ResearchOur PeopleMark A. Schmidt

Mark A. Schmidt, PhD, MPH

Mark Schmidt, PhD, MPH, is an infectious disease epidemiologist with interdisciplinary training in molecular epidemiology and complex systems.

Dr. Schmidt’s primary research portfolio currently includes studies of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness, chronic hepatitis B and C viral infection, extraintestinal E. coli disease, and C. difficile occurrence and quality of life. He is also the site principal investigator of the Connect for Cancer Prevention Study, which aims to recruit a cohort of 200,000 adults in the United States to further investigate the etiology of cancer and its outcomes. Outside of these research studies, Dr. Schmidt participates in Kaiser Permanente (national) and Kaiser Permanente Northwest (regional) COVID-19 surveillance and forecasting teams to provide epidemiological assessments on the state of the pandemic to health care operations leaders.

Dr. Schmidt is also passionate about working to improve health outcomes in — and reduce the significant health disparities faced by — sexual and gender minority populations. He has studied sexually transmitted infection testing among individuals beginning HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, assessed barriers to knowledge of family history for cancer among LGBTQ+ individuals, and used electronic health record data to identify health disparities faced by transgender individuals. Within this realm, Dr. Schmidt participates in operational efforts to understand and improve the collection and quality of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data within research studies and in clinical settings.

Dr. Schmidt has worked at CHR since 2009. Prior to this, he worked for 10 years for the Oregon and Michigan state health departments, focusing on HIV/AIDS and communicable disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, bioterrorism preparedness, and pandemic influenza planning. He received his BS in biochemistry, MPH in hospital and molecular epidemiology, and PhD in epidemiologic science from the University of Michigan.

Selected Publications

  • Lewnard JA, Liu VX, Jackson ML, Schmidt MA, Jewell BL, Flores JP, Jentz C, Northrup GR, Mahmud A, Reingold AL, Petersen M, Jewell NP, Young S, Bellows J. Incidence, clinical outcomes, and transmission dynamics of severe coronavirus disease 2019 in California and Washington: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2020 May 22; 369:m1923. Doi: 10.1136/bml.m1923
  • Burke RM, Mattison CP, Marsh Z, Shioda K, Donald J, Salas SB, Naleway AL, Biggs C, Schmidt MA*, Hall AJ*. Norovirus and Other Viral Causes of Medically Attended Acute Gastroenteritis Across the Age Spectrum: Results from the Medically Attended Acute Gastroenteritis Study in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Aug 16; 73(4):e913-e920. Doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab033. *Co-Lead Authors
  • Schmidt MA, Groom HC, Naleway AL, Biggs C, Salas SB, Shioda K, Marsh Z, Donald JL, Hall AJ. A model for rapid, active surveillance for medically-attended acute gastroenteritis within an integrated health care delivery system. PLOS One. 2018 Aug 3; 13(8) e0201805. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201805.
  • Burke RM, Groom HC, Naleway AL, Katz EM, Salas B, Mattison CP, Tsaknaridis L, Biggs C, Bowen MD, Tate JE, Parashar UD, Schmidt M, Hall AJ. Rotavirus Vaccine is Effective Against Rotavirus Gastroenteritis Resulting in Outpatient Care: Results from the Medically Attended Acute Gastroenteritis (MAAGE) Study. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Jun 1; 72(11):2000-2005. Doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa466.
  • Zhou Y, Li J, Gordon SC, Trudeau S, Rupp LB, Boscarino JA, Daida YG, Schmidt MA, Lu M. Laboratory monitoring and antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis B among routine care patients in the United States. J Viral Hepat. 2021 Dec 14. Doi: 10.1111/jvh.13639. PMID: 34905259.
  • Rolf BA, Schneider JL, Amendola LM, Davis JV, Mittendorf KF, Schmidt MA, Jarvik GP, Wilfond BS, Goddard KAB, Hunter JE. Barriers to family history knowledge and family communication among LGBTQ+ individuals in the context of hereditary cancer risk assessment. J Genet Couns. 2022 Feb; 31(1): 230-241. Doi: 10.1002/jgc4.1476.
  • Mayer KH, Loo S, Crawford PM, Crane HM, Leo M, DenOuden P, Houlberg M, Schmidt M, Quach T, Ruhs S, Vandermeer M, Grasso C, McBunie MA. Excess Clinical Comorbidity Among HIV-Infected Patients Accessing Primary Care in US Community Health Centers. Public Health Rep. Jan/Feb 2018; 133(1): 109-118. Doi: 10.1177/0033354917748670.
  • Schmidt MA, Kurosky SK, Mullooly JP, Chun C, Weinmann S. A Ten Year Case-Control Study of Passive Smoke Exposure as a Risk Factor for Pertussis in Children. Perm J. 2015; 19: 59-63.
  • Schmidt MA, Gold R, Kurosky SK, Daley MF, Irving SA, Gee J, Naleway AL. Uptake, coverage, and completion of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine in the vaccine safety Datalink, July 2006–June 2011. J Adolesc Health. 2013 Nov 1;53(5):637-41.

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