Dr James Willard

Postdoctoral Researcher

MRC Biostatistics Unit

Biography

I am a Research Associate working in the Efficient Study Design theme of the MRC Biostatistics Unit (BSU) at the University of Cambridge. My research involves methodological developments for the design and analysis of Bayesian adaptive clinical trials, with a specific emphasis on early phase dose-finding trials. Before joining the BSU, I completed a PhD at McGill University, where I focused on improving the performance of Bayesian adaptive designs through utilization of covariate information. Prior to this, I worked as a biostatistician at Wake Forest School of Medicine where I was involved in several randomized controlled trials. Previously, I received a bachelor’s (Molecular Genetics) and master’s (Applied Statistics) degree from Ohio State University.

Research

My research primarily focuses on methodological developments for Bayesian experimental design in clinical medicine. Under this setting, I have previously employed Bayesian optimization techniques to determine patient-specific optimal drug dosages. I am now interested in utilizing these methods to help efficiently identify solutions to experimental design problems in other pre/non-clinical settings, e.g., tissue engineering and synthetic biology.