Karen J. Wernli, PhD

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“I consider patients the core of my research.”

Karen J. Wernli, PhD

Senior Scientific Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Professor, Department of Health System Science, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Affiliate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Department of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington

Karen.J.Wernli@kp.org
206-287-2934
Twitter: @wernlikarenj

Biography

Karen Wernli, PhD, is a cancer epidemiologist and health services researcher whose work focuses on incorporating patient-centered outcomes to improve cancer care along the cancer care continuum, from prevention to survivorship. Her works spans several types of cancer, including lung, breast, and colorectal, and also explores the impact of cancer in special populations, such as adolescents and young adults. Her research strives to answer critical questions at the confluence of patients’ needs and clinical priorities. Overall, her research has resulted in approximately $30 million in research funding as principal investigator (PI) or site PI, more than 125 peer-reviewed publications (h-index 35), and more than 85 presentations at national conferences, symposia, and other public venues.

Dr. Wernli is a leader in multilevel intervention studies to improve lung cancer screening. She is currently conducting a pragmatic clinical trial funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to test 2 multilevel interventions to improve adherence to annual lung cancer screening at Kaiser Permanente Washington (R01CA262015). Study interventions were developed using a mixed-methods approach — including patient and stakeholder engagement and human-centered design methods — to determine gaps for interventions, relevant features of interventions, and design concepts. Further, Dr. Wernli is also leading a pilot grant from the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology to develop interventions to improve timely follow-up after a positive lung cancer screening scan. She is cancer care delivery research lead for the Kaiser Permanente Washington NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP).

Dr. Wernli is a leader in the use of breast imaging in women with prior breast cancer, including in the use of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Dr. Wernli recently completed a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) project that compared breast MRI to mammography for women already treated for breast cancer. Called Surveillance Imaging Modalities for Breast Cancer Assessment (SIMBA), the study used data from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) and engaged patients and stakeholders to determine the best information for patient and physician decision-making. Dr. Wernli’s team translated that information into a new decision aid for breast cancer survivors. PCORI has recognized this work nationally and pointed to SIMBA as a model for effective patient engagement.

Dr. Wernli’s other breast cancer projects include collaborating with Natasha Stout, PhD, from Harvard University on an NCI-funded study to examine trends and outcomes related to the mandatory notification of breast density that has been enacted in many states. She also led research to determine temporal trends in the use of breast MRI over 10 years, based on indication for the scans. The analysis relied on national claims-based data across all 50 states.

Dr. Wernli is leading patient-centered research in adolescent and young adult (AYA) populations. She is a project co-lead with Kaiser Permanente Southern California researcher Erin Hahn, PhD, MPH, and Veterans Affairs researcher Neetu Chawla, PhD, MPH, in an NCI-funded project to evaluate health service utilization in early survivorship for AYA populations. The research is intended to identify multilevel gaps in health care utilization in AYA early-cancer survivors for forthcoming interventions. Previously, Dr. Wernli launched the Clare Project with KPWHRI researchers, including Marlaine Figueroa Gray, PhD, to understand patient, caregiver, and provider perspectives regarding medical decision-making for patients with advanced cancer. Using novel methods, all perspectives were garnered through social media recruitment. With NCI-funding, she has evaluated temporal trends and regional variation in end-of-life care in AYA cancer populations using national claims-based data.

Finally, Dr. Wernli is expanding her research expertise in clinical research studies beyond oncology clinical trials. She is principal investigator of a multisite study of flu and COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2022 to 2027. Her study team is annually enrolling about 1,200 participants with flu-like symptoms into her research.

Dr. Wernli is a member of the American Society for Preventive Oncology, the Society for Epidemiologic Research, the American Society for Clinical Oncology, and the American Association for Cancer Research. She is an affiliate professor of epidemiology and health systems and population health at the University of Washington and a professor of health system science at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

Research interests and experience

  • Cancer

    Breast, lung, colorectal, ovarian, skin, and endometrial cancer; screening and surveillance; survivorship; patient-centered care; biostatistics; low-dose CT (LDCT); mammography; surveillance imaging; breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); systematic reviews; multilevel intervention studies; pragmatic clinical trials

  • Health Services & Economics

    Comparative effectiveness research, health outcomes research, patient-centered outcomes, health care quality, implementation science

    Preventive Medicine

    Cancer screening and surveillance

  • Patient-Centeredness

    Patient engagement, stakeholder engagement, qualitative research methods, mixed-methods, human-centered design

  • Vaccines & Infectious Diseases

  • Aging & Geriatrics

Recent publications

Wernli KJ, Arao RF, Hubbard RA, Sprague B, Alford-Teaster J, Haas J, Henderson L, Hill D, Lee C, Tosteson A, Onega T. How have breast cancer screening intervals changed since the 2009 USPSTF guideline update? Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev 2016;25:558.

Wernli KJ, Brenner AT, Rutter C, Inadomi J. Short-term risks associated with general anesthesia during colonoscopy compared to conscious sedation in US adult population. Gastroenterology. Epub 2015.

Wernli KJ, Brenner AT, Rutter CM, Inadomi JM. Risks associated with anesthesia services during colonoscopy. Gastroenterology. 2015 Dec 17. pii: S0016-5085(15)01813-2. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2015.12.018.[Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Henderson LM, Miglioretti DL, Kerlikowske K, Wernli KJ, Sprague BL, Lehman CD. Breast cancer characteristics associated with digital versus film-screen mammography for screen-detected and interval cancers. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2015 Sep;205(3):676-84. doi: 10.2214/AJR.14.13904.

Li W, Ray RM, Thomas DB, Davis S, Yost M, Breslow N, Gao DL, Fitzgibbons ED, Camp JE, Wong E, Wernli KJ, Checkoway H. Shift work and breast cancer among women textile workers in Shanghai, China.  Cancer Causes Control. 2015 Jan;26(1):143-50. doi: 10.1007/s10552-014-0493-0. Epub 2014 Nov 25. PubMed

Gallagher LG, Li W, Ray RM, Romano ME, Wernli KJ, Gao DL, Thomas DB, Checkoway H. Occupational exposures and risk of stomach and esophageal cancers: update of a cohort of female textile workers in Shanghai, China. Am J Ind Med. 2015 Jan 21. doi: 10.1002/ajim.22412. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Wieneke AE, Bowles EJ, Cronkite D, Wernli KJ, Gao H, Carrell D, Buist DS. Validation of natural language processing to extract breast cancer pathology procedures and results.  J Pathol Inform. 2015 Jun 23;6:38. doi: 10.4103/2153-3539.159215. eCollection 2015.  PubMed

Lee CI, Ichikawa L, Rochelle MC, Kerlikowske K, Miglioretti DL, Sprague BL, DeMartini WB, Wernli KJ, Joe BN, Yankaskas BC, Lehman CD. Breast MRI BI-RADS assessments and abnormal interpretation rates by clinical indication in US community practices. Acad Radiol. 2014 Nov;21(11):1370-6. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2014.06.003. Epub 2014 Aug 7. PubMed

Tiro JA, Kamineni A, Levin TR, Schottinger JE, Zhen Y, Chubak J, Corley D, Doubeni C, Gupta S, Halm E, Skinner CS, Rutter C, Wernli KJ, Klabunde CN. The colorectal cancer screening process in community settings: a conceptual model for the Population-Based Research Optimizing Screening Through Personalized Regimens consortium Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2014 Jul;23(7):1147-58. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-13-1217. Epub 2014 Jun 10.

Wernli KJ, Hubbard RA, Johnson E, Chubak J, Kamineni A, Green BB, Rutter CM. Patterns of colorectal cancer screening uptake in newly-eligible men and women.  Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2014 Jul;23(7):1230-7. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-13-1360. Epub 2014 May 3. PubMed

 

News

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2023 KPWHRI mentorship awards go to Claire Allen and Karen Wernli

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Research

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News

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KPWHRI begins new phase of flu surveillance

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Research

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Roundup of 3 recent studies on breast cancer screening

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KPWHRI in the media

Understanding the needs of young cancer survivors

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Cure, May 10, 2024

VOICE STUDY

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Understanding young adults’ experiences with cancer

The VOICE study aims to improve the health and health care of people who had cancer as adolescents and young adults.