Eric Larson

Biographical Information

Eric H. Larson, PhD, is the Director of the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center and a Research Associate Professor at MEDEX Northwest, the Physician Assistant training program located in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington. His research interests include perinatal outcomes in rural populations, access to care for rural residents, the role of PAs and NPs in primary care, and research methods in rural health services research. Eric grew up in Minneapolis and earned an undergraduate degree in geography at the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in medical geography at the University of Calgary in Alberta. In 1988, after some time off from grad school, much of it spent traveling in Asia, he entered the doctoral program in medical geography at the University of Washington. He joined the WWAMI RHRC as a graduate research assistant and later worked for the Center as a full-time research scientist. In 1998 he became the Deputy Director of the Center. After 17 years with the WWAMI RHRC, he joined MEDEX Northwest in 2006, dividing his time between physician assistant research and teaching in the MEDEX master’s program. Eric rejoined the RHRC on a part-time basis in 2012, this time as the Director of the Center. He is delighted to be part of the Department of Family Medicine, the WWAMI RHRC, and MEDEX Northwest, organizations that are all dedicated to improving health care access and outcomes—especially for rural and underserved populations.