Devin Absher, PhD

Vice President

Devin Absher joined KP in 2022 to further both genomic research and precision medicine as VP of the Kaiser Permanente Research Bank. The Research Bank’s integration of genetic data, medical data, and health surveys, on over 400,000 KP participants, will serve as a vital resource for KP’s ground breaking research and its innovative delivery of advanced clinical care.

In addition to his research, Dr. Absher has also been involved the clinical implementation of genetics, leading the Genomic Health program at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. Under his leadership, the program developed and deployed pharmacogenetic and precision oncology clinical testing for use in diverse clinical settings, including community and rural health systems. These programs offered a comprehensive suite of clinical services, laboratory tests, and software tools that enabled the implementation of genomics for the benefit of patients who would otherwise not have access to precision medicine.

Sarah Rowell, MPH

Sr. Director, Program Management and Strategy Execution

Sarah Rowell is the Administrative Director of the KP Research Bank. She manages all administrative aspects of the KPRB, including developing and sustaining financial, legal and operational aspects of research infrastructure including activities associated with enrollment of participants and the collection of health surveys, and biospecimens. Sarah received a master’s degree in public health from the University of California at Berkeley. She served as associate director of the Research Program on Genes, Environment, and Health (RPGEH) until 2014. Prior to her work with the RPGEH, Sarah managed large-scale research projects at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, including Genes and Response to Antidepressants (GRAD) Study and the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN).

Alex Lituev, MD

Biorepository Lead

Dr. Lituev has over 20 years of combined clinical and research experience, and proven success in managing Biorepository, Histology, and Digital Imaging laboratories. He served as a Medical Director at Epigene Diagnostic, molecular diagnostics company, Director of Biospecimen Repository at the Center for Translational Research at CHI, one of the nation’s largest health systems; Senior VP at Cureline, a biopharmaceutical services company; CMO at the Medical center of Neuro-technology. In addition, Dr. Lituev served as a Principal and Co-principal Investigator for number of studies including TCGA, NCI-NIH, CHI/CTR multicenter pre-clinical Oncology and Autoimmunity.

He received his MD from Pavlov’s Medical University, St. Petersburg, Russia with Residency in Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology and completed postgrad program – Clinical Research Conduct and Management at UC Berkeley. Dr. Lituev has coauthored number of publications and has spoken at many conferences.

Hélène Choquet, PhD

KP Northern California Scientific Lead

Hélène Choquet, PhD, is a Senior Manager in Investigative Science at the Division of Research (DOR), Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), and an Associate Professor at the KP Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Department of Health Systems Science. Prior joining KPNC DOR in June 2016, she earned a master’s degree in biology of populations and ecosystems from the Lille 1 University, France, and a PhD in human genetics from the University of Lille 2. She also completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where she was a recipient of an American Heart Association (AHA) award for two consecutive years.

Her research interests are in human genetics, with a focus on identifying genomic factors contributing to diverse complex traits and disorders, including metabolic disorders, alcohol and tobacco use, vision disorders, keratinocyte carcinoma, brain vascular malformation, intracranial aneurysm, migraine, and Alzheimer’s disease, among others. Her research aims to help in understanding the biological basis of disorders and facilitating the development of genetic screening to identify at-risk patients and develop personalized treatments for precision medicine. She has successfully conducted and developed high-impact human genetics research as an independent investigator, especially using the exceptional KPRB resources, and has demonstrated a strong record of productivity with about 100 articles published to date. Currently, she is the principal investigator (PI) on two NIH-funded studies on the genetic etiology of keratinocyte carcinoma and cataract, funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Eye Institute (NEI), respectively. She is also a co-Investigator on several large NIH-funded studies.

Dr. Choquet has developed strong research collaborations at KP working closely with many leaders and physicians from The KP Medical Group (TPMG). She has also strong collaborative ties outside KP as a contributor to many international genetic consortia, including the International Glaucoma Genetics Consortium (IGGC), the GWAS & Sequencing Consortium of Alcohol and Nicotine use (GSCAN), the International Intracranial Aneurysms Genetics Consortium (IIAGC), the Erectile Dysfunction (ED) electronic Medical Record and Genomics (eMERGE) Network, and the International Headache Genetics Consortium (IHGC). She serves in national- and international- leadership roles and has been frequently invited to speak on her research at prominent conferences. She also serves as an Editor for Communications Biology journal which is part of the Springer Nature publishing group.

Lisa Croen, PhD

Pregnancy Cohort Lead

Lisa Croen, PhD, is a senior research scientist at the Division of Research (DOR), Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), and the director of the Kaiser Permanente Autism Research Program. Her research interests include the epidemiology of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, environmental exposures and gene/environment interaction, and the delivery of health services to Autistic individuals across the life span.

Currently, Dr. Croen is the co-principal investigator at Kaiser Permanente of the NIH-funded ECHO study, principal investigator of several NIH-funded studies including Early Markers for Autism study (EMA) and Immune and Metabolic markers during Pregnancy and Child Neurodevelopment (IMPaCT), and site principal investigator on several large federally funded autism studies including the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED), the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI), and the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P).

In collaboration with clinical colleagues, she is conducting mixed methods studies to evaluate autism treatments at KPNC, the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare among KPNC Autistic patients, barriers and facilitators of healthcare service use among Latino families affected by autism, and the health status and healthcare utilization of Autistic adults. Dr. Croen received her master’s degree in public health and her doctorate in epidemiology, both from the University of California, Berkeley.

Teaniese Davis, PhD, MPH

KP Georgia Scientific Lead

Dr. Tina Davis is a trained behavioral scientist with experience in qualitative research methods, intervention development, and evaluation. The formative phase of intervention development relies heavily on understanding individuals’ and groups’ experiences related to phenomena. I have extensive experience developing interview and focus group guides, eliciting robust qualitative data from individuals and groups, as well as coding and organizing qualitative data and managing coders. Dr. Davis has also successfully collaborated on manuscripts to publish qualitative research featuring our work with various populations to develop, implement, and evaluate theory-based interventions for adolescents and young adults.

Stacey Honda, MD

KP Hawaii Scientific Lead

As AMD of Diagnostic Specialties and Research, Dr. Honda oversees diagnostic imaging, laboratory services and Research for the Hawaii Region/HPMG, including both hospital and clinic-based services. As Chief of Pathology and Medical Director of Laboratories, Dr. Honda oversees all aspects of the quality and services of our regional, hospital and clinic based laboratory services. As Director of Point of Care Testing, Dr. Honda oversees all hospital and clinic based POCT in the region. In addition, Dr. Honda serves as the Medical Director of our KP Center for Integrated Healthcare Research Hawaii where she oversees the activities and scientific direction of the research center and has served as PI on a variety of projects including a pragmatic trial (PPACT – Pain Program for Active Coping and Teaching), site PI for the Cancer Research Network as well as being the HI site PI for the KP Research Bank. She also currently serves as site PI for CONNECT, a cancer prevention project; i-SCREEN as part of CSRN (Cancer Screening Research Network); and a Breast Cancer Survivorship Cohort. Her interest includes clinical and cancer related projects.

Dr. Honda earned her medical degree from the University of Hawaii, John A Burns School of Medicine. Upon completing her pathology residency at the University of Hawaii Pathology Residency Program, during which she was based at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Dr. Honda joined HPMG in 1997. Dr. Honda also has a PhD degree in Biomedical Sciences, which she received from the University of Hawaii Biomedical Sciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Program. Dr. Honda is board certified in anatomic and clinical pathology.

Robert Hufnagel, MD, PhD

Genomics Implementation Lead

Dr. Robert Hufnagel is a physician-scientist who joined the Center for Integrated Healthcare Research in 2023. After receiving his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio), he completed his Pediatrics and Clinical Genetics residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, followed by fellowships in Clinical Ophthalmic Genetics at the National Eye Institute (NEI/NIH) and Clinical Molecular Genetics and Genomics at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI/NIH).

His research is dedicated to improving utilization of genomic data in medicine at point-of-care. Research focuses include the role of genome sequencing for rare and common diseases, models for variant classification of pathogenicity, and genotype-first approaches to diagnosis and management. These projects combine clinical data, biostatistics, and high-throughput sequencing analysis to establish patient-centered disease models for translational and preclinical studies.

Dr. Hufnagel also serves in leadership roles in several clinical and research organizations, including the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen), the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), and the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB).

Cabell Jonas, PhD

KP Mid-Atlantic States Scientific Lead

Cabell Jonas, PhD is the Director of Research Programs and a Research Scientist III within the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Research Institute, Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States. Her research focuses on improving care delivery in the areas of genetics and genomics, gastroenterology (hepatitis B, hepatitis, C, and hepatocellular carcinoma), and related clinical areas through innovative approaches and care models. She joined the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Research Institute and the KP Research Bank in 2014. Dr. Jonas completed her PhD and postdoctoral training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

James Ralston, MD, MPH

KP Washington Scientific Lead

James D. Ralston, MD, MPH, is a general internist with Washington Permanente Medical Group and a senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. Dr. Ralston conducts health services research focused on improving chronic illness care and the patient services aspects of medical informatics. He is also an affiliate professor in the Department of Health Services at the University of Washington (UW) School of Public Health and in the UW’s Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics. Through grants from AHRQ, the NIH, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, he has led and collaborated on several user-centered design projects to improve chronic illness care.

Claudia Steiner

KP Colorado Scientific Lead

Claudia A. Steiner, MD, MPH, is the Executive Director of the Institute for Health Research. She joined the department in March of 2017.

Dr. Steiner earned her medical degree and completed residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (now the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus). Subsequently, she obtained a Masters of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (now the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) while completing a research fellowship through the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Steiner served as Director for the Division of Healthcare Delivery Data, Measures and Research, in the Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) until February of 2017. There she led the division’s development and dissemination of data and software tools for use in research, policy analysis, quality improvement, and public reporting, with a particular focus on Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) and the AHRQ Quality Indicators. She conducted research in the areas of the influence of ambulatory surgery on standards of care, utilization, and clinical outcomes; the epidemiology of infectious diseases, including healthcare associated infections; the prevalence and factors associated with readmissions to the acute care setting; and the use and impact of new medical technologies. She was a practicing internal medicine physician for 25 years with the Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, and continues to serve as a practicing internist for adult patients with the Colorado Permanente Medical Group (CPMG).

Sheila Weinmann, PhD, MPH

KP Northwest Scientific and Cancer Cohort Lead

Dr. Sheila Weinmann is a member of the KPRB Leadership Team and the KP Research Bank Scientific Lead representing Kaiser Permanente Northwest (serving NW Oregon and SW Washington). She is an epidemiologist whose research focuses on cancer etiology, screening, and progression, with particular emphasis on molecular epidemiology. Her interests also include pharmacoepidemiology and infectious disease epidemiology.

Dr. Weinmann has more than 25 years’ experience leading epidemiologic studies at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon and at the University of Washington. Presently, she is leading a study of molecular factors in relation to breast cancer recurrence and well as studies of statin use in relation to breast and prostate cancer recurrence. She has also led epidemiologic studies on efficacy of screening for prostate cancer, cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer; molecular and other factors in relation to prostate cancer mortality after prostatectomy; renal cell cancer risk factors and the molecular biology of renal cell cancer progression; and pregnancy outcomes after surgical treatment for cervical dysplasia. In addition, Dr. Weinmann has conducted research on bladder cancer, childhood cancers, varicella, herpes zoster, human papillomavirus (HPV), invasive pneumococcal disease, pertussis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and primary cardiac arrest.

Dr. Weinmann received her PhD in epidemiology from the University of Washington and her Masters of Public Health degree from the University of Texas. Her undergraduate degree is from Rice University. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine of Oregon Health & Science University. She is a former Executive Director of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board and has worked on several studies of health problems among American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Read bio on NIH

Deborah Young, PhD

KP Southern California Scientific Lead

Dr. Deborah Rohm Young is Director of Behavioral Research in the Department of Research & Evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. Prior to that she was Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Professor in the Department of Kinesiology in the University of Maryland School of Public Health. She is a recognized scholar in the conduct of community-based physical activity intervention trials, specifically for minority women and adolescent girls, segments of the population that suffer the most profound health consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. Dr. Young has received more than $8.5 million dollars in direct costs as a Principal Investigator in awards from the National Institutes of Health. Her peer-reviewed publications exceed 125 in number.

Dr. Young has served on multiple committees in the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health, and is co-chair of its Spring Program Committee. She is chair of the Community Level Health Promotion scientific grant review committee of the National Institutes of Health, and has served in an editorial capacity for three journals. Dr. Young served on the inaugural Science Board for the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and chaired the board in 2006-2007.