Xianming Tan, PhD

About

Xianming Tan is a professor in the Department of Biostatistics and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His area of research focuses on the development of statistical methods for studying population heterogeneity based on various types of data. He also engages in collaborative studies at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, working with physicians and researchers on population studies and clinical studies. Prior to coming to UNC, he was a biostatistician at McGill University Health Centre.

Research Activities

Dr. Tan’s research interests include statistical methods relevant to the design and analysis of clinical trials, finite mixture models and their applications to revealing population heterogeneity, and interdisciplinary research. A converge of these interests also leads to the development of appropriate methodologies to more adequately explore the potentials of intensive longitudinal data for answering scientific questions. He is also involved in collaborative studies at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, working with physicians and researchers on clinical studies.

Key Publications

Social network informed latent class analysis of patterns of substance use, sexual behavior, and mental health, Winnipeg, Canada. Hopfer, S., Tan, X., and Wylie, J. (2014). American Journal of Public Health, 104(5), 834-839.

Latent Class Analysis With Distal Outcomes: A Flexible Model-Based Approach. Lanza, S., Tan, X., and Bray, B. (2013). Structural Equation Modeling, 20(1), 1-26.

How Spacing of Data Collection May Impact Estimates of Substance Use Trajectories. Tan, X., Dierker, L., Rose, J., and Li, R. (2011). Substance Use and Misuse, 46(6), 758-768.

Optimal Two-Stage Design for Phase II Cancer Clinical Trials with Responses and Early Progression as Co-primary Endpoints. Tan, X., Takahara, G., and Tu, D.  (2009). Statistics in Biopharmaceutical Research, 2(3), 348-354.

Inference for Normal Mixture in Mean and Variance. Chen, J., Tan, X., and Zhang, R. (2008). Statistica Sinica, 18(2), 443-465.

Staff/Administrative Duties

Journal Refereeing
Statistics Sinica, Statistics in Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, Psychological Methods

University Service
Department of Biostatistics Web and Communications Committee, 2015-2016

Education