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Martinson, Brian C., PhD
Former Senior Research Investigator
About

Academic appointment:  Associate professor of medicine, University of Minnesota

Other offices: Core Investigator at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research from 2013-present

Joined the Institute: 1998

  • Senior Research Investigator – 2006-present
  • Research Investigator – 2000-2006
  • Research Associate – 1998-2000

Education and training: PhD, sociology and demography, University of Wisconsin at Madison; postdoctoral training in cardiovascular behavioral health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Overview/research interests: Since 1996, Brian has conducted health behavior-related research (both interventional and observational), serving on federally funded projects as PI of a large behavioral intervention trial of physical activity maintenance (RO1-AG023410), site PI on studies of stroke epidemiology (RO1-NS39028), the etiology of childhood obesity (RO1-HL085978), work-family balance, diet and physical activity (RO1-HD056360), smoking cession (RO3-CA78183) and as a coinvestigator on multiple other studies.

Since 2001, Brian has led a series of federally funded research projects on research integrity (RO1-NR08090; RO1-NS052885). As co-PI with Dr. Carol Thrush (R21-RR025279), he co-led a study developing and assessing the validity and reliability of a survey instrument to evaluate research integrity climates in academic research organizations. That work resulted in a tool called the Survey of Organizational Climate (SOuRCe). As PI, he recently completed a 3-year project with funding from the VA HSR&D (l01-HX001120), conducting a randomized controlled trial using the SOuRCe to test the efficacy of a reporting and feedback intervention to improve research integrity climates in VA research settings.

In 2009-2010, he served on an invited expert panel on research integrity convened by the Council of Canadian Academies at the request of Industry Canada, leading to the report, Honesty, Accountability and Trust: Fostering Research Integrity in Canada. From 2012 to 2017, Brian served as a member of a U.S. National Academies ad hoc panel chartered by COSEMPUP, which published Fostering Integrity in Research in April 2017.

His research interests and expertise include:

  • Health-related behavior and social determinants of health
  • Research integrity and its relationship to the structural and institutional organization of science
  • Psychosocial issues and bounded rationality in human decision-making as it relates to health and health-related behavior, as well as to research ethics and integrity.
  • Systems science and simulation

Research activities and funding

As a coinvestigator to Bjorn Westgard, Brian recently completed an NHLBI-funded study (RO1-HL118282, PI: Dr. Bjorn Westgard) employing systems science methods (including respondent-driven sampling, social network analysis and agent-based modeling) to study cardiometabolic risks in the Somali Community in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

With funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, he is collaborating with colleagues at the American Geophysical Union and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in extending the SOURCE survey instrument to include assessments of organizational health, sexual harassment and assault and bullying.

With funding from the NIH Common Fund, as one of 11 projects funded by the NIH National Mentoring Research Network, he is collaborating with a team of researchers based at Brandeis University, led by Dr. Linda Pololi, in testing the efficacy of the group-peer-mentoring intervention she has developed for retaining women and under-represented minorities in medical research careers.

As a Co-Investigator with a team at the University of Minnesota, he is collaborating with PI, Dr. Rachel Isaksson-Vogel, conducting a trial to test the efficacy of a wearable device intervention to improve sun-exposure behaviors and reduce sun-burn in melanoma survivors. This work is funded by the American Cancer Society.

Mentoring activities

For the past several years, Brian has served in a somewhat more formal mentoring capacity to Dr. Bjorn Westgard, an emergency medicine physician and medical anthropologist. He is currently serving as a mentor to Dr. Pritika Kumar, a Research Investigator at HealthPartners Institute, to Ifrah Biyoow, a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, and previously served as a mentor to Dr. Farhiya Farah, who completed her doctorate in Environmental Health at the University of Minnesota in 2017.

Publications

Publications While At HealthPartners
selected publications
Journal Article
  • Climate of Accountability, Respect, and Ethics Survey (CARES): development and validation of an organizational climate survey
    Frontiers in research metrics and analytics. 2025
  • A UVR-sensor wearable device intervention to reduce sun exposure in melanoma survivors: results from a randomized controlled trial
    PloS One. 2023
  • Connecting Vietnamese-speaking immigrants who smoke to the Asian Smokers Quitline: a feasibility pilot of proactive outreach interventions
    Nicotine & tobacco research. 2023
  • Factor analysis in distinguishing coronavirus disease 2019 from other influenza-like illness using a validated patient-reported outcome instrument FLU-PRO Plus: a prospective real-world cohort study
    Medical Care. 2023
  • Exploiting interdisciplinary research design for temporally complex big data: discussion of a case-study using on heterogenous bibliographic big data
    Proc Assoc Inf Sci Technol. 2022
  • Systematic surveillance of patient-reported symptoms of viral respiratory tract infectious syndromes in diverse populations
    BMC Health Services Research. 2022
  • Explaining variance in perceived research misbehavior: results from a survey among academic researchers in Amsterdam
    Research integrity and peer review. 2021
  • Prevalence of cardiovascular disease and risk factors among Somali immigrants and refugees
    Journal of immigrant and minority health. 2021
  • Complementary, integrative, and nondrug therapy use for pain among US military veterans on long-term opioids
    Medical Care. 2020
  • The evaluating prescription opioid changes in veterans (EPOCH) study: design, survey response, and baseline characteristics
    PloS One. 2020
  • UVR-sensor wearable device intervention to improve sun behaviors and reduce sunburns in melanoma survivors: study protocol of a parallel-group randomized controlled trial
    Trials. 2020
  • Perceptions of research integrity climate differ between academic ranks and disciplinary fields: results from a survey among academic researchers in Amsterdam
    PloS One. 2019
  • Evidence review-social determinants of health for veterans
    Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2018
  • Mediators of weight loss maintenance in the Keep It Off Trial
    Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2018
  • Main outcomes of an RCT to pilot test reporting and feedback to foster research integrity climates in the VA
    2017
  • Initial results from the Survey of Organizational Research Climates (SOuRCe) in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System
    PloS One. 2016
  • Modeled health and economic impact of team-based care for hypertension
    American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2016
  • Ranking major and minor research misbehaviors: results from a survey among participants of four World Conferences on Research Integrity
    Research integrity and peer review. 2016
  • Pediatric primary care-based obesity prevention for parents of preschool children: a pilot study
    2015
  • Job design and ethnic differences in working women's physical activity
    American Journal of Health Behavior. 2014
  • Public and health professionals' misconceptions about the dynamics of body weight gain/loss
    2014
  • Self-reported activity and accelerometry in 2 behavior-maintenance trials
    American Journal of Health Behavior. 2014
  • Survey of organizational research climates in three research intensive, doctoral granting universities
    Journal of empirical research on human research ethics. 2014
  • Development and validation of the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SORC)
    Science and engineering ethics. 2013
  • Enhancing long-term weight loss maintenance: 2 year results from the Keep It Off randomized controlled trial
    Preventive Medicine. 2013
  • Healthy for life: a randomized trial examining physical activity outcomes and psychosocial mediators
    Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2013
  • Relationships between the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SORC) and self-reported research practices
    Science and engineering ethics. 2013
  • What research should be addressed? or Moving research forward in RCR: do we dare to study ourselves?
    2013
  • A pilot study evaluating a telephone-based exercise intervention for pregnant and postpartum women
    Journal of midwifery & women's health. 2011
  • Examining the relationships between family meal practices, family stressors, and the weight of youth in the family
    Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2011
  • Keep it off: a phone-based intervention for long-term weight-loss maintenance
    Contemporary Clinical Trials. 2011
  • Obesogenic family types identified through latent profile analysis
    Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2011
  • The academic birth rate. Production and reproduction of the research work force, and its effect on innovation and research misconduct
    EMBO reports. 2011
  • The use of telehealth technology in assessing the accuracy of self-reported weight and the impact of a daily immediate-feedback intervention among obese employees
    International journal of telemedicine and applications. 2011
  • Extending the Mertonian norms: scientists' subscription to norms of research
    The Journal of higher education. 2010
  • Maintaining physical activity among older adults: 24-month outcomes of the Keep Active Minnesota randomized controlled trial
    Preventive Medicine. 2010
  • Population reach and recruitment bias in a maintenance RCT in physically active older adults
    Journal of physical activity & health. 2010
  • The importance of organizational justice in ensuring research integrity
    Journal of empirical research on human research ethics. 2010
  • The long and winding road to physical activity maintenance
    American Journal of Health Behavior. 2010
  • Institutions' expectations for researchers' self-funding, federal grant holding, and private industry involvement: manifold drivers of self-interest and researcher behavior
    Academic Medicine. 2009
  • Self-weighing promotes weight loss for obese adults
    American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2009
  • Telephone counseling and home telemonitoring: the Weigh by Day Trial
    American Journal of Health Behavior. 2009
  • A new approach to physical activity maintenance: rationale, design, and baseline data from the Keep Active Minnesota Trial
    BMC Geriatrics. 2008
  • Declining patient functioning and caregiver burden/health: the Minnesota stroke survey--quality of life after stroke study
    The Gerontologist. 2008
  • Maintaining physical activity among older adults: six-month outcomes of the Keep Active Minnesota randomized controlled trial
    Preventive Medicine. 2008
  • Is money really the problem in research? Minneapolis/Saint Paul Business Journal
    2007
  • Normative dissonance in science: results from a national survey of U.S. scientists J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics
    2007
  • The perverse effects of competition on scientists' work and relationships Sci Eng Ethics
    2007
  • Universities and the money fix
    Nature. 2007
  • What do mentoring and training in the responsible conduct of research have to do with scientists' misbehavior? Findings from a National Survey of NIH-funded scientists Acad Med
    2007
  • Scientists' perceptions of organizational justice and self-reported misbehaviors
    Journal of empirical research on human research ethics. 2006
  • Health care charges associated with physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity
    Preventing Chronic Disease. 2005
  • Scientists behaving badly
    Nature. 2005
  • Meeting recommendations for multiple healthy lifestyle factors. Prevalence, clustering, and predictors among adolescent, adult, and senior health plan members
    American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2004
  • The association between work performance and physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and obesity
    Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2004
  • Changes in physical activity and short-term changes in health care charges: a prospective cohort study of older adults
    Preventive Medicine. 2003
  • Smoking cessation attempts in relation to prior health care charges: the effect of antecedent smoking-related symptoms?
    American Journal of Health Promotion. 2003
  • Physical inactivity and short-term all-cause mortality in adults with chronic disease
    Archives of Internal Medicine. 2001
  • Effectiveness of monetary incentives for recruiting adolescents to an intervention trial to reduce smoking
    Preventive Medicine. 2000
  • Editorial Article
  • Overdue: a US advisory board for research integrity [editorial]
    Nature.  566. 2019
  • Expanding the scope of research ethics consultation services in safeguarding research integrity: moving beyond the ethics of human subjects research [editorial]
    The American journal of bioethics.  18. 2018
  • Comment on "Improving research misconduct policies" by Redman & Caplan [editorial]
    EMBO reports.  18. 2017
  • Give researchers a lifetime word limit [editorial]
    Nature.  550. 2017
  • A theoretical comparison of the models of prevention of research misconduct [editorial]
    Accountability in research.  17. 2010
  • Chapter
  • Getting from regulatory compliance to genuine integrity: have we looked upstream?
    Practical guidance on science and engineering ethics education for instructors and administrators: papers and summary from a workshop. 2013
  • Conference Paper
  • Research integrity [expert panel member]
    2010
  • Mentoring and training in responsible conduct of research and misbehavior in science [invited lecture]
    2008
  • Scientists' misbehaviors and their relationship with mentoring [invited speaker]
    2008
  • Addressing scientific misconduct and integrity
    2007
  • From compliance to integrity: a brief overview of findings
    2007
  • Maintaining physical activity among older adults: six months outcomes of the Keep Active Minnesota (KAM) randomized controlled trial
    2007
  • Older adults' mobility at home and in the community: strategies for safety, independence and participation [invited speaker]
    2007
  • Research integrity and the social and psychological environments of science
    2007
  • Scientists may behave badly, but...exploring the role of social and psychological environments on misbehavior in science
    2007
  • Conference Poster
  • Initial results from the Survey of Organizational Research Climates (SOuRCe) in the VA [poster]
    2015
  • Benefits from an innovative approach to acute low back pain treatment in primary care [poster]
    2012
  • Enhancing weight loss maintenance: 2 year results from the Keep It Off trial [poster]
    2012
  • Changes in cognitive function and plasma biomarkers in a pilot trial of a multi-domain intervention to prevent cognitive decline [poster]
    2010
  • Physical activity maintenance [poster]
    2010
  • Prevalence of self-reported and observed misconduct in western countries [poster]
    2010
  • The evaluation of a telephone-based exercise intervention for pregnant and post-partum women: a pilot study [poster]
    2008
  • Report
  • Evidence review: social determinants of health for veterans [internet]
    2017
  • Honesty, accountability and trust: fostering research integrity in Canada
    2010
  • Review
  • The effect of exercise during pregnancy on maternal outcomes: practical implications for practice [review]
    American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2008
  • Policy Briefs
  • Fostering integrity in research
    2017
  • Abstract
  • Changes in physical activity and nutrition in a behavioral intervention pilot study - passport to brain wellness [abstract]
    Clinical Medicine & Research. 2010
  • Comparing characteristics of adults who successfully lost weight using exercise vs. non-exercise focused methods [abstract]
    Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010
  • Does physical activity promote positive body image in recent weight losers [abstract]?
    Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2010
  • Enhancing long-term weight loss maintenance: Keep It Off trial design and baseline data [abstract]
    Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2010
  • Pilot study of sleep disturbance and lung disease in older adults [abstract]
    American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2010
  • The long and winding road to physical activity maintenance: theory-driven mediation analysis in the Keep Active Minnesota (KAM) trial [abstract]
    Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2010
  • Two-year outcomes of a physical activity maintenance RCT in 50 to 70-year-old adults [abstract]
    Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2009
  • presentations
    Presentation
  • A new impact metric for CTSA ethics programs: the survey on responsible research practices [presentation], Feinberg Medical School, University of Chicago
  • Associations between the survey of organizational research climate and self-reported research behavior [presentation], Office of Research Integrity Quest for Research Excellence Conference
  • Bad apples, bad barrels or both: climate surveys in business and academia: ways to measure ethical culture [presentation], Connecting Silos: Sharing Ideas & Best Practices in the Teaching of Professional & Research Ethics, National Center for Professional and Research Ethics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Can research integrity be incentivized [presentation]?, ILAR (Institute for Laboratory Animal Research) Roundtable Workshop, National Academy of Sciences
  • Comparing self-report and objective measurement of physical activity in successful weight losers [presentation], American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting
  • Control over work and time: implications for racial differences in physical activity among working mothers [presentation], American Public Health Association 140th Annual Meeting and Exposition
  • Defining and fostering research integrity climates in organizations [presentation], Research Integrity Symposium - Hospital for Sick Children
  • Development and validation of the survey of organizational research climate [presentation], Office of Research Integrity Quest for Research Excellence Conference
  • Do scientists behave badly [presentation]?, University of Wisconsin's "Integrating Research Ethics and Scholarship"
  • Educating competent, responsible and successful researchers [presentation], World Conference on Research Integrity - jointly sponsored by the European Science Foundation (ESF) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity (ORI)
  • External funding expectations, federal grants and private industry involvement: manifold forms of self-interest and researcher behavior [presentation], ORI (Office of Research Integrity) Research on Research Integrity (RRI) 5th Biennial Conference
  • Getting from regulatory compliance to genuine integrity: have you looked upstream [presentation]?, Practical Guidance on Science and Engineering Ethics Education for Instructors and Administrators
  • Getting from regulatory compliance to genuine integrity: have you looked upstream [presentation]?, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ethics Awareness Week
  • If you want research integrity, work for (organizational) justice [presentation], ORI (Office of Research Integrity) Research on Research Integrity (RRI) 5th Biennial Conference
  • Intensive community engagement to address cardiovascular disease risk factors in the Somali community [presentation], AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting
  • Lessons learned in assessing institutional climate for research and scholarly integrity [presentation], Capstone Conference of the Project for Scholarly Integrity - Council of Graduate Schools
  • Promoting research integrity climates in organizations: from bobbing for bad apples to looking upstream [presentation], Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) Annual Meeting
  • Promoting research integrity climates in organizations: from bobbing for bad apples to looking upstream [presentation], Promoting Research Integrity: A Workshop for Research Faculty and Administrators
  • Propagating use of the survey or organizational research climate: a feasibility analysis informed by the perspectives of CTSA ethics opinion leader [presentation], Office of Research Integrity Quest for Research Excellence Conference
  • Research integrity [presentation], Canadian Society for Chemistry Conference & Exhibition 93rd Science Policy Forum
  • Supplemental sampling frame data as a means of assessing response bias in a hierarchical sample of university faculty [presentation], American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) 63rd Annual Conference
  • Temporal structure of work-family experiences: an ecological examination [presentation], National Council on Family Relations 74th Annual Conference
  • The Passport Study: a multi-domain lifestyle intervention to promote healthy brain aging [presentation], International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) (12th)
  • The contrary research environment: what is RCR (responsible conduct of research) instruction up against [presentation]?, RCR (Responsible Conduct of Research) EIT (Education, Instruction and Training) 1st Biennial Conference
  • Quick Info
    Publications
    Publications in the past 10 years based solely on publications while at HealthPartners. Publications in prior years appear in grey.
    Collaboration