I am an NSERC Tier II Canada Research Chair in Causal Methods for Health Research and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, with a cross-appointment in the Division of Biostatistics at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
My research program focuses on advancing the application of Bayesian methods in the design and analysis of longitudinal observational studies and real-world clinical trials. This is achieved through the development of novel methodologies, innovative application of statistical techniques, and close collaboration with clinical and public health research scientists. My methodological interests include causal inference, applied Bayesian statistics, longitudinal data analysis, measurement errors and bias analysis, as well as semi-parametric and parametric joint modelling.
Methodological research themes
- Bayesian causal inference methods and software tools for complex observational data.
- Statistical approaches and frameworks to address violations of causal assumptions.
- Bayesian methods for the design and analysis of clinical trials.
Clinical and public health applications
Environmental Health and Healthy cognitive aging and dementia prevention
- Quantifying the causal relationship between modifiable risk factors and cognitive decline in the aging population
- Investigating population heterogeneity in cognitive decline
- Spatial environmental exposure modelling and mapping using machine learning
- Quantifying the causal effects of single and combined environmental hazards on health outcomes among older adults.
Comparative effectiveness research in critical care and pediatric medicine
- Heterogeneous treatment effects
- Target trial emulation
- Application of Bayesian methods
- Clinical phenotyping
Kali Barrett
PhD Graduate Student
Thesis: Quantifying the Burden of Disease of Hospitalizations for Community-Acquired COVID-19 on the Ontario Healthcare System: Mortality, Hospital Resource Utilization, and Health System Costs
Supervisors: Beate Sander, Damon C. Scales, Kuan Liu
Jin Tong (Jenny) Du
PhD Graduate Student
Thesis: Health Economic Evaluation of Surgical Non-Response in Osteoarthritis: Burden, Prediction, and Resource Allocation
Supervisors: Beate Sander, Raja Rampersaud, Kuan Liu