Weiwei Zhu, MS

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“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

Recent publications

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

Vitiello MV, Zhu W, Von Korff M, Wellman R, Morin CM, Yeung K, McCurry SM. Short-term improvements in insomnia or pain predict long-term improvements in sleep, pain, depression, and fatigue in older adults with co-morbid osteoarthritis pain and insomnia. Sleep. 2021 Sep 13:zsab231. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsab231. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Advani SM, Zhu W, Demb J, Sprague BL, Onega T, Henderson LM, Buist DSM, Zhang D, Schousboe JT, Walter LC, Kerlikowske K, Miglioretti DL, Braithwaite D. Association of breast density with breast cancer risk among women aged 65 years or older by age group and body mass index.  JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(8):e2122810. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.22810.  PubMed

 

Research

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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 scans

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

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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.