DOH welcomes new Chief Science Officer Dr. Tao Kwan-Gett

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is pleased to share Tao Kwan-Gett, MD, MPH, has been hired as the agency’s Chief Science Officer (CSO). 

In his new role, Kwan-Gett will serve as DOH’s primary science expert and a key spokesperson on public health issues.

Currently, Kwan-Gett is a primary care pediatrician at Virginia Mason Sand Point Pediatrics at University Village in Seattle and serves as the faculty lead for the Northwest Public Health Primary Care Leadership Institute.

He grew up in Utah, attended Harvard University for college and medical school, moved to Seattle in 1990 to complete his pediatric residency, and has lived in Washington ever since.

After earning his MPH at the University of Washington (UW), Kwan-Gett practiced pediatrics at Virginia Mason while also serving Seattle refugee and immigrant communities at Harborview Medical Center’s Community House Calls Program. 

He spent several years as a medical epidemiologist at Public Health – Seattle / King County and, in 2013, joined UW’s Department of Health Systems and Population Health as the Director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. In 2017, he returned to primary care pediatrics and developed a special interest and expertise in child behavioral health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD.

Kwan-Gett’s first day with the department is October 1, 2021.