Xiaoxi Yao, Ph.D., M.P.H.

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SUMMARY

Xiaoxi Yao, Ph.D., is a health outcomes researcher specializing in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Her work is focused on using large cohorts of patients managed in routine clinical practice to examine treatment patterns and clinical outcomes. Her recent work takes advantage of the complementary strengths of clinical trials and observational data to examine trial generalizability and validate the use of observational data. She has also worked on using advanced analytic methods to develop new prediction models for guiding individualized treatment decisions.

Focus areas

• Treatment patterns in routine clinical practice. Dr. Yao's research focuses on understanding the adoption of new therapies, utilization trends over time and suboptimal treatment in practice (patients' nonadherence to medications and providers' nonadherence to practice guidelines, for example). She has also identified key patient and provider characteristics associated with various practice patterns.
• Comparative effectiveness research. Dr. Yao uses large observational data sets to compare the effectiveness and safety of different treatment options, particularly new medications and devices, as well as areas in which little clinical trial evidence exists.
• Individualized treatment strategies. Dr. Yao investigates how risks and benefits of different treatments vary among individuals. She has also worked on examining the performance of risk prediction models that are currently used to guide treatment decisions, and has developed new models.

Significance to patient care

Dr. Yao's work provides important evidence to help physicians and patients make individualized treatment decisions. Her studies have also informed medical societies for creating practice guidelines and payers for making value-based insurance benefit design. Furthermore, her work has identified gaps in routine clinical practice and informed future interventions to improve patient care.

Professional highlights

• Recipient, Young Investigator Award in Outcomes Research, American College of Cardiology, 2017