I am an Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Duke University and a Faculty Statistician at Duke Clinical Research Institute.
I obtained my Master’s in Biostatistics in 2007 and my Ph.D. in Biostatistics in 2012 from at Harvard University. For my Ph.D. thesis, I worked under the tutelage of Professor Rebecca Betensky (now Chair of the Department of Biostatistics at NYU) and Professor Tianxi Cai, on worst-rank methods for prioritized outcomes and on methods for precision medicine.
In 2012, I joined the Harvard Program on Causal Inference led by Professor James Robins for a 2-year postdoctoral training in Causal Inference Methods. Quantitative Sciences Unit in the Department of Medicine at Stanford University. I worked on different aspects of instrumental variable methods under the primary mentorship of Professor Eric Tchetgen Tchetgen (now in the Statistics Department at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania). As a graduate student and later as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, I also worked as a collaborative biostatistician on a wide range of clinical and social science projects.
I joined the faculty of Duke University in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics and Duke Clinical Research Institute in 2014. I am one of the founding members of the DCRI Program for Comparative Effectiveness Methodology and a member of the Duke REACH Equity Center‘s Measures, Methods, and Analysis Subcore. I am also lead the analytic team for the Consortium for the Holistic Assessment of Risk in Transplant (CHART).
My statistical methodological research focuses on nonparametric and semiparametric methods, causal inference methods for comparative effectiveness studies, clinical trials affected by non-compliance, not-so-perfect experiments, and observational studies. My goal is to develop statistical methods that make the best use of the data collected to answer scientific questions while applying principled methods to minimize bias and ensure fair assessments. The areas of application of my research include public health, biomedical, and social sciences.
As a DCRI faculty statistician, I collaborate with clinical researchers to better understand and treat cardiovascular diseases. I am actively involved in the analyses of large registry data including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) National Database, the STS and American College of Cardiology (ACC) Transcatheter Valve Therapy (TVTR) Registry, and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines (GTWG). I am also a member of the Duke Center REACH Equity Measures, Methods, and Analysis Subcore where I oversee the conduct of rigorous, reproducible, synergistic research related to the Center’s theme. In that role, I advise clinical investigators and provide analytic and data management support for research projects conducted by the Center. Finally, I lead the analytic team for the Consortium for the Holistic Assessment of Risk in Transplant (CHART). Our mission is to impart foundational change throughout the entire transplant selection process, by assessing how we collect, organize, and use data to determine patient eligibility for transplant. This multi-center and multi-dimensional health system data will identify and characterize center and system level drivers of inequities in access to transplant (across multiple domains), in order to effectively design interventions that improve equity in access to transplant.
Statistical Editor and Reviewer
I am the Statistical Editor of the Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions (American Heart Association) and of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (JID) Innovations (Society of Investigative Dermatology).
I am also a statistical reviewer of a number of journals including Statistics in Medicine; Journal of the American Statistical Association; American Journal of Epidemiology; Biostatistics; Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases; Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics; Biometrical Journal; BMC Neurology; BMC Health Services Research; BMC Medical Research Methodology; BMJ Open; BMJ Global; Cardiology Research and Practice; Intensive Care Medicine; Science of Total Environment; American Heart Journal; Biometrical Journal; Science of the Total Environment; Intensive Care Medicine; Frontiers; Nature—Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases; Journal of Cardiac Failure; Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes; Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods; Journal of Clinical Medicine; Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation; ICSA Book Series in Statistics.
Education
M.S. in Biostatistics, Harvard University, 2007
Ph.D. in Biostatistics, Harvard University, 2012
Postdoctoral Training in Causal Inference, Harvard University, 2012-2014
Curriculum Vitae
Miscellaneous
I was born and raised in the Republic of Congo where I did my undergraduate studies. I am an active member of the Congolese community and take pride in promoting the cultures of the two Congos.
