PhD student
Department of Epidemiology, Emory University
Atlanta, GA, United States
My name is Qi, and I am a third year PhD student in the Department of Epidemiology at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, U.S. My primary research interest is the application of novel causal inference methods in pharmacoepidemiology. I am very interested in using real world data for investigating both safety and effectiveness of medications to inform clinical decision making.
After completing my MSPH in epidemiology at Emory University in 2019, I was offered a position of a data analyst in an established clinical research team at the same institution. This position allowed me to gain initial experience in pharmacoepidemiologic research. The specific topic of this research was the effect of gender-affirming hormone therapy on various somatic and mental health indicators of transgender people, based on a large cohort of transmasculine and transfeminine individuals enrolled in integrated health systems in various locations across the United States. This work experience stimulated my interest in pharmacoepidemiology and motivated my decision to pursue a doctoral degree in this field. I was also offered an opportunity to get involved in various short-term consulting projects, which allowed me to gain valuable experience in the analyses of large datasets that included MarketScan Commercial and Medicaid claims.
My MSPH training and the first two years in the PhD program equipped me with a solid foundation in epidemiologic methods, causal inference and statistical modeling. This training triggered my interest in the application of machine learning and data science methods in epidemiology. I am fascinated by the use of these novel methods in causal discovery and causal inference, especially as applied to complex longitudinal and heterogeneous observational data. The overarching goal of my dissertation is to employ machine learning tools and novel causal inference methods to solve methodological problems facing transgender health research.
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Monday, April 24, 2023
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM GMT