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. Joan Ryoo headshot
Joan J. Ryoo, MD, MSHS
Clinician Investigator

Radiation Oncology
Los Angeles

Dr. Joan Ryoo is a radiation oncologist at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. Her research interests focus on the quality of cancer care in integrated health care systems, including the Veterans Health Administration and Kaiser Permanente. During her residency, she worked with the Department of Research & Evaluation to develop a natural language processing algorithm to identify patients with brain metastases who are not reliably captured in the tumor registry. This research ...

Featured Video

Research showing value of exercise before COVID-19 diagnosis earns special recognition

Being active can lower your risk of getting seriously ill with COVID, regardless of your race or the chronic conditions you may have, according to research published last year in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The Kaiser Permanente Southern California findings were important, impactful, and influential. As a result, the journal editors chose the research article, “Associations of Physical Inactivity and COVID-19 Outcomes Among Subgroups,” as the American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2023 Article of the Year.

News

Featured Image of News Story Titled: Five questions for Dr. Sujatha Murali

Five questions for Dr. Sujatha Murali

Sujatha Murali, MD, MS is a hematologist and medical oncologist in San Diego and currently serves as the Southern California Breast Cancer Lead and Principal Investigator for breast cancer clinical trials within Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s Cancer Clinical Trials Access Program. She joined Kaiser Permanente in 2016 after working at the Winship Cancer Institute of ...

Opioid tapering and risk of overdose

After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued opioid prescribing guidelines in 2016, the national opioid dispensing rates steadily declined. However, while reducing opioid prescriptions is critically important, abruptly stopping opioids for pain has been shown to possibly raise the risk of overdose for patients. Against this backdrop, Kaiser Permanente was among the first ...

Five questions for Dr. Talar Habeshian

Talar Habeshian, PhD, MPH, was appointed as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Division of Epidemiologic Research at the Department of Research & Evaluation in August. She will focus on cancer research initiatives. Prior to her postdoctoral appointment, Dr. Habeshian worked as a research associate in the Division of Health Services Research & Implementation Science ...

COVID-19 vaccination not linked to tinnitus

New Kaiser Permanente research shows that the COVID-19 vaccine does not increase the risk of developing tinnitus, which is a ringing in the ears. “Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, some people complained about hearing some sound after being vaccinated, but it wasn’t actually an external sound, it was tinnitus, which is the perception of ...

Fewer breast cancer patients received imaging follow-up after COVID-19 hit

A new Kaiser Permanente study showed that fewer breast cancer survivors received recommended annual breast cancer imaging in the time after the COVID-19 pandemic period compared to before the pandemic. The study was published in JAMA Oncology in July 2025. Little has been known previously about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on post-treatment surveillance ...

Events

Featured Division

Health Services Research & Implementation Science

Our health services researchers bring together scientific and clinical expertise to find better ways to improve care.

Investigators with the Division of Health Services Research & Implementation Science study how care is delivered, identify opportunities for care improvement, and implement new approaches for organizing and delivering health services. The division brings together scientists with diverse expertise and training, including emergency medicine, epidemiology, health services research, implementation science, internal medicine, nursing, pharmaceutical economics, and pulmonology.

The division co-leads the Care Improvement Research Team, a research team embedded within Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s quality improvement ecosystem. The team works closely with clinical and operational partners at Kaiser Permanente Southern California to identify, prioritize, and solve problems related to quality and affordability. Its goal is to reduce unnecessary practice variation, improve affordability, and transform care.