Dr. Fatemi named 2020 Researcher of the Year

Shireen Fatemi, MD, FACE, FACP, an endocrinologist at Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center, has been named the 2020 Southern California Permanente Medical Group Researcher of the Year. The award has been given each year since 2007 to recognize a physician or surgeon for his or her outstanding contributions to the research community. Dr. Fatemi is first female physician researcher to receive the award.

“One thing that stands out about Dr. Fatemi, in addition to her contributions through her own research, is how proactive she’s been in supporting her colleagues,” said Bechien Wu, MD, MPH, chair of the Regional Research Committee. “She is an invaluable resource for other physicians who are new to research and a great resource for us as we try to figure out ways to better support our physician colleagues who want to engage in research.”

Caring for patients and conducting research

Dr. Fatemi is the chief of Endocrinology in the Department of Internal Medicine and former assistant area medical director at Panorama City. She is an assistant professor of clinical science at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine and an adjunct clinical professor at USC Keck School of Medicine.

Dr. Fatemi’s own research focuses on thyroid disease. She has written 3 book chapters and published more than 40 abstracts and publications about her investigations. Notable research includes development of a best practice to manage differentiated thyroid cancer, using a thyroglobulin tumor marker to predict thyroid cancer recurrence and avoid unnecessary imaging and treatment, and monitoring thyroglobulin (Tg) antibodies to follow cancer status. She is now comparing several Tg assays to learn about their usefulness in detecting cancer.

Modeling leadership for physician researchers

“Dr. Fatemi has been an integral part of the community of research at SCMPG for a long time,” said Los Angeles Medical Center Area Research Chair John J. Sim, MD, who nominated her for the award. “For years, many of us have followed her as a role model for physician researchers and admired her for her selfless dedication to cultivating researchers at Kaiser Permanente Southern California and advancing her own research.”

Dr. Fatemi has been Panorama City area research chair since 2004. “I have been pleased to support research at KPSC by serving on the RRC, a highly collaborative group that offers guidance to both seasoned investigators and less experienced researchers,” Dr. Fatemi said. “We mentor and help physician investigators fit research into their busy clinical days, since this can be a challenge for many.

“We’re also now making a coordinated effort to focus on health care disparity and population care, and to sponsor rapid-cycle research so that the funding we provide for physicians has as much of an impact as possible,” she added.