Vaccines save lives by protecting people against infectious diseases — polio, influenza, and pneumonia to name a few. Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) is working to protect communities through research to continually improve the safety and effectiveness of vaccines for infectious diseases of public health importance.
Central to this work is testing new vaccines against emerging diseases — such as COVID-19. In March 2020, KPWHRI gave the world’s first-ever injection of an investigational vaccine for COVID-19 in a phase 1 clinical trial led by Senior Investigator Lisa A. Jackson, MD, MPH. We continue to be at the forefront of efforts to understand and combat COVID-19. To learn more, see COVID-19 research at KPWHRI.
Successes over 3 decades of KPWHRI vaccine research include:
Our current research projects on vaccines and infectious diseases include:
Diemert DJ, Graciaa DS, Zhang B, Rouphael NG, Branche AR, Martin TCS, Jackson LA, Presti RM, Kamidani S, Mahgoub SM, Babu TM, Magaret CA, Simon V, van Bakel H, Roberts PC, Beigel JH, Gilbert PB, Follmann D. Effect of Omicron BA.1-based compared to prototype booster mRNA vaccination on incidence of COVID-19 in the COVAIL trial. Vaccine. 2025;64:127718. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127718. Epub 2025 Sep 9. PubMed
Irving SA, Groom HC, Belongia EA, Crane B, Daley MF, Jackson LA, Kenigsberg TA, Kuckler L, Tseng HF, Williams JTB, Zerbo O, Naleway AL. Differences in influenza vaccination coverage by race and ethnicity across age groups in the Vaccine Safety Datalink, 2017-18 through 2022-23 influenza seasons. Vaccine. 2025;64:127667. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127667. Epub 2025 Sep 4. PubMed
Williams JTB, Kurlandsky K, Breslin K, Cruz H, Stein A, Shoup JA, Reifler LM, Daley MF, Lewin B, Goddard K, Henninger ML, Nelson JC, Vazquez-Benitez G, Hanson KE, Fuller CC, Hambidge SJ. Religious service attendance, COVID-19 vaccine attitudes, and COVID-19 vaccination status: A Vaccine Safety Datalink member survey, 2022-2023. AJPM Focus. 2025 Jul 30;4(5):100404. doi: 10.1016/j.focus.2025.100404. eCollection 2025. PubMed
Nowalk MP, Balasubramani GK, D'Agostino H, Zimmerman RK, Monto AS, Martin ET, Nguyen HQ, Gaglani M, Mamwala M, Tartof S, Lewin BJ, Wernli K, Wickersham B, Talbot HK, Grijalva CG, Chung JR, Flannery B. Does home COVID-19 testing bias COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness estimates? Am J Prev Med. 2025 Sep 11:108096. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2025.108096 [Epub ahead of print] PubMed
Jatt LP, Gillespie KM, Van P, Hoffman SL, Jackson LA, Murphy SC, Heath JR, Kublin JG. Cytokines associated with moderate and severe adverse events during a sporozoite malaria vaccine trial with controlled human malaria infection. J Infect Dis. 2025 Aug 14:jiaf435. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaf435 [Epub ahead of print] PubMed
![]() Lisa A. Jackson, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
![]() Jennifer C. Nelson, PhDDirector, Biostatistics; Senior Investigator |
![]() Andrea J. Cook, PhDSenior Biostatistics Investigator |
![]() Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
![]() Onchee Yu, MSPrincipal Collaborative Biostatistician |
![]() Robert D. Wellman, MSPrincipal Collaborative Biostatistician |
![]() Clarissa Hsu, PhDAssociate Investigator |
![]() Brian D. Williamson, PhDAssistant Biostatistics Investigator |
![]() Noorie Hyun, PhDAssociate Biostatistics Investigator |
![]() Pamela A. Shaw, PhD, MSSenior Biostatistics Investigator |
Doug Opel, MD, MPH
University of Washington (UW) Department of Bioethics and Humanities; UW Department of Pediatrics; UW Medical Center
John Dunn, MD, MPH
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington
Elizabeth Lin, MD, MPH
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington Family Practice;
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute