Weiwei Zhu, MS
“I have a longstanding interest in using biostatistics to advance medical research. Working at KPWHRI gives me a great opportunity to contribute to challenging projects with rich, relevant data and make a national impact on health care systems.”
Weiwei Zhu, MS
Senior Collaborative Biostatistician, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Weiwei.Zhu@kp.org
206-442-5215
Biography
Weiwei Zhu, MS, joined Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute's Biostatistics Unit in 2009. She works closely with Affiliate Investigator Diana Miglioretti, PhD, to design studies, manage data, and conduct statistical analyses for the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) — the National Cancer Institute’s 7-site network of mammography researchers. She has been a key member of the BCSC Statistical Coordinating Center for over 10 years. Her work studying breast screening benefits and risks played an essential role in an American Cancer Society screening guideline change in 2015.
Weiwei’s current other studies include testing the effects of sitting reduction on cardiometabolic health outcomes through a large randomized trial in older adults, studying a sedentary behavior reduction and physical activity promotion intervention for the older Latino/Hispanic community, and examining the association of the 24-hour activity cycle with cognition and physical function in older adults with Senior Investigator Dori Rosenberg, PhD, MPH. Weiwei has also collaborated on research to quantify the serious risks of misuse, abuse, and addiction associated with long-term opioid use. This multi-site study used electronic health record data and survey interviews to provide estimates of long-term opioid use risks in 2 cohorts.
After beginning her medical research career as an intern at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2007, Weiwei served as a biostatistician at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Florida.
Research interests and experience
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Biostatistics
Correlated data analysis; longitudinal data; survival analysis
Medication Use & Patient Safety
Opioid misuse, abuse, and addiction
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Cancer
Biostatistics; breast cancer screening and surveillance
Recent publications
Henderson LM, Zhu W, Onega T, Kerlikowske K, Miglioretti DL, Bowles EJA, Sprague BL, Weaver DL, Tosteson ScD ANA, Lee CI. Diagnostic management pathways for workup of abnormal screening with digital mammography versus digital breast tomosynthesis. J Am Coll Radiol. 2025 Apr 9:S1546-1440(25)00207-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2025.04.008. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Rosenberg DE, Zhu W, Greenwood-Hickman MA, Cook AJ, Florez Acevedo S, McClure JB, Arterburn DE, Cooper J, Owen N, Dunstan D, Perry SR, Yarborough L, Mettert KD, Green BB. Sitting Time Reduction and Blood Pressure in Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(3):e243234. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.3234. PubMed
Kerlikowske K, Zhu W, Su YR, Sprague BL, Stout NK, Onega T, O'Meara ES, Henderson LM, Tosteson ANA, Wernli K, Miglioretti DL. Supplemental magnetic resonance imaging plus mammography compared with magnetic resonance imaging or mammography by extent of breast density. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2023 Oct 27:djad201. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djad201. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Onega T, Zhu W, Kerlikowske K, Miglioretti DL, Lee CI, Henderson LM, Tosteson ANA, Wernli KJ, diFlorio R, Weaver DL, Buist DSM. Preoperative MRI in breast cancer: effect of breast density on biopsy rate and yield. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2022 Jan;191(1):177-190. doi: 10.1007/s10549-021-06418-x. Epub 2021 Oct 22. PubMed
Yeung K, Zhu W, McCurry SM, Von Korff M, Wellman R, Morin CM, Vitiello MV. Cost-effectiveness of telephone cognitive behavioral therapy for osteoarthritis-related insomnia. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 Oct 11. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17469. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Research
Roundup of 3 recent studies on breast cancer screening
New research spotlights overdiagnosis, MRI before surgery, and a new way of predicting breast cancer risk
Cancer screening
Breast density is a risk factor for older women, too
Findings in JAMA Network Open could help guide decision-making about breast cancer screening for women 75 and older.
Research
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.
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