New & noteworthy projects
Regional Research Committee
In 2024, the Regional Research Committee celebrated its 70th anniversary. It was established just one year after the founding of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group partnership.
Each year, the Regional Research Committee recognizes an outstanding physician researcher for their contributions to medical research, clinical care, and mentoring young professionals. The 2024 Physician Researcher of the Year was Javed Sheik, MD, the chief of the Department of Allergy and Immunology at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center.
The Regional Research Committee awards funds from Kaiser Permanente’s Community Health program for research projects led by clinicians and other health care professionals at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. These projects address real-world clinical questions and have the potential to point to smarter ways to prevent and treat common health conditions.
The Committee funded the following projects in 2024.
Rapid-cycle projects
Safety of uninterrupted anticoagulation in the setting of routine colonoscopy
Andrew Giap, MD, Gastroenterology, Orange County
Effectiveness of a population-based care model for management of hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Minyong Kim, MPH, Complete Care Management, Los Angeles
Advanced practice providers in urgent care setting: Impact on practice patterns and utilization
Amy Wolf, MD, Internal Medicine, Regional Offices
Traditional grant studies
Carotid disease treatment modality and effect on post-operative hospital length of stay
Andrew K Son, MD, FACS, RPVI, Vascular Surgery, Riverside
Descriptive retrospective case-control study on long-COVID patients in Kaiser Permanente Southern California from September 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023, and COVID vaccination and treatment status
Diane Y. Jerng, MD, Family Medicine, Orange County
Association of rosuvastatin use with risk of kidney injury
Serena Ghanshani, MD (fellow), Cardiology, Los Angeles
Outcomes after cochlear implantation for single-sided deafness and asymmetric hearing loss
Syed Fahsan, MD, FACS, Head and Neck Surgery, Orange County
Telemedicine in urogynecology: Pathways forward following the COVID-19 pandemic
John N. Nguyen, MD, Obstetrics-Gynecology, Downey
Complication rates with dual anti-incontinence procedures: A retrospective review of combined midurethral sling and onabotulinumtoxinA injections
Sharon Jakus Waldman, MD, Downey, Ob-Gyn/Urogynecology
Incidence and risk factors for hypocalcemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 4/5 patients who received denosumab for osteoporosis in Kaiser Permanente Southern California
Eric Tong, MD, Nephrology, Woodland Hills
Predictors of adverse outcomes following urinary tract infections (UTI) diagnosis in adult women: A comprehensive analysis
Ghanshyam Yadav, MD (fellow), Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, San Diego
Performance of the 2023 American Heart Association Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease EVENTs (PREVENT) equations in a large multiethnic population
Mingsum Lee, MD, PhD, Cardiology, Los Angeles
Safety and therapeutic equivalency of the conversion of glimepiride to glipizide in older adults
Eric Lee, MD, Internal Medicine, West Los Angeles