Robert Wellman, MS

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“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

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

  • 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

  • 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

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Recent publications

Cherkin D, Balderson B, Brewer G, Cook A, Estlin KT, Evers SC, Foster NE, Hill JC, Hawkes R, Hsu C, Jensen M, LaPorte AM, Levine MD, Piekara D, Rock P, Sherman K, Sowden G, Wellman R, Yeoman J. Evaluation of a risk-stratification strategy to improve primary care for low back pain: the MATCH cluster randomized trial protocol.  BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2016 Aug 24;17(1):361. doi: 10.1186/s12891-016-1219-0. PubMed

Lehman C, Wellman RD, Buist DS, Kerlikowske K, Tosteson AN, Miglioretti DL. Diagnostic accuracy of digital screening mammography with and without computer-aided detection. JAMA Intern Med. 2015 Sep 28:1-10. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.5231. [Epub ahead of print].

Cook AJ, Wellman RD, Cherkin DC, Kahn JR, Sherman KJ. Randomized clinical trial assessing if additional massage treatments for chronic neck pain improve 12 and 26 week outcomes. Spine J. 2015 Oct 1;15(10):2206-15. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2015.06.049. Epub 2015 Jun 19. PubMed

Arterburn DE, Wellman R, Westbrook EO, Ross TR, McCulloch D, Handley M, Lowe M, Cable C, Zeliadt SB, Hoffman RM. Decision aids for benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. Am J Manag Care. 2015;21(2):e130-e140.

Cook AJ, Wellman RD, Nelson JC, Jackson LA, Tiwari RC. Group sequential method for observational data by using generalized estimating equations: application to Vaccine Safety Datalink. J R Stat Soc Ser C Appl Stat. 2015;64(2):319-38. doi: 10.1111/rssc.12075. Epub 2014 Sep 23.

 

New findings

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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.

Research

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Phone therapy for insomnia shown to improve sleep

A study among KP members with sleep problems and osteoarthritis shows promise for overcoming obstacles to treatment.

healthy findings blog

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Best weight-loss surgery for diabetes and severe obesity?

Watch video on latest results from PCORnet Bariatric Study. (Spoiler alert: Bypass, not sleeve.)