LAYLA PARAST BARTROFF
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences and a Faculty Scholar in the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining as a faculty member at UT, I was a senior statistician at the RAND Corporation and co-director of RAND's Center for Causal Inference. I received my BS in Math from the University of Texas at Austin, my MS in Statistics from Stanford University, and a PhD in Biostatistics from Harvard University where I worked with Dr. Tianxi Cai.
My research spans statistical methodology, clinical trial optimization, healthcare policy, and applied biomedical studies. I develop robust statistical approaches for evaluating surrogate markers, addressing challenges like censored data and small sample sizes, while leveraging flexible frameworks to enhance robustness. My work in clinical trials focuses on optimizing design and analysis using surrogate markers to accelerate drug evaluation. In healthcare policy, I contribute to quality measurement, developing and validating patient-reported outcomes and improving fairness in provider comparisons. Additionally, I collaborate on biomedical research, applying statistical methods to investigate adolescent substance use and mental health, the role of biomarkers in predicting disease outcomes, and factors associated with asthma and atopic dermatitis prevalence in children, bridging statistical rigor with clinical impact.
