Britta Torgrimson-Ojerio, PhD, RN, is a nurse researcher and Director of the Clinical Research and Trials Unit at CHR. She has research expertise in clinical trials, human physiology, women’s health, and preventative medicine, and is a certified nurse with experience in direct nursing clinical care. Much of her current research focuses on public health and the health care delivery system.
Dr. Torgrimson-Ojerio directs CHR-based vaccine trials, oncology trials, cardiovascular trials, and a variety of other specialty clinical trials. She is a Sub-Investigator on the COVID-19 portfolio of clinical trials at CHR and serves as a site principal investigator and co-investigator on health care delivery system and public health studies, including research on tear gas.
Dr. Torgrimson-Ojerio received her PhD in human physiology from the University of Oregon in 2007. She then pursued postdoctoral research at Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, where her training included clinical trials, nursing research, and RN licensure as a Jonas Scholar in the accelerated nursing program. After working as a nurse in a pediatric ER, she joined CHR in 2015 as a clinical research specialist and nurse case manager. She was appointed Research Clinic Coordinator in 2016, Senior Manager of Clinical Research Support Services in 2019, and Director of the Clinical Research and Trials Unit and Director of the Learning Health System at CHR in 2021.
Dr. Torgrimson-Ojerio is a member of the Kaiser Permanente National Council of Clinical Trials, the CHR Leadership Team, the KPNW Operational Interface Council, the CHR Advisory Biospecimen Committee, the Kaiser Permanente Clinical Trials Finance Optimization Group, Kaiser Permanente Clinical Trials Digital Ecosystem Initiative, and the Kaiser Permanente National Nursing Evidence Based Practice and Research Council.
Selected Current Studies
- Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Registry
- Learning Healthcare System (Kaiser Permanente)
Selected Publications
- Hunter JE, Riddle L, Joseph G, Amendola LM, Gilmore MJ, Zepp JM, Shuster E, Bulkley JE, Muessig KR, Anderson KP, Goddard KAB, Wilfond BS, Leo MC, CHARM study team. Most people share genetic test results with relatives even if the findings are normal: Family communication in a diverse population. Genet Med. 2023 Nov;25(11):100923. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2023.100923. Epub 2023 Jul 5. PMID: 37421176
- Guo B, Knerr S, Kauffman TL, Mittendorf KF, Keast E, Gilmore MJ, Feigelson HS, Lynch FL, Muessig KR, Okuyama S, Zepp JM, Veenstra DL, Hsu L, Phipps AI, Lindström S, Leo MC, Goddard KAB, Wilfond BS, Devine B, CHARM Study team. Risk management actions following genetic testing in the Cancer Health Assessments Reaching Many (CHARM) Study: A prospective cohort study. Cancer Med. 2023; 12: 19112-19125. doi:10.1002/cam4.6485. Epub 2023 Jul 5. PMID: 37644850 PMCID: PMC10557878
- Wexler DJ, de Boer IH, Ghosh A, Younes N, Bebu I, Inzucchi SE, McGill JB, Mudaliar S, Schade D, Steffes MW, Tamborlane WV, Tan MH, Ismail-Beigi F; GRADE Research Group. Comparative Effects of Glucose-Lowering Medications on Kidney Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes: The GRADE Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med.2023;183(7):705–714. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.1487. PMID: 37213109 PMCID: PMC10203973
- Amendola LM, Shuster E, Leo MC, Dorschner MO, Rolf BA, Shirts BH, Gilmore MJ, Okuyama S, Zepp JM, Kauffman TL, Mittendorf KF, Bellcross C, Jenkins CL, Joseph G, Riddle L, Syngal S, Ukaegbu C, Goddard KAB, Wilfond BS, Jarvik GP; CHARM Study. Laboratory-related outcomes from integrating an accessible delivery model for hereditary cancer risk assessment and genetic testing in populations with barriers to access. Genet Med. 2022 Jun;24(6):1196-1205. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2022.02.006. Epub 2022 Mar 16. PMID: 35305866
- Winters-Stone KM, Torgrimson-Ojerio B, Dieckmann NF, Stoyles S, Mitri Z, Luoh SW. A randomized-controlled trial comparing supervised aerobic training to resistance training followed by unsupervised exercise on physical functioning in older breast cancer survivors. J Geriatr Oncol. 2022 Mar;13(2):152-160. doi: 10.1016/j.jgo.2021.08.003. Epub 2021 Aug 21. PMID: 34426142 PMCID: PMC9003120
- Torgrimson-Ojerio BN, Mularski KS, Peyton MR, Keast EM, Hassan A, Ivlev I. Health issues and healthcare utilization among adults who reported exposure to tear gas during 2020 Portland (OR) protests: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health. 2021 Apr 26;21(1):803. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10859-w. PMID: 33902512 PMCID: PMC8074355
- Osuji TA, Macias M, McMullen C, Haupt E, Mittman B, Mularski RA, Wang SE, Werch H, Nguyen HQ. Clinician Perspectives on Implementing Video Visits in Home-Based Palliative Care. Palliat Med Rep. 2020 Oct 6;1(1):221-226. doi: 10.1089/pmr.2020.0074. eCollection 2020. PMID: 34223480 PMCID: PMC8241367
- Torgrimson-Ojerio B, Ross RL, Dieckmann NF, Avery S, Bennett RM, Jones KD, Guarino AJ, Wood LJ. Preliminary evidence of a blunted anti-inflammatory response to exhaustive exercise in fibromyalgia. J Neuroimmunol. 2014 Dec 15;277(1-2):160-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2014.10.003. Epub 2014 Oct 18. PMID: 25457842 PMCID: PMC4314393
- Torgrimson BN, Meendering JR, Kaplan PF, Minson CT. Depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate and endothelial function before and after acute oral, vaginal, and transdermal estradiol treatment. 2011 Apr;57(4):819-24. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.110.163386. Epub 2011 Feb 28. PMID: 21357271 PMCID: PMC3065375
- Torgrimson BN, Meendering JR, Kaplan PF, Minson CT. Endothelial function across an oral contraceptive cycle in women using levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2007 Jun;292(6):H2874-80. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00762.2006. Epub 2007 Feb 2. PMID: 17277029
- Torgrimson BN, Meendering JR, Miller NP, Kaplan PF, Minson CT. Endothelial function, endothelin-1, and fibrinogen in young women using the vaginal contraceptive ring. Fertil Steril. 2009 Aug;92(2):441-7. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.06.054. Epub 2008 Aug 15. PMID: 18706555 PMCID: PMC3012003