Her work has addressed methodological issues in screening and examined reproduction including relationships between social factors and birthweight, reproductive problems associated with work exposures, and the effects of illicit drug use during pregnancy. Dr. Valanis led a major study on the cessation of prenatal/postnatal maternal smoking and relapse prevention. She also was the Portland Center principal investigator for the CARET study, or Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial, which evaluated beta carotene and selected vitamins in preventing lung cancer and was the principal investigator on the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI).

As director of nursing research, she consults with nurses and nursing administrators when they design research studies. She plans a program of nursing research for the region, including proposing priority areas for research, designing and implementing a strategy for developing nursing research, and identifying needs for supporting the program. In addition, she works with colleges and universities in the community to promote collaborative research endeavors or gain access to subjects for faculty and students whose research areas are particularly interesting to the HMO. An example is the current project she leads evaluating Kaiser Permanente’s 24-hour telephone “Advice Nurse” services to HMO members in selected regions.

Dr. Valanis received her doctoral degree from the Columbia University School of Public Health in 1975. Prior to coming to the CHR in 1986, she was professor of nursing and associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Valanis is currently an adjunct member of the faculty at Oregon Health Sciences University in the School of Nursing and in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine of the School of Medicine.