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. Sara Tartof
Sara Y. Tartof, PhD, MPH
Research Scientist II
Division of Epidemiologic Research
626-564-3001
Sara.Y.Tartof@kp.org

Dr. Sara Tartof is an infectious disease epidemiologist who studies COVID-19, antimicrobial resistance, hospital infections, urinary tract infections, vaccine safety and effectiveness, and tuberculosis, among other areas. She has extensive experience leading and collaborating on single- and multi-site studies and collaborates extensively with state and local health departments. She is primary supervisor for CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service fellows and is an assistant professor in the Department ...

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: Q&A with Physician Researcher of the Year: Dr. Michael Fassett

Q&A with Physician Researcher of the Year: Dr. Michael Fassett

Michael J. Fassett, MD, came to work at Kaiser Permanente in 2000. Since then, his dedication to his patients through research has grown. He’s published more than 50 research papers in peer-reviewed journals. Now, as the regional physician-in-charge for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the area research chair for the West Los Angeles and Kern County service ...

Five questions for … Dr. Annette Langer-Gould

  Annette Langer-Gould, MD, PhD, is a translational neuroscientist with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. She treats people with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. Dr. Langer-Gould joined Kaiser Permanente in 2009. Her research aims to deepen understanding of MS while improving quality of care. Recently, she co-authored an ...

COVID bivalent booster protects well against hospitalization

A Kaiser Permanente study shows the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 BA.4/5 bivalent mRNA vaccine helped protect against a range of COVID symptoms and was effective against the COVID XBB strain sublineages. The most substantial benefit of the bivalent vaccine booster was keeping people out of the hospital and keeping people from becoming critically ill. The study was ...

Kaiser Permanente Southern California to lead CDC-funded center to improve outbreak and disease prediction

  Kaiser Permanente Southern California has been tapped to lead an innovation center that will develop advanced modeling approaches to better predict disease outbreaks and prepare the United States for future public health emergencies. The center is 1 of 13 sites that will form the Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modeling Network, a national initiative funded ...

Diabetes increased among kids during pandemic

A study of more than 1 million Kaiser Permanente members ages 19 and younger found that rates of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes increased among children during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for those ages 10 and older, male children, and children in specific racial and ethnic groups. The study was published September 21, ...

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.