Selected Publications

Recent research on the US opioid epidemic has focused on the white or total population and has largely been limited to data after 1999. However, understanding racial differences in long-term trends by opioid type may contribute to improving interventions. We analyzed age-standardized opioid mortality rates, by race and opioid type, for the US resident population from 1979 to 2015.
Epidemiology
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We present a model for estimating neonatal mortality rates for all countries. Neonatal mortality is an important indicator to track progess towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The model is used by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.
Demographic Research
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We present a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate age-specific mortality at the subnational level. The model framework overcomes issues with estimating mortality in small populations, is flexible enough to be implemented in a wide variety of situations, and produces estimates of different measures of inequality across regions.
Demography
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Recent Publications

More Publications

  • Trends in pregnancy-associated mortality involving opioids in the United States, 2007–2016

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  • Trends in Black and White Opioid Mortality in the United States, 1979–2015

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  • Deaths without denominators: using a matched dataset to study mortality patterns in the United States

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Teaching

University of Toronto

University of California, Berkeley

  • Instructor, Formal Demography Workshop, June 2017
  • Instructor, Formal Demography Workshop, August 2015
  • Graduate Student Instructor, Demographic Methods, Fall Semester, 2014

University of Tasmania

  • Tutor, Calculus and Applications I, Semester 1, 2009
  • Tutor, Data Handling and Statistics I, Semester 2, 2008
  • Demonstrator, Chemistry I, Semester 1, 2008

Other

Recent Posts

More Posts

Introduction This post looks at how variation in lifespan has evolved over time for different states in the US, and how this measure complements trends in life expectancy. I was inspired to write this after hearing a great talk by Alyson van Raalte last week at MPIDR and reading her latest paper on the topic. One of the most common aggregate measure of mortality we tend to look at is life expectancy.

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Introduction This is a tutorial on estimating age-specific mortality rates at the subnational level, using a model similar to that described in our Demography paper. There are four main steps, which will be described below: Prepare data and get it in the right format Choose and create a mortality standard Fit the model Analyze results from the model A few notes on this particular example: I’ll be fitting the model to county-level mortality rates in California over the years 1999 to 2016.

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Professional Experience

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Graduate Student Researcher, January 2017 – June 2018

World Health Organization

Consultant, September 2016 – June 2017

Data Science for Social Good

Fellow, May 2016 – September 2016

Human Mortality Database

Graduate Student Researcher, January 2015 – May 2016

UNICEF Technical Advisory Group

Consultant, March 2014 – December 2015

The Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research

Research Officer, April 2012 – December 2014

Reserve Bank of Australia

Analyst/Senior Analyst, February 2010 – June 2013

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