Francisco J. Diaz-Ceballos, PhD

Professional Background

I am an experienced biostatistician who has participated in a considerable number of collaborative and methodological research projects concerning physiologic, biomedical, pharmacological and epidemiological topics, and also the author or co-author of more than 130 articles published in prestigious medical, pharmacological or methodological journals. Thus, my extensive methodological expertise and my experience in the application of statistical methods to a wide range of health-related and biomedical research guarantee appropriate biostatistical design and data analysis in studies concerning human health. My long-term collaborative experience in biomedical research including epidemiological and pharmacological studies and clinical trials is attested by multiple high-quality publications in professional journals.

I obtained my B.S. degree in Mathematics in 1993 and my M.S. degree in Statistics in 1996 at the National University of Colombia at Medellin. Right after obtaining my B.S. degree I was involved in teaching activities in the Department of Mathematics of this university and then I was hired as a faculty after obtaining my M.S. degree. Between 1998 and 2002 I did my PhD in Statistics at the Department of Statistics of the University of Kentucky, Lexington. During my stay in Lexington, I worked as a Research Assistant of the Mental Health Research Center at Eastern State Hospital under the Direction of psychiatrist Dr. Jose de Leon, where I acquired a considerable knowledge of the biomedical, epidemiological and pharmacological applications of statistics and was immersed in a robust international research collaboration network of psychiatrists and pharmacologists that provided me with a great deal of research experience and that greatly influenced the direction of my research activities after my PhD graduation. In 2003 I returned to the National University of Colombia where I reassumed my teaching and research activities as a Faculty of the Department of Statistics, contributing to the education of engineering students and students of the B.S., M.S. and PhD programs in statistics. In 2009, I was hired as an Associate Professor by the Department of Biostatistics and Data Science of the University of Kansas Medical Center, where I have enjoyed contributing to the development of the Graduate programs in Biostatistics and conducting consultation, research and service activities. I was promoted to Professor in 2021.

My current methodological research interests include the development of statistical models that assist treatment individualization in clinical settings, and the development of clinical trial designs that allow evaluating the clinical utility of individualized treatment rules.

• BS, Mathematics, National University of Colombia, Medellin, Colombia
• MS, Statistics, National University of Colombia, Medellin, Colombia
• PhD, Statistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

• Diaz F.J.. 2021. Using population cross-over trials to improve the decision process regarding treatment individualization in N-of-1 trials. Statistics in Medicine, 40, 4345-4361. https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.9030
• Diaz F.J.. 2019. Estimating individual benefits of medical or behavioral treatments in severely ill patients. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 28, 911-927. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0962280217739033
• Diaz F.J.. 2018. Construction of the Design Matrix for Generalized Linear Mixed-Effects Models in the Context of Clinical Trials of Treatment Sequences. Revista Colombiana de Estadística, 41, 191-233. http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/rce.v41n2.63332
• Diaz F.J., Berg M.J., Krebill R., Welty T., Gidal B.E., Alloway R., Privitera M.. 2013. Random-Effects Linear Modeling and Sample Size Tables for Two Special Crossover Designs of Average Bioequivalence Studies: The Four-Period, Two-Sequence, Two-Formulation and Six-Period, Three-Sequence, Three-Formulation Designs. Clinical Pharmacokinetics, 52 (12), 1033-1043. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40262-013-0103-4
• Diaz F.J., McDonald P.R., Pinter A., Chaguturu R.. 2015. Measuring and Statistically Testing the Size of the Effect of a Chemical Compound on a Continuous In-Vitro Pharmacological Response Through a New Statistical Model of Response Detection Limit. Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics, 25 (4), 757-780. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10543406.2014.920871
• Diaz F.J., Cogollo M.R., Spina E., Santoro V., Rendon D.M., de Leon J.. 2012. Drug Dosage Individualization Based on a Random-Effects Linear Model. Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics, 22 (3), 463-484. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10543406.2010.547264
• Diaz F.J.. 2024. Measuring the individualization potential of treatment individualization rules: application to rules built with a new parametric interaction model for parallel-group clinical trials. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 33 (8), 1355-1375. DOI: | 10.1177/09622802241259172
• de Leon J., Diaz F.J.. 2005. A meta-analysis of worldwide studies demonstrates an association between schizophrenia and tobacco smoking behaviors. Schizophrenia Research, 76 (2-3), 135-157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2005.02.010
• de Leon J., Diaz F.J., Rogers T., Browne D., Dinsmore L.. 2002. Initiation of daily smoking and nicotine dependence in schizophrenia and mood disorders. Schizophrenia Research, 56 (1-2), 47-54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0920-9964(01)00217-1
• Diaz F.J., James D., Botts S., Maw L., Susce M.T, de Leon J.. 2009. Tobacco smoking behaviors in bipolar disorder: a comparison of the general population, schizophrenia, and major depression. Bipolar Disorders, 11 (2), 154-165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-5618.2009.00664.x