Skip to main content

Scott
L.
Zeger
,
PhD

John C. Malone Professor
Professor

Scott L. Zeger, PhD, MS, co-directs the Hopkins inHealth program, a Universitywide collaboration to use medical data more intelligently to improve health outcomes and lower costs.

Contact Info

Research Interests

biostatistics; environmental statistics; epidemiologic statistics; Bayesian statistics; hierarchical models; longitudinal data analysis; regression analysis; time series analysis; international health

Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Princeton University
1982
MS
Drexel University
1978
BA
University of Pennsylvania
1974
Overview

My methodologic research is to develop statistical models and machine learning algorithms that support scientific learning about human health. My earlier work was on regression models for correlated responses that arise when observations come in clusters, for example in longitudinal research, sample surveys, or when data are observed over time or space. We have extended generalized linear models (logistic, linear, log-linear and survival models) to be applicable in these cases. More recently, my work has been on machine learning algorithms and Bayesian hierachical models for "individualized health", that is to use population data to improve decisions about an individual's health state, trajectory or likely benefits and costs of competing interventions. We have applied our novel methods to estimate the etiology of children's pneumonia, trajectory of mental disorders and autoimmune diseases,  and to predict whether a man's prostate cancer is indolent or aggressive.

Honors & Awards

John C. Malone Professor of Biostatistics and Medicine
Karl Pearson Award (with Kung-Yee Liang) from the International Statistical Institute, 2015
Honorary Doctoral Degree, University of Lancaster (School of Medicine), 2015
Samuel S. Wilks Award. American Statistical Association, 2008
Marvin Zelen Leadership Award in Statistical Science, 2007
Bradford Hill Medal, Royal Statistical Society, 2007
Member, National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, 2006
Golden Apple Award, 2006, 2002, 1988
Ernest Lyman Stebbins Medal,1996
Spiegelman Award, 1991
Snedecor Award from American Statistical Association (with Kung-Yee Liang, 1986-1987

Select Publications

Selected publications

  • Books/Monographs: Diggle PJ, Heagerty P, Liang KY, and Zeger SL. The Analysis of Longitudinal Data. Oxford, England: 2nd edition.  Oxford University Press, 2002.

  • Liang K-Y, Zeger SL:  Longitudinal data analysis using generalized linear models.  Biometrika 73(1):13-22, 1986.

  • Zeger SL, Wyant T, Miller LS, Samet J: Statistical testimony on damages in Minnesota v. Tobacco Industry. In: Statistical Science in the Courtroom. Gastwirth J, editor. New York: Springer-Verlag, 2000.

  • Fiksel, J., Datta, A., Amouzou, A. and Zeger, S., 2021. Generalized bayes quantification learning under dataset shift. Journal of the American Statistical Association, pp.1-19

  •  Xu Y, Kim J, Hummers LK, Shah AA, Zeger S. Causal inference using multivariate generalized linear                 mixed-effects models with longitudinal data. to appear in Biometrics.

Projects
Pneumonia Etiology Research for Children's Health (PERCH)
National Evaluation Program
Johns Hopkins Individualized Health Initiative (Hopkins inHealth)
Bayesian Hierarchical Models for Individualized Health
Cookstore Replacement for Prevention of ARI and Low Birthweight in Nepal
Nepal Cookstove Replacement Trial
Developing Bayesian analytical approaches to estimation of pneumonia etiology
Countrywide Mortality Surveillance for Action COMSA
Prioritization of modifiable risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes and neonatal mortality in rural Nepal
Johns Hopkins Rheumatic Diseases Resource-based Core Center
PERCH: etiology of pneumonia in 7 African and Asian countries
COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness: global review
Global Impact of PCV on invasive pneumococcal disease in all ages (PSERENADE)