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.
Successes over 3 decades of KPWHRI vaccine research include:
Our current research projects on vaccines and infectious diseases include:
Benkeser D, Montefiori DC, McDermott AB, Fong Y, Janes HE, Deng W, Zhou H, Houchens CR, Martins K, Jayashankar L, Castellino F, Flach B, Lin BC, O'Connell S, McDanal C, Eaton A, Sarzotti-Kelsoe M, Lu Y, Yu C, Borate B, van der Laan LWP, Hejazi NS, Kenny A, Carone M, Williamson BD, Garver J, Altonen E, Rudge T, Huynh C, Miller J, El Sahly HM, Baden LR, Frey S, Malkin E, Spector SA, Andrasik MP, Kublin JG, Corey L, Neuzil KM, Carpp LN, Pajon R, Follmann D, Donis RO, Koup RA, Gilbert PB; Immune Assays; Moderna Inc.; Coronavirus Vaccine Prevention Network (CoVPN)/Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE); United States Government (USG)/CoVPN Biostatistics Teams. Comparing antibody assays as correlates of protection against COVID-19 in the COVE mRNA-1273 vaccine efficacy trial. Sci Transl Med. 2023 Apr 19;15(692):eade9078. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.ade9078. Epub 2023 Apr 19. PubMed
Branche AR, Rouphael NG, Losada C, Baden LR, Anderson EJ, Luetkemeyer AF, Diemert DJ, Winokur PL, Presti RM, Kottkamp AC, Falsey AR, Frey SE, Rupp R, Bäcker M, Novak RM, Walter EB, Jackson LA, Little SJ, Immergluck LC, Mahgoub SM, Whitaker JA, Babu TM, Goepfert PA, Fusco DN, Atmar RL, Posavad CM, Netzl A, Smith DJ, Telu K, Mu J, Makowski M, Makhene MK, Crandon S, Montefiori DC, Roberts PC, Beigel JH. Immunogenicity of the BA.1 and BA.4/BA.5 SARS-CoV-2 bivalent boosts: Preliminary results from the COVAIL randomized clinical trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2023 Apr 10;ciad209. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciad209. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Grabert BK, McRee AL, Henrikson NB, Heisler-MacKinnon J, Blasi PR, Norris CM, Nguyen MB, Dunn J, McKeithen MC, Gilkey MB. Feasibility of using an app-based coaching intervention to improve provider communication about HPV vaccination. Transl Behav Med. 2023 Mar 31:ibad002. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibad002. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Hood N, Flannery B, Gaglani M, Beeram M, Wernli K, Jackson ML, Martin ET, Monto AS, Zimmerman R, Raviotta J, Belongia EA, McLean HQ, Kim S, Patel M, Chung J. Influenza vaccine effectiveness among children: 2011-2020. Pediatrics. 2023 Mar 24;e2022059922. doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-059922. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Bi Q, Dickerman BA, McLean HQ, Martin ET, Gaglani M, Wernli KJ, Goundappa B, Flannery B, Lipsitch M, Cobey S; US Flu Vaccine Effectiveness Network Investigators. Evaluating reduced effectiveness after repeat influenza vaccination while accounting for confounding by recent infection and within-season waning. medRxiv. 2023 Mar 17:2023.03.12.23287173. doi: 10.1101/2023.03.12.23287173. Preprint. 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, MSSenior Collaborative Biostatistician |
![]() Clarissa Hsu, PhDAssociate Investigator |
![]() Brian D. Williamson, PhDAssistant Biostatistics Investigator |
![]() Noorie Hyun, PhDAssistant 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