Before my doctoral research, I designed and analyzed clinical trials and epidemiological studies, principally in ophthalmology. As first author, I published a latent profile analysis of tear cytokines and dry eye severity from the Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) Study in Scientific Reports, and I contributed to that study’s longitudinal analyses of tear biomarkers, clinical signs, symptoms, and quality of life. For the Primary Open-Angle African American Glaucoma Genetics (POAAGG) Study, I analyzed structural and functional progression and related ocular phenotypes. I also contributed to studies published in JAMA Ophthalmology and The Lancet Global Health, including endophthalmitis after intraocular procedures and the FLAME trial of surgery for trachomatous trichiasis. This work addressed treatment effectiveness, disease progression, and patient outcomes in clinical and real-world data, using longitudinal analysis, survival analysis, generalized estimating equations, and mixed-effects models.
Related Research
FLuorometholone as Adjunctive Medical Therapy for TT Surgery (FLAME) Trial
FLAME is a phase 3, double-masked, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of fluorometholone as an adjunctive treatment for trachomatous trichiasis in patients undergoing lid rotation surgery.
I contributed to the statistical analysis and data quality activities of the trial, working with clinical and data management teams. My work included analysis of baseline and longitudinal follow-up data using general linear models, generalized estimating equations (GEE), and survival analysis.
Methods: General linear models · GEE · Survival analysis · SAS
Related Public Issue:
J. H. Kempen, A. Abashawl, A. A. Mohammed, S. Dodson, W. Alemayehu, F. Jin, A. Gemechu, A. A. Mengesha, D. A. Kumsa, Y. Chen, et al. “Evaluation of fluorometholone as adjunctive medical therapy for trachomatous trichiasis surgery (FLAME): a parallel, double-blind, randomized controlled field trial in the Jimma Zone, Ethiopia”. In: The Lancet Global Health 14.3 (2026), e395–e406.
J. H. Kempen, Y. Chen, A. Abashawl, A. A. Mohammed, S. Dodson, W. Alemayehu, A. Gemechu, A. A. Mengesha, D. A. Kumsa, T. Succar, et al. “Outcomes of posterior lamellar tarsal rotation vs bilamellar tarsalrotation for trachomatous trichiasis”. In: PLoS neglected tropical diseases 19.7 (2025), e0013152.
Primary Open-Angle African American Glaucoma Genetics (POAAGG) Study
The POAAGG Study investigates the structural and functional progression of primary open-angle glaucoma in an African ancestry cohort and identifies factors associated with disease progression.
My work involved analyzing longitudinal ophthalmic data to characterize disease progression and evaluate factors associated with clinical outcomes.
Methods: Longitudinal data analysis · Mixed-effects models
Related Public Issue:
A. Mamidipaka, A. Shi, R. Lee, Y. Zhu, Y. Chen, I. Di Rosa, R. Salowe, G.-S. Ying, and J. M. O’Brien. “Socioeconomic and environmental factors associated with glaucoma in an African Ancestry Population: findings from the Primary Open-Angle African American Glaucoma Genetics (POAAGG) study”. In: Eye 39.6 (2025), pp. 1086–1092.
R. J. Salowe, Y. Chen, S. Zenebe-Gete, R. Lee, H. V. Gudiseva, I. Di Rosa, A. G. Ross, Q. N. Cui, E. Miller-Ellis, V. Addis, et al. “Risk factors for structural and functional progression of primary open-angle glaucoma in an African ancestry cohort”. In: BMJ Open Ophthalmology 8.1 (2023), e001120.
Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) Study
The DREAM Study is a large randomized clinical trial evaluating treatments for dry eye disease.
I contributed to the statistical analysis of clinical trial data, with experience working with repeated measurements and correlated outcomes.
Methods: Longitudinal analysis · GEE · Mixed-effects models
Related Public Issue:
Y. Chen, K. Mallem, P. A. Asbell, and G.-S. Ying. “A latent profile analysis of tear cytokines and their association with severity of dry eye disease in the Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) study”. In: Scientific Reports 14.1 (2024), p. 526.
C. S. Zhao, Y. Chen, Y. Yu, G.-S. Ying, P. A. Asbell, D. E. Assessment, and M. ( S. Group. “longitudinal analysis of tear cytokine ratios in association with dry eye signs and symptoms in the Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) study”. In: Current eye researCh 50.2 (2025), pp. 124–131.
E. Cheng, K. Han, Y. Chen, P. Asbell, G.-S. Ying, and D. R. Group. “Associations of the severity of dry eye symptoms and signs with quality of life in the Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) study”. In: Vision 9.1 (2025), p. 13.
Retinal Microanatomy in Retinopathy of Prematurity (BabySTEPS2)
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04995341
BabySTEPS2 is an ophthalmic imaging study investigating retinal microanatomy and development in preterm infants using optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Methods: Longitudinal data analysis · Segmented mixed-effects models · Repeated-measures analysis
Related Public Issue:
S. M. Michalak, S. Mangalesh, Y. Chen, L. L. Shen, V. Tai, K. Winter, N. Sarin, G.-s. Ying, C. A. Toth, L. Vajzovic, et al. “Longitudinal choroidal development in preterm infants”. In: Ophthalmology Science 4.1 (2024), p. 100359.
Retail Outlet Health Kiosk Hypertension Trial (ROKHyT)
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03515681
The ROKHyT study was an NIH-NHLBI-funded randomized pilot trial evaluating an interactive text-messaging intervention to improve hypertension control among individuals identified with elevated blood pressure at retail health kiosks.
Methods: Clinical trial analysis · Stratified analysis · Power and sample-size calculation · Interim analysis
Related Public Issue:
S. Shea, J. L. Thompson, J. E. Schwartz, Y. Chen, M. de Ferrante, A. M. Vanderbeek, R. Buchsbaum, C. Vargas, K. M. Siddiqui, A. E. Moran, et al. “The retail outlet health kiosk hypertension trial (ROKHYT): pilot results”. In: American Journal of Hypertension 35.1 (2022), pp. 103–110.
Healthcare Utilization and Clinical Outcomes
I also analyzed large-scale U.S. administrative claims data from the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart. These projects examined healthcare utilization, clinical outcomes, and treatment-related risk factors using large observational healthcare datasets.
Methods: Healthcare utilization analysis · SAS
Related Public Issue:
B. L. VanderBeek, Y. Chen, M. Tomaiuolo, J. D. Deaner, Z. A. Syed, B. Acharya, Q. Zhang, J. S. Schuman, and L. Hyman. “Endophthalmitis rates and types of treatments after intraocular procedures”. In: JAMA ophthalmology 142.9 (2024), pp. 827–834.
A. G. Hamedani, A. Y. Chang, Y. Chen, and B. L. VanderBeek. “Disparities in glaucoma and macular degeneration healthcare utilization among persons living with dementia in the United States”. In: Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology 262.12 (2024), pp. 3947–3955.
