60 years ago, Morris F. Collen, MD, recognized the potential of combining the power of information technology with clinical care and sophisticated data analytics. Since its inception in 1961, Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research has become internationally respected for research that transforms health by discovering the key drivers of health and disease and identifying effective and efficient ways to deliver health care.
The 1960s: Creation of the Division of Research
1961
1961
Morris Collen, MD, becomes founding director of Medical Methods Research, later renamed the Division of Research, leading from 1961 to 1979.
1962
1962
The Division of Research receives its first grant from the U.S. Public Health Service to automate the multiphasic exam.
1966
1966
The Division’s Edmund (Ted) Van Brunt, MD, pilots a computer-based patient medical record system with a database that supports both patient care and health services research. Kaiser Permanente becomes one of a handful of places in the world to start this pioneering work.
The 1970s: Early pioneers of an integrated medical record
1970
1970
Investigators including Ted Van Brunt, MD, Morris Collen, MD, and colleagues publish a study about a “pilot medical information system” providing services for limited categories of patient data. This would go on to be known as the electronic health records system.
1979
1979
Ted Van Brunt, MD, becomes second director of DOR, leading from 1979 to 1991.
The 1980s: A major research operation in epidemiology
1985
1985
The Division opens a research clinic to support the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study — a longitudinal study of heart health and disparities that continues to this day and has resulted in more than 600 published papers.
1986
1986
The Medical Methods Research Department changes its name to the Division of Research.
The 1990s: Ushering in large-scale collaborative research
1991
1991
Gary Friedman, MD, becomes DOR’s third director, leading from 1991 to 1998.
1993
1993
Morris Collen, MD, is honored by the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) as the first recipient of the highest honor it bestows, the Morris F. Collen Award of Excellence for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Medical Informatics.
1998
1998
Joe Selby, MD, MPH, becomes DOR’s fourth director, leading from 1998 to 2011.
The 2000s: A new era of DOR collaborations
September 2004
September 2004
A DOR research team publishes a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that shows chronic kidney disease increases a person’s risk of heart disease, stroke, or death.
February 2007
February 2007
The Research Program on Genes, Environment and Health (RPGEH), now one of the largest such research projects in the United States, is established to examine genetic and environmental factors that influence a wide variety of common diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and depression.
Learn more about Kaiser Permanente unveiling groundbreaking genetic research program
The 2010s: Mentoring the next generation
July 2012
July 2012
Tracy Lieu, MD, MPH, becomes fifth director of DOR, leading from 2012 to the present.
Learn more about DOR nameing Tracy Lieu, MD, MPH Its Fifth Director
2013
2013
The Delivery Science Fellowship Program is established to train postdoctoral fellows on identifying and implementing best practices for delivering care to diverse populations. The program has since attracted nationwide interest.
September 2014
September 2014
A celebration of life takes place upon the death of Morrie Collen on September 27, 2014.
June 2017
June 2017
DOR launches Physician Researcher Program with a mission to cultivate the research that drives evidence-based medicine.
January 2018
January 2018
Recognizing the importance of early multiphasic exams, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History takes ownership of some DOR punch cards to help share an important part of our country’s health care history.
May 2018
May 2018
The Permanente Medical Group and DOR establish the Delivery Science and Applied Research (DARE) program to foster collaborations between clinician-investigators and DOR scientists. DARE provides infrastructure, connections, and analytic support to clinician-researchers for answering questions that will change care.
May 2018
May 2018-2
Kaiser Permanente data helps create street-level view of the health Impacts of air pollution in Oakland.
The 2020s: Tackling new health care mysteries
April 2020
April 2020
Division of Research publishes study in JAMA showing wide age range of adults hospitalized with COVID-19, dispelling idea only older adults were being hospitalized with COVID-19.
August 2020
August 2020
The Vaccine Study Center joins the clinical trial for Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, enrolling adults and later teenagers aged 16 and 17, adolescents aged 12 to 15, and children aged 6 to 11.
November 2020
November 2020
DOR predictive analytics specialists teamed up with nursing and hospital leaders to create the Advance Alert Monitor system, which identifies hospital patients at risk of rapid deterioration. In an analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the system is associated with lower mortality.
Learn more about real-time in-hospital alerts associated with lower patient mortality
July 2021
July 2021
Health systems could use data from routine clinical care to identify the onset of upcoming COVID-19 surges as many as 6 weeks before they occur, researchers reported in a study published in BMJ Open.
September 2021
September 2021-2
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found a method to remove race from controversial kidney function equations without losing accuracy. The findings helped inform new National Kidney Foundation-American Society of Nephrology Task Force guidelines on evaluating kidney function.
October 2021
October 2021
Kaiser Permanente researcher will co-lead $32.7 million colorectal cancer screening study to focus on older adults with low-risk polyps.
March 2022
March 2022
Researchers published findings in JAMA Internal Medicine showing that COVID-19 infection more than doubled the risk of severe complications during pregnancy.