Statistics Review Committee

The goal of the Statistics Review Committee (SRC) is to advance understanding and dissemination of statistical methods and testing in the public health field and to help practitioners use this statistical knowledge in decreasing chronic disease and improving health across the life span. PCD’s SRC members are volunteers with training and expertise in statistics and biostatistics who assist the journal with assessing peer-reviewed articles to determine the appropriateness of the research and evaluation questions; selection of the study sample; statistical tests used; and analysis of data based on research design, distribution of data, and type of variable under examination.

Lawrence Barker, PhD

Senior Advisor
Office of the Associate Director for Science
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Dr Barker has been with CDC since 1998. Dr Barker won CDC’s Statistical Science Award in 2010 and was a runner-up in 2012, 2010, 2005, and 2004. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles. Dr Barker received his doctoral and master’s degrees in statistics from Florida State University.

Appointment Term: 2019–2022

Laurie K. Barker, MPH

Health Statistician
Division of Viral Hepatitis
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Laurie Barker is a health statistician on the surveillance team in the Division of Viral Hepatitis, NCHHSTP. Trained in biostatistics, she has served as a mathematical statistician in the Division of Oral Health in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, in the Emergency Operations Center during the H1N1 influenza outbreak, and as chair of CDC’s Statistical Advisory Group during 2018–2019. She received her master’s degree in biostatistics from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

Appointment Term: 2019–2022

Vinay Cheruvu, PhD

Associate Professor of Biostatistics
Division of Biostatistics, Environmental Health Sciences, and Epidemiology
College of Public Health
Kent State University
Kent, Ohio

Dr Cheruvu has more than 10 years of experience working with researchers in the fields of medicine and public health. His expertise is in longitudinal data analysis, survival analysis, clinical trials, and mediation analysis. Dr Cheruvu received his doctoral degree in biostatistics from Case Western Reserve University and his master’s degree in statistics from Oklahoma State University.

Appointment Term: 2019–2022

B. Rey de Castro, ScD

Mathematical Statistician
Quantitative Sciences & Data Management Branch
Division of Tuberculosis Elimination
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, & TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Dr de Castro is a mathematical statistician examining the efficacy of tuberculosis testing and clinical treatment. His broad expertise encompasses HIV/AIDS treatment, environmental epidemiology, and human exposure to environmental pollutants. Dr de Castro also serves on CDC’s Statistical Advisory Group and is the founder and chair of the newly reincarnated CDC SAS Users Group. During November 2014–January 2015, Dr de Castro was deployed to Sierra Leone as part of CDC’s West Africa Ebola Response. Dr de Castro holds a Doctor of Science degree in Environmental Health.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Robert B. Gerzoff, MS

President, Applied Statistical Consulting, LLC
Atlanta, Georgia

Robert Gerzoff is an accredited professional statistician of the American Statistical Association with over 30 years of applied analytic and consulting experience, both domestic and international, in health services research, public health, and environmental science. He has co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. He earned his master’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia.

Appointment Term: 2019–2022

Jenine K. Harris, PhD

Associate Professor
George Warren Brown School of Social Work
Washington University in St Louis
St Louis, Missouri

Dr Harris teaches biostatistics in the public health program at Washington University in St Louis. Her research interests focus on improving the quality of research in public health by using reproducible research practices throughout the research process. She received her doctoral degree in public health studies with a concentration in biostatistics from the Saint Louis University School of Public Health.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Tao He, PhD

Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California

Dr He is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics at San Francisco State University. Her research interests include statistical genetics/genomics and bioinformatics. She also serves as vice president of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American Statistical Association. She earned her doctoral degree in statistics along with a dual doctoral degree in quantitative biology from Michigan State University.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Yi-An Ko, PhD

Assistant Research Professor
Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
Rollins School of Public Health
Lead Biostatistician
Division of Cardiology
School of Medicine
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia

Dr Ko is an assistant research professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. She is also the lead statistician of the Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute, supporting the development and application of statistical methods in biomedical and cardiology research. She holds a doctoral degree in biostatistics from the University of Michigan.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Rui Li, PhD, MM, BM

Senior/Lead Economist
Office of the Director
Division of Reproductive Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Dr Li is a lead economist in the Division of Reproductive Health at CDC. Her areas of expertise are in evaluating the effectiveness of health policies, laws, and regulations using quasi-experimental designs; conducting economic evaluations to determine the value of investing in selected interventions; and conducting systematic reviews of the economic impact (cost-effectiveness) of public health interventions. She holds a doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health.

Appointment Term: 2019–2022

Shelley H. Liu, PhD

Assistant Professor
Department of Population Health Sciences and Policy
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, New York

Dr Liu is an assistant professor in the Department of Population Health Science and Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her research interests include neurodevelopment issues in children and environmental health. She received her doctoral degree in biostatistics from Harvard University.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Lazarous Mbulo, PhD

Health Scientist
Office on Smoking and Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Dr Mbulo is a health scientist in the Office on Smoking and Health in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at CDC. He provides technical assistance to countries implementing the Global Adult Tobacco Survey. He holds a doctoral degree in health education and a master’s degree in survey research and methodology from the University of Nebraska.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Michael J. Monsour, PhD

Women’s Health and Fertility Branch
Division of Reproductive Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Dr Monsour is mathematical statistician in the Division of Reproductive Health at CDC, leading the analytic methods team that provides statistical, programming, and data management support for women’s health and fertility studies. He has also provided statistical support for studies of HIV/AIDS, oral health, and several national health care surveys, and has extensive experience with statistical software packages. He holds a doctoral degree in mathematical statistics from the University of Maryland.

Appointment Term: 2019-2022

Brian H. Nathanson, PhD

Chief Executive Officer
OptiStatim, LLC
Longmeadow, Massachusetts

Dr Nathanson is the cofounder and chief executive officer of OptiStatim, LLC. He has expertise in mathematical modeling and data analysis in health care. He holds a doctorate in industrial engineering and operations research from the University of Massachusetts.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

James S. Parrott, PhD

Director
Methodology and Statistics Support Team
School of Health Professions
Rutgers University
Piscataway, New Jersey

Dr Parrott has over 25 years of experience working as a methodological and statistical consultant in various settings, including academic, health care, international law, public health, and medicine. For the past 6 years, he has served as a professor at Rutgers University in the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the School of Health Professions and the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health. He holds a doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Chicago.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

LaTonia Richardson, PhD, MS

Statistician
Analytics Team
Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch
Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Dr Richardson is a statistician with over 10 years of experience in managing federal data systems. Her expertise includes statistical programming, data visualization, data quality evaluation, and probabilistic record linkage. She holds a doctoral degree in epidemiology from Walden University and a master’s degree in biostatistics from Georgia State University. Dr Richardson is a member of CDC’s Statistical Advisory Group (SAG), recently serving as the 2016–2018 National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases SAG representative and currently serving as SAG’s liaison for the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Daniel Sarpong, PhD

Director, Center for Minority Health Disparities Research and Education
Endowed Chair of Health Disparities
Professor of Biostatistics
College of Pharmacy
Xavier University
New Orleans, Louisiana

Dr Sarpong is the director of the Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education, Endowed Chair of Health Disparities, and professor of biostatistics in the College of Pharmacy at Xavier University of Louisiana. His programmatic focus has been in the use of data from large epidemiologic studies and intervention trials. He received his doctoral degree in biometry from Louisiana State University Medical Center.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Kate M. Shaw, PhD

Health Scientist
Office of the Associate Director for Science
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Dr Shaw currently serves as a health scientist in the office of the Associate Director for Science in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at CDC. She is responsible for providing scientific and public health practice review of manuscripts, presentations, and data products. She has worked in infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and injury prevention. She holds a doctoral degree in epidemiology from Georgia State University.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Ruben A. Smith, PhD, MS

Senior Statistician
Women’s Health and Fertility Branch
Division of Reproductive Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Dr Smith is a senior statistician in the Division of Reproductive Health at CDC with more than 20 years of research and consulting experience. His current work focuses on the application, adaptation, and development of statistical methods for maternal and child health studies. Dr Smith holds a doctoral degree in statistics from Oregon State University.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Tyler C. Smith, PhD

Chair and Professor
Department of Community Health
School of Health and Human Services
National University
San Diego, California

Dr Smith is a statistical epidemiologist and professor in the Department of Community Health at National University. He conducts longitudinal studies and research focusing on military and veteran health. He has authored nearly 150 peer-reviewed journal publications and 300 presentations. He holds a master’s degree in statistics from the University of Kentucky and a doctoral degree in epidemiology from the University of California.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Machell Town, PhD

Branch Chief
Population Health Surveillance Branch
Division of Population Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Dr Town serves as the branch chief for the Population Health Surveillance Branch in the Division of Population Health in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at CDC. She has expertise in oversampling of special populations and local communities for the administration of CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys. She holds a master’s degree in statistics from the University of Georgia and a doctoral degree in epidemiology from Walden University.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Vonn Walter, PhD

Assistant Professor
Department of Public Health Sciences
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
College of Medicine
Pennsylvania State University
Hershey, Pennsylvania

Dr Walter is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences in the College of Medicine and codirector of the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core in the Penn State Cancer Institute. He uses bioinformatics and statistical tools to analyze genomic, clinical, and laboratory data for biomedical researchers. He earned a doctoral degree in biostatistics from the University of North Carolina.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023

Ming Wang, PhD

Associate Professor
Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
Department of Public Health Sciences
College of Medicine
Pennsylvania State University
Hershey, Pennsylvania

Dr Wang is an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences in the College of Medicine at Pennsylvania State University. Before joining Penn State in 2013, she received a doctorate in biostatistics from Emory University with expertise in longitudinal data analysis, survival analysis, spatial statistics, and other areas related to biomedical and human health research.

Appointment Term: 2019–2023