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

Effect of Continuous High-Frequency Oscillation Therapy on Lung Aeration in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Impaired Consciousness: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial – Journal: Chest – Published: 31st March 2026

Electrical impedance tomography-guided positive end-expiratory pressure and mortality of patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome: the EITVent randomized clinical trial – Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine – Published: 31st March 2026

Systolic Blood Pressure Targets in Patients With Hypertension With and Without Cardiovascular Disease: A Pooled Analysis of 4 Randomized Clinical Trials – Journal: Circ Popul Health Outcomes – Published: 31st March 2026

Individual participant-level analysis of four randomized clinical trials examined therapeutic effects of blood pressure lowering on hierarchical kidney outcome using win statistics – Journal: Kidney International – Published: 26th March 2026

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

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