Research Interests of Biostatitstics Faculty

Research Interest:-My research interests and expertise lies in statistical methodological development as well as general statistical applications. The theoretical component of my research include longitudinal modeling and power analysis for hierarchical models, environmental statistics and statistical methods for behavioral studies and have led to publications in Biometrics, Environmetrics and Communications in Statistics, among others. I am a co-author of "Statistical Methods for Groundwater Monitoring, 2nd edition" published by Wiley. My interdisciplinary research include collaboration with psychologists and physicians with publications in American Journal of Psychiatry, Advances in Urology and Journal of Adolscent Psychopharmacology, among others.

Research Interest:-My research interests are in the general areas of statistical genetics, genetic epidemiology, cancer genetics, and clinical trials. I develop statistical methods for mapping disease-causing genes. Diseases such as various cancers, asthma, diabetes, and psychological disorders are caused by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors, and thus simple Mendelian models are inadequate for them. I have developed powerful linkage analysis and genetic association methods and have applied them to identify disease genes/variants for lung cancer, asthma, Alzheimer?s disease, and age-related macular degeneration. Also, I work in the area of genetic risk prediction for breast and ovarian cancers. In particular, I collaborate with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and MD Anderson Cancer Center on a statistical model BRCAPRO, which is widely used in genetic counseling (> 6,000 licensed sites worldwide). BRCAPRO estimates the probabilities that a person carries mutations in breast/ovarian cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 based on family history information of counselee. My research works have been published in high-impact and reputed journals such as the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Biometrics, Genetic Epidemiology, Human Heredity, and Breast Cancer Research and Treatment among others. In addition to my own research described above, I also collaborate with researchers from other fields in providing statistical help.

Research Interest:-My area of expertise is biostatistics. Since 1990 I have been working on theory and methodology in biostatistics and statistical applications to medical, biomedical and public health researches. My methodological research includes survival analysis, sequential analysis, study design for clinical trials, sample size and power calculation and stochastic modeling. My research experience in application has a broad range, such as cancer, HIV, cardiovascular disease, stroke, aging, physiology. I Have good experience in data management, and worked as statistician in data management center for large clinical trials and data center director for a CDC task force. I have been collaborating with clinicians, basic science researchers, and also provide statistical consultation for other researches.

Research Interest:- My research interests include longitudinal data analysis, statistical computing, cancer modeling, survival methodology and clinical trials and health services methodological research. My research work has been funded mostly by the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Science Foundation, the Texas Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control. My joint research papers are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Cancer Causes and Control, British Journal of Urology International, Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, Leukemia and Lymphoma, PLoS One, Theoretical Biology and Medical Modeling,Theoretical Biology and Medical Modeling, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, Environmental Health Perspectives, Mathematical Biosciences, Journal of Statistical Inference and Planning, Environment International, Maternal and Child Health Journal, Communications in Statistics, Health Services Research, Macromolecules, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, among others.

Research Interest:-My area of expertise involves methological research in sequential analysis as well as applied research in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). For the former, my work has concentrated on the development of optimal (Bayesian) sequential plans with applications to clinical trials. For the latter, my work has dealt with health disparities in COPD hospitalizations in Texas. These have resulted in publications in such journals as Sequential Analysis, Advances and Applications in Statistics, Respiratory Medicine, and International Journal of COPD. In addition, my collaborative research has resulted in publications in such journals as International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Molecular Cancer Theraputics, and Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.