About Our Program

As a research center embedded within Kaiser Permanente’s large and dynamic health care system, our investigators have a unique opportunity to apply scientific expertise to real-world clinical problems, translate findings into practice, and share what we learn with the broader community.

Featured Scientist

Dr. Ahmed Dehal
Ahmed Dehal, MD, MPH, FACS, FSSO, FRCS
Principal Investigator
Panorama City
Surgical Oncology
Clinical.Trials@kp.org

Dr. Ahmed Dehal is a board-certified general surgeon with a second board certification in complex surgical oncology at the Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center. He serves as area research chair for Panorama City on the Southern California Permanente Medical Group Regional Research Committee. He is an associate professor in Clinical Science at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. Dr. Dehal has published more than 40 articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as multiple ...

Featured Video

Advancing treatments through clinical trials

Over the years, clinical trials have led to amazing advances in treatment—even cures—for devastating illnesses. William Towner, MD, FACP, FIDSA, regional physician director for clinical trials, describes how trials at Kaiser Permanente contribute to the development of more effective and safer treatments for diseases such as HIV, hepatitis C, cancer, and more. (2:15)

News

Featured Image of News Story Titled: When more isn’t more: Smaller restaurant portions left diners just as full

When more isn’t more: Smaller restaurant portions left diners just as full

Restaurants in the United States are known for generous portions, often serving far more food than most adults need in a single meal. Those oversized portions have long been linked to overeating and, over time, to higher rates of obesity and chronic disease. A new study conducted in real restaurants suggests there may be a ...

Transforming sight through clinical trials

While the typical assumption would be that it takes a major academic campus to foster medical innovation, Kaiser Permanente is proving that wrong. The Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center has become a hub for clinical trial innovation under the direction of Vivienne Hau, MD, PhD, a medical and surgical vitreoretinal specialist who has built a ...

5 questions for Dr. Hui Zhou

Hui Zhou PhD, MS, is the biostatistician lead in the Division of Epidemiologic Research for the Department of Research & Evaluation. There she collaborates with epidemiologists and clinical investigators on research studies ranging from conditions like hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and bone fractures. Dr. Zhou has extensive research experience in prediction model ...

Study evaluates heart disease risk prediction across Asian ethnicities

A Kaiser Permanente study found that the PREVENT cardiovascular risk equation had strong overall ability to predict 10-year cardiovascular disease risk in Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander adults. However, its accuracy differed across specific Asian ethnic subgroups and showed consistent patterns of over- and under-estimating when grouping by race and ethnicity. The study ...

Rethinking MS treatment: Why less may be more

For years, people living with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) have depended on powerful medications to keep their disease under control. One of the most effective treatments has been rituximab, a therapy that works by depleting B cells, which are the immune cells that drive inflammation with MS. However, new research from Kaiser Permanente ...

Events

Featured Division

Clinical Trials Research

Our physician investigators conduct clinical trials in communities across Southern California, from Bakersfield to San Diego.

The Division of Clinical Trials Research advances medical innovation by supporting evaluation of new drugs, therapies, and devices to prevent and treat health problems. Our physician investigators work with cooperative groups and industry sponsors to conduct clinical trials for investigational drugs, biologics, and devices. In addition, the division develops pragmatic trials that help answer questions about care delivery.

The region has clinical trials programs in oncology (adult, gynecologic, pediatric, and surgical/radiation oncology), urology, gynecology, neurology, dermatology, metabolic diseases, nephrology, ophthalmology, infectious disease, cardiology, hepatology, vascular surgery, and rheumatology. Clinical trials staff support trials at medical centers and medical office buildings throughout the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region.