Dr Yinghui Wei
Profiles

Dr Yinghui Wei

Associate Professor of Statistics

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Yinghui can be contacted through arrangement with our Press Office, to speak to the media on these areas of expertise.
  • Applied statistics
  • Statistical methodology
  • Clinical trials
  • Observational studies

  • Associate Professor of Statistics
  • School Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
  • Stage 1 Tutor for Mathematics and Statistics 
  • Statistics Seminar Organiser

Qualifications

  • FHEA, Higher Education Academy, 2014
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, University of Plymouth, UK, 2014
  • PhD in Statistics, School of Mathematics, University of Manchester, UK, 2008
  • MSc in Statistics (with Distinction), School of Mathematics, University of Manchester, UK, 2004
  • BSc in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Northwest University, China, 2003

Appointments:

  • Associate Professor of Statistics, University of Plymouth, UK, 2019 - Present
  • Lecturer in Statistics, University of Plymouth, UK, 2013 - 2019
  • Investigator Scientist, Medical Research Council, UK, 2009 - 2013
  • Research Fellow (Welcome Trust), University of Nottingham, UK, 2008 - 2009

Professional membership

  • Member of Cochrane Statistical Methods Group
  • Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Roles on external bodies

  • Statistical Editor, Cochrane Developmental Psychosocial Learning Problems Group
  • Chair, Royal Statistical Society South West Local Group

Teaching interests

Undergraduate
  • Level 4, Probability       
  • Level 6, Mathematical Statistics in Context
  • Level 6, Medical Statistics     
Postgraduate
  • SPSS short course, Doctoral College
  • Level 7, Project design and development, guest lectures on statistics, School of Biomedical Sciences
I supervise MSc projects in statistics and data analytics. Recent projects include the analysis of patient reported outcomes in multiple sclerosis, estimation of reproduction number for COVID19, as well as predictive analytics for social housing and telecommunication industry. 

Staff serving as external examiners

2019, External PhD Examiner, University of Liverpool.

Research interests

My primary research interest is in developing statistical methodology and the substantive applications to medicine, clinical trials, observational studies and evidence synthesis. Specific areas include:

  • Bayesian inference
  • Clinical prediction models
  • Evidence synthesis and meta-analysis (including multiple outcomes, multiple treatments and diagnostic tests meta-analysis)
  • Modelling and analysis of infectious diseases (including Cowpox virus, healthcare-associated infection) 
  • Survival analysis

I have a software package in Stata: ipdfc

Wei Y. and Royston P. IPDFC: Stata module to reconstruct individual participant data from a published Kaplan-Meier curve (link)

Research degrees awarded to supervised students

Dr Zainab Al-Kaabawi (2014 - 2018): Bayesian Hierarchical Models for Linear Networks (Director of Studies)

Current PhD Students:
  • L. Sorrell: Statistical inference about bivariate semi-competing risk data using copulas (Director of Studies)
  • J. Sethi: Graphene based biosensors for detection of blood biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (co-supervisor)
  • N. Thomas: Investigation of the effectiveness of an intervention to prevent oral disease in a highly vulnerable child population (co-supervisor)
  • M. Howe: A probabilistic dental treatment risk index (co-supervisor) 
  • L. Zhang: Bayesian multi-level survival models (Director of Studies)
  • S. Riley: Using big data to develop and validate clinical prediction models for survival outcomes following kidney transplant (Director of Studies) 

Grants & contracts

Externally funded projects:

2021 London Mathematical Society: Women in Mathematics Day, Lead Applicant.

2020 – 2022 China Scholarship Council: Joint Training of Doctoral Students in Statistical Science with Yunnan University, Joint Supervisor.

2020 – 2024  University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust and EPSRC DTP funded PhD Studentship: "Using big data to develop and validate clinical prediction models for survival outcomes in kidney transplant", Project PI/Primary Supervisor. 

2018 – 2020  GlaxoSmithKline: “An assessment of the sensitivity to change of a scale to measure quality of life in patients with severe asthma”. Co-I.

2018 – 2019  GlaxoSmithKline: “Further validation of a scale to measure quality of life in patients with severe asthma”. Co-I.

2016 – 2018  NIHR RfPB (PB-PG-0215-36117): “A systematic review of physical activity for alcohol and substance use disorders: evidence synthesis with stakeholder engagement to formulate practical recommendations”. Co-I.

Key publications

Other Publications

Google Scholar   Research Gate  

Key publications are highlighted

Journals
Articles
Sethi J, Suhail A, Safarzadeh M, Sattar A, Wei Y & Pan G 2021 'NH2 linker for femtomolar label-free detection with reduced graphene oxide screen-printed electrodes' Carbon , DOI
Hernandez-Vaquero D, Vigil-Escalera C, Pérez-Méndez I, Gutiérrez A, Avanzas P, Wei Y, Diaz R, Silva J, Moris C & Pascual I 2021 'Survival After Thoracoscopic Surgery or Open Lobectomy: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis' The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 111, (1) 302-313 , DOI
Al-kaabawi Z, Wei Y & Moyeed R 2020 'Bayesian hierarchical models for linear networks' Journal of Applied Statistics 1-28 , DOI Open access
Thompson TP, Horrell J, Taylor AH, Wanner A, Husk K, Wei Y, Creanor S, Kandiyali R, Neale J & Sinclair J 2020 'Physical activity and the prevention, reduction, and treatment of alcohol and other drug use across the lifespan (The PHASE review): A systematic review' Mental Health and Physical Activity 0-0 Author Site , DOI Open access
2020 'The Zika Virus Individual Participant Data Consortium: A Global Initiative to Estimate the Effects of Exposure to Zika Virus during Pregnancy on Adverse Fetal, Infant, and Child Health Outcomes' Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 5, (4) 152-152 , DOI
Horrell J, Thompson TP, Taylor AH, Neale J, Husk K, Wanner A, Creanor S, Wei Y, Kandiyali R & Sinclair J 2020 'Qualitative systematic review of the acceptability, feasibility, barriers, facilitators and perceived utility of using physical activity in the reduction of and abstinence from alcohol and other drug use' Mental Health and Physical Activity 100355-100355 Author Site , DOI Open access
Lanario JW, Hyland ME, Wei Y, Jones RC & Masoli M 2020 'Comparison of the effects of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary symptoms on health-related quality of life in patients with severe asthma' Respiratory Medicine 162, 105870-105870 , DOI Open access
O'Hara L, Smith ER, Barlow J, Livingstone N, Herath NINS, Wei Y, Spreckelsen TF & Macdonald G 2019 'Video feedback for parental sensitivity and attachment security in children under five years' Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews , DOI
Jones R, Lanario J, Hyland M, Wei Y & Masoli M 2019 'Evidence for similarity in symptoms and mechanism: the extra-pulmonary symptoms of severe asthma and polysymptomatic presentation of fibromyalgia' Immunity, Inflammation & Disease , DOI Open access
Wilder-Smith A, Wei Y, Araújo TVBD, VanKerkhove M, Turchi Martelli CM, Turchi MD, Teixeira M, Tami A, Souza J & Sousa P 2019 'Understanding the relation between Zika virus infection during pregnancy and adverse fetal, infant and child outcomes: a protocol for a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of longitudinal studies of pregnant women and their infants and children' BMJ Open 9, (6) e026092-e026092 , DOI Open access
van Kampen SC, Jones R, Kisembo H, Houben RMGJ, Wei Y, Mugabe FR, Rutebemberwa E & Kirenga B 2018 'Chronic respiratory symptoms and lung abnormalities among people with a history of tuberculosis in Uganda: a national survey' Clinical Infectious Diseases Author Site , DOI Open access
Dalla Valle L, Stander J, Gresty K, Eales J & Wei Y 2018 'Stakeholder Perspectives on Graphical Tools for Visualising Student Assessment and Feedback Data' Research in Learning Technology , DOI Open access
De Crescenzo F, Ziganshina LE, Yudina EV, Kaplan YC, Ciabattini M, Wei Y & Hoyle CHV 2018 'Noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (NRIs) for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults' Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews , DOI
Barlow J, Herath NINS, Bartram Torrance C, Bennett C & Wei Y 2018 'The Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) and Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) system for supporting caregivers and improving outcomes in caregivers and their infants' Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews , DOI
Pang CL, Pilkington N, Wei Y, Peters J, Roobottom C & Hyde C 2018 'A methodology review on the incremental prognostic value of computed tomography biomarkers in addition to Framingham risk score in predicting cardiovascular disease: the use of association, discrimination and reclassification' BMC Cardiovascular Disorders 18, (1) 39-39 Author Site , DOI Open access
Thompson TP, Taylor AH, Wanner A, Husk K, Wei Y, Creanor S, Kandiyali R, Neale J, Sinclair J & Nasser M 2018 'Physical activity and the prevention, reduction, and treatment of alcohol and/or substance use across the lifespan (The PHASE review): protocol for a systematic review' Systematic Reviews 7, (1) Author Site , DOI Open access
Wei Y & Royston P 2017 'Reconstructing time-to-event data from published Kaplan–Meier curves' Stata Journal 17, (4) 786-802 Publisher Site , DOI Open access
Barlow J, Bennett C, Midgley N, Larkin SK & Wei Y 2017 'Parent–infant psychotherapy for improving parental and infant mental health' BJPsych Advances 23, (4) 216-216 , DOI
Barlow J, Bennett C, Midgley N, Larkin SK & Wei Y 2016 'Parent–infant psychotherapy: a systematic review of the evidence for improving parental and infant mental health' Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology 34, (5) 464-482 , DOI
Barlow J, Bergman H, Kornør H, Wei Y & Bennett C 2016 'Group-based parent training programmes for improving emotional and behavioural adjustment in young children' Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews , DOI
Wei Y, Kypraios T, O’Neill PD, Huang SS, Rifas-Shiman SL & Cooper BS 2016 'Evaluating hospital infection control measures for antimicrobial-resistant pathogens using stochastic transmission models: Application to vancomycin-resistant enterococci in intensive care units' Statistical Methods in Medical Research 27, (1) 269-285 , DOI Open access
Wei Y, Royston P, Tierney JF & Parmar MKB 2015 'Meta-analysis of time-to-event outcomes from randomized trials using restricted mean survival time: application to individual participant data' Statistics in Medicine 34, (21) 2881-2898 , DOI
Hollands GJ, Shemilt I, Marteau TM, Jebb SA, Lewis HB, Wei Y, Higgins JPT & Ogilvie D 2015 'Portion, package or tableware size for changing selection and consumption of food, alcohol and tobacco' Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews , DOI
Mantzari E, Vogt F, Shemilt I, Wei Y, Higgins JPT & Marteau TM 2015 'Personal financial incentives for changing habitual health-related behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analysis' Preventive Medicine 75, 75-85 , DOI
Barlow J, Bennett C, Midgley N, Larkin SK & Wei Y 2015 'Parent-infant psychotherapy for improving parental and infant mental health' Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews , DOI
Turner RM, Jackson D, Wei Y, Thompson SG & Higgins JPT 2014 'Predictive distributions for between‐study heterogeneity and simple methods for their application in Bayesian meta‐analysis' Statistics in Medicine 34, (6) 984-998 , DOI Open access
Xiong T, Turner RM, Wei Y, Neal DE, Lyratzopoulos G & Higgins JPT 2014 'Comparative efficacy and safety of treatments for localised prostate cancer: an application of network meta-analysis' BMJ Open 4, (5) e004285-e004285 , DOI Open access
Hollands GJ, Shemilt I, Marteau TM, Jebb SA, Lewis HB, Wei Y, Higgins JPT & Ogilvie D 2014 'Portion, package or tableware size for changing selection and consumption of food, alcohol and tobacco' , DOI
Wei Y & Higgins JPT 2013 'Bayesian multivariate meta-analysis with multiple outcomes' Statistics in Medicine 32, (17) 2911-2934 , DOI
Royston P, Wei Y, Tierney J & Parmar M 2013 'Analysis of survival data from trials with non-proportional hazards: an empirical comparison of methods' Trials 14, (Suppl 1) O38-O38 , DOI
Wei Y & Higgins JPT 2012 'Estimating within‐study covariances in multivariate meta‐analysis with multiple outcomes' Statistics in Medicine 32, (7) 1191-1205 , DOI
Wei Y, Neal P, Telfer S & Begon M 2012 'Statistical analysis of an endemic disease from a capture–recapture experiment' Journal of Applied Statistics 39, (12) 2759-2773 , DOI
Wright CF, Wei Y, Higgins JPT & Sagoo GS 2012 'Non-invasive prenatal diagnostic test accuracy for fetal sex using cell-free DNA a review and meta-analysis' BMC Research Notes 5, (1) 476-476 , DOI Open access
Books
James G, Dyke P, Searl J, Craven M & Wei Y 2020 Modern Engineering Mathematics. 6th Ed. Pearson
Conference Papers
Lanario J, Hyland M, Wei Y, Jones R & Masoli M 2019 'P167 The contribution of extra-pulmonary symptoms of quality of life in severe asthma are important and may be overlooked' British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting 2019, QEII Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE, 4 to 6 December 2019, Programme and Abstracts BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society , DOI
Jones R, Lanario J, Wei Y, Hyland M & Masoli M 2019 'Non-Respiratory Symptoms Are as Important as Respiratory Symptoms in Their Impact on Quality of Life in Severe Asthma'

Reports & invited lectures

Reports:

  • Wei Y. (2019) "South West local group meeting: Network Time Series" 
  • Wei Y. (2019) “South West local group meeting: Modelling numbers of births” 
  • Wei Y. (2018) “South West local group meeting: Evidence synthesis in health” 

Seminars/Talks:

  • 2020: Invited talk, "The arts and techniques of online teaching for mathematics and statistics", Shanghai Polytechnic University
  • 2019: Contributed talk, "Estimating the correlation between bivariate survival endpoints", Royal Statistical Society International Conference, Belfast. 
  • 2019: Invited talk, "Statistical Applications in Medical Sciences", INSPIRE Interdisciplinary Meeting, Plymouth.
  • 2018: Invited talk, "Survival analysis of patients following kidney transplantation" (with Lexy Sorrell), South West Transplant Centre Annual Transplant Day, Totnes.
  • 2018: Invited talk, "Survival analysis: from individual level data to aggregate data", Yunnan University, China.
  • 2018: Invited talk, "Survival analysis: from individual level data to aggregate data", AUFE, China.
  • 2017: Invited talk, "Restricted mean survival time: from individual level data to aggregate data", CMStatistics 2017, University of London, London.
  • 2017: Session chair, "Recent Advances in Research Synthesis Methods", CMStatistics 2017, University of London, London.
  • 2017: Contributed talk, "Using published Kaplan-Meier curves to reconstruct time-to-event data for secondary analyses", Royal Statistical Society International Conference, Glasgow. 
  • 2017: Contributed poster, "Hierarchical Bayesian models for road traffic accidents", Royal Statistical Society International Conference, Glasgow. 
  • 2016: Invited lecture, "Introduction to Design and Analysis of Clinical Trials", postgraduate summer school, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu.
  • 2015: Invited seminar, "The use of restricted mean survival time in meta-analysis of clinical trials with time-to-event outcomes". University of Exeter, Exeter.
  • 2014: Invited seminar, "Meta-analysis of survival data using restricted mean survival time", University of Essex, Colchester.
  • 2013: Contributed talk, "Analysis of survival data from trials with non-proportional hazards". Clinical Trials Methodology Conference: Methodology Matters, Edinburgh. 
  • 2013: Contributed talk, "Network Meta-analysis", Methodology Theme Meeting, MRC Clinical Trials Unit, London.
  • 2012: Contributed poster, "Bayesian multivariate meta-analysis with many outcomes", 33rd Annual Conference of International Society for Clinical Biostatistics, Bergen.
  • 2011: Contributed talk, "Bayesian multivariate meta-analysis with many outcomes", Methods in Meta-analysis Meeting, Royal Statistical Society, London.
  • 2010: Internal Seminar, "Multivariate meta-analysis with multiple outcomes", MRC Biostatistics Unit, Cambridge. 
  • 2010: Invited lecture, "Introduction to Meta-analysis", Shanghai Nottingham Systematic Review Course, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai. 
  • 2007: Poster presentation, "An epidemic model for discrete data in dynamic population", Manchester Research Student Conference in Statistics and Probability, University of Manchester.
  • 2007: Contributed talk, "Statistical inference about epidemics in dynamic population", Research Student Conference in Statistics and Probability, Durham, UK.

Conferences organised

2018: RSS South West Local Group Meeting Programme