL, Carls G, Bron M, Dublin S Obstructive sleep apnea and risk of motor vehicle accident 2021 Sep;85:196-203. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2021.07.019. Epub 2021-07-17. PubMed
McCurry SM, Zhu W, Von Korff M, Wellman R, Morin CM, Thakral M, Yeung K, Vitiello MV Effect of Telephone Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Older Adults With Osteoarthritis Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial 2021 Apr;181(4):530-538. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.9049. PubMed
Fireman B, Gruber S, Zhang Z, Wellman R, Nelson JC, Franklin J, Maro J, Murray CR, Toh S, Gagne J, Schneeweiss S, Amsden L, Wyss R Consequences of depletion of susceptibles for hazard ratio estimators based on propensity scores 2020 Nov;31(6):806-814. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000001246. PubMed
Lewis CC, Wellman R, Jones SMW, Walsh-Bailey C, Thompson E, Derus A, Paolino A, Steiner J, De Marchis EH, Gottlieb LM, Sharp AL Comparing the performance of two social risk screening tools in a vulnerable subpopulation 2020 Sep;9(9):5026-5034. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_650_20. Epub 2020-09-30. PubMed
Research
Acupuncture safe and effective for chronic low back pain in older adults
NIH-funded study finds that acupuncture improves pain, physical functioning.
Research
Remote programs effective for chronic pain, study finds
Telehealth and online cognitive behavioral therapy could expand treatment options for chronic pain in rural areas.
New findings
Simpler models to identify suicide risk perform similarly to more complex ones
Models that are easier to explain, use could have better uptake in health care settings.
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