Scholarly Activities

There are a wealth of research opportunities within Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, which boasts an environment with broad clinical collaboration and a culturally diverse patient population. Residents are able to develop research initiatives with partners in the region, while also taking advantage of Kaiser Permanente’s extensive national network of experts and resources.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has an affiliation with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, which conducts ground-breaking research in many areas, including chronic disease prevention and epidemiology (diabetes and heart disease), as well as women’s and adolescent health, including nutritional and genetic factors.

Residents will have access to the Kaiser Permanente clinical library, which is one of the largest, most complete and most inclusive electronic medical information libraries in the world, with more than 1,500 electronic journals (including The Permanente Journal) and nearly 250 medical textbooks.

All residents will be assigned a mentor for their research endeavors, including initiatives to improve processes related to patient care, and will meet regularly to review progress. There will be opportunities for residents to research and present material as part of regular Grand Rounds presentations and the biennial HPMG Research and Innovation Symposium (for which they will be required to submit a poster).

Recent Resident Publications as of June 2026

  • Saluja P, Ataya A, Kircher K, Diaz B, Helman D, Gomez Rojas OR, Ruoss S, Wang BR, Kazerooni E, Gupta N. Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage in Lymphangioleiomyomatosis. Chest. 2026 Mar 31. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2026.03.021. PMID: 41933611.
  • Reinhardt J, Taualii M. Socioeconomic Risk Factors for Extreme Preterm Birth in Hawaiʻi. Hawaii J Health Soc Welf. 2025;84(12):283-292. doi: 10.62547/VTQZ2327.
  • Kircher K, Santi B, Borrello K, Wong JM, Verhoef PA. Potts Puffy Tumor: A Rare Disorder of Childhood Presenting with Seizure in an Elderly Male. Ann Intern Med Clin Cases. 2025 Jul 15;4(7). doi: 10.7326/AIMCC.2025.012.
  • Santi B, Verhoef PA. COVID-19 Hospitalization in Hawaiʻi and Patterns of Insurance Coverage, Race and Ethnicity, and Vaccination. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 May 1;7(5):e243696. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.3696. PMID: 38691362.
  • Bae WH, Canonico M, Shimabukuro K, Song L, Verhoef PA, Yee M. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia with leptomeningeal involvement presenting as an acute encephalopathy: a case report. Perm J. 2022;26(2):126-131. doi: 10.7812/TPP/21.081. PMID: 35933656.

Presentations by the Residents at National Meetings

  • Kircher K, Kileci J, Verhoef P “Comparative Analysis of Inpatient Management of Hyponatremia: Outcomes and Strategies in the Intensive Care Unit versus Non-ICU Settings” poster presentation at ACP National 2026, San Francisco, California
  • Kircher K, Kileci J, Verhoef P “Comparative Analysis of Inpatient Management of Hyponatremia: Outcomes and Strategies in the Intensive Care Unit versus Non-ICU Settings” poster presentation at ATS International Conference 2026, Orlando, Florida
  • Kircher K, Kaya J and Kileci J “Pleuropareynchymal Fibrosis as a Rare Sequelae of Graft-versus-Host Disease: Diagnostic Dilemmas and Successful Complication Management” poster presentation at CHEST Conference 2025
  • Kircher K, Yang K and Shimabukuro K “A Rare Case of Immature Mediastinal Teratoma Transformation into Somatic Malignancy: Insights for Tailored Therapeutic Strategies in Patients Refractory to Chemotherapy” poster presentation at CHEST Conference 2025
  • Kircher K and Kileci J “A Diagnostic Puzzle In a 49-Year-Old Male Presenting with Dysphagia and Dysphonia” poster presentation at CHEST Conference 2024
  • Holmgren H and Yamashita S “A 14-year-old from Hawaii with Fever and Multiorgan Involvement” poster presentation at ID Week Conference 2022

ACP Hawaii Presentations

    • 2026
        • Kircher K, Kileci J, Verhoef P “Comparative Analysis of Inpatient Management of Hyponatremia: Outcomes and Strategies in the Intensive Care Unit versus Non-ICU Settings” poster presentation
        • Mettias H, Kircher K and Sakurai-Burton S “GABAA Receptor Encephalitis Presenting as Refractory Status Epilepticus: A Case Report” poster presentation
        • Reinhardt J and Seto R “Low Sugar, High Stakes: Hypoglycemia in Older Adults Development of a Deprescribing Protocol” poster presentation
    • 2025
        • Bean K, Laimana J and Yamashita S “A Case of Oral Anaerobic Shoulder Septic Arthritis with Humeral Osteomyelitis” poster presentation
        • Diaz B, Helman D and Verhoef P “Unexplained Hemoptysis to Renal Clarity: A Diagnostic Journey to Lymphangioleiomyomatosis” poster presentation
        • Kircher K and Verhoef P “Potts Puffy Tumor: A Rare Disorder of Childhood Presenting with Seizure and Fever in an Elderly Male” poster presentation
        • Paulson T and Verhoef P “Procedural timing of thoracenteses/tube thoracostomies of positive pleural fluid cultures” poster presentation
        • Reinhardt J, Chock M, Lo S and Kurahashi C “Complex Paraneoplastic Syndromes in Malignant Thymoma: A Diagnostic challenge” poster presentation
    • 2024
        • Kircher K and Myers J “Chronicles of Insomnia: A Case of Non-24 Hour Circadian Sleep Rhythm Disorder in a Patient with Unilateral Blindness” poster presentation
        • Mathews B and Lin Y “Keeping up with the Jones? A Case of Adult, Acute Rhematic Fever with Carditis” poster presentation
        • Suzuki R, Chen T and Beale K “A Case of Severe Mineralcorticoid Excess in Abiraterone Use for Metastatic Prostate Cancer” poster presentation
        • Vuong C and Tello R “A Rare Case of Osteomyelitis Pubis with Abscess Formation” poster presentation
    • 2023
        • Chang K, Nishimoto S and Verhoef P “TB: A Brain Cancer Look-Alike”, poster presentation
        • Choo Loy K, Pandula A “Disseminated Gonococcal Infection: A Rare Complication of Untreated Gonorrhea Presenting in a 45 yo Female” poster presentation
        • Chun E, Verhoef P “A Case of the “-Itis”: Multi-System Organ Dysfunction Due to Nivolumab Therapy” poster presentation
        • Crump N and Pandula A “A Case of Distant Prostate Cancer Presenting as a Solitary Breast Mass” poster presentation
        • Crump N and Pandula A “A Rare Case, Presentation, and Outcome: a Case of Machiafava-Bignami Disease Presenting as Serotonin Syndrome with a Positive Outcome” poster presentation
        • Holmgren H and Lee P “A Heart Stopping Case; Young Woman with Cardiac Tamponade, Right Atrial Mass, and Miliary Lung Nodules” poster presentation
        • Holmgren H, Choo Loy K, Doi E, , Pandula A and Seto R “Long Covid – A cross-sectional study exploring the prevalence of post SARS-CoV-2 infection symptoms and functional limitations in the outpatient setting” podium presentation
        • Jensen J and Yamashita S “”Oh Rats!”: A Case of an Emerging Pathogen Associated with a Rodent Bite” poster presentation
        • Laimana J and Kileci J “Hemoptysis or Not?: Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure Secondary to Aspiration from Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome” poster presentation
        • Mathews B, Honda S and Kaya K “False Positive? Two Cases of Persistently Elevated Troponin I Without Clinical Evidence of Cardiac Involvement” poster presentation
    • 2022
        • Mathews B and Yamashita S “Bartonella Henselae Infection: An Unusual Cause of Failure to Thrive, Coombs-Negative Hemolytic Anemia, and Pancytopenia” poster presentation

KPHI Residency Research Day (est. 2026)

    • 2026
        • Diaz B, Ching K, Tsuda C, and Adolfson M.P. “Keeping it Renal 2.0: A Longitudinal Assessment of Clinical Decision Support Tools for Renally Adjusted Medications” presentation
        • Kircher K, Fiame B, Adolfson M.P., Verhoef PA and Kileci J “Comparative Analysis of Inpatient Management of Hyponatremia: Outcomes and Strategies in the Intensive Care Unit versus Non-ICU Settings” presentation
        • Reinhardt J, Seto R, Kimura I, and Shultz K “Low Sugar, High Stakes: Hypoglycemia in Older Adults Development of a Deprescribing Protocol” presentation
        • Santi B, Verhoef P, Myers J “Exploring Predictors of Treatment Initiation in Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Infection in Hawaii” presentation
        • Yang K, Chase M and Freed J “Development and Validation of a Peripheral Blood Smear Assessment Tool Utilizing Cloud-Based Full Field Digital Microscopy” presentation
    • 2025
        • Balatsky K and Verhoef P “What Do You Mean I Can’t See? Acute Occipital Lobe Infarction Resulting In Cortical Blindness And Visual Anosognosia With Associated Confabulation, An Anton Syndrome Case Report” presentation
        • Bean K, Laimana J and Yamashita S “A Case of Oral Anaerobic Shoulder Septic Arthritis with Humeral Osteomyelitis” presentation
        • Kircher K and Shimabukuro K “Rare Case of Immature Mediastinal Teratoma Transforming into Somatic Malignancy: Genetic Insights for Tailored Therapeutic Strategies in Patients Refractory to Chemotherapy” presentation
        • Paulson T and Verhoef P “Procedural Timing of Thoracenteses/Tube Thoracostomies of Positive Pleural Fluid Cultures” presentation
        • Reinhardt J and Taualii M “Socioeconomic Risk Factors for Extreme Preterm Birth in Hawaii” presentation

Previous Resident Publications and Presentations (2021 and Prior)

Click here to view the KPHI IM Residency Publications Archive