Mr Tao Chen

Biography

Tao Chen is a Senior Lecturer in Biostatistics at the Global Health Trials Unit at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM).

He gained his first degree in Medicine in 2006, an MSc in 2009, and completed a PhD in 2012 in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the Peking Union Medical College and Tsinghua University.

Tao has worked extensively in clinical trials for more than 15 years across industry and academic initiatives, and a wide range of medical specialties including cardiovascular disease, cancer, surgery, HIV, malaria, and diabetes.

Prior to his role at LSTM, Tao worked at the University of Liverpool and the University of York as a Research Fellow in Health Economics, primarily on trial-based and model-based health economics evaluation. His insights stemmed from understanding how health economics plays a crucial role throughout the life cycle of clinical trials.

Tao has a strong commitment and background in peer review activities. He conducts regular statistical reviews for journals and is an editor board member at BMC Medicine and Aging Medicine. He is also on the data and safety monitoring committees of several national and international trials and the LSTM Research Ethnics Committee.

Research interests

Tao’s research focuses on three main areas. Statistical – including health economic – issues in design, analysis, and reporting in clinical trials for medical and public health problems. Synthesising existing evidence using IPD or study-level trial data to inform policy and practice decisions. Mathematical modelling to project future impact of interventions on clinical outcome, equity, and health cost.

Tao has published more than 100 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Global Health, Lancet Infectious Diseases, and JAMA Internal Medicine.

Teaching

Tao primarily teaches quantitative methods as applied in clinical and public health research. He enjoys supervising PhD students who want to pursue doctoral research in his areas of expertise.

Selected research publications

Hierarchical ventilator-free days with win method in acute respiratory distress syndrome treatment – Journal: Thorax – Published: 18th March 2026

Frailty Index Offers Greater Discrimination Than Age for Optimal Blood Pressure Targets A Pooled Analysis of Two Randomized Trials – Journal: Hypertension – Published: 6th March 2026

Prevalence of preserved ratio impaired spirometry: A systematic review and meta-analysis – Journal: Pulmonology – Published: 3rd March 2026

Cluster minimal sufficient balance (CMSB) an efficient covariate balancing randomization method for cluster randomized trials – Journal: BMC Medical Research Methodology – Published: 2nd January 2026

Effectiveness and safety of Bufei granules in treatment of preserved ratio impaired spirometry Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial – Journal: European Journal of Integrative Medicine – Published: 1st January 2026

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