Song Zhang, Ph.D.

Download Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Zhang joined UT Southwestern as an assistant professor in September, 2007. He currently serves as the director of BERD (Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design) for the UTSW CTSA program. He also serves on the NCI Central Institutional Review Board (Adult CIRB – Early Phase Emphasis). 

Dr. Zhang’s research interest in statistical methodology lies in two main areas: Bayesian hierarchical modeling and clinical trial design. He has published multiple papers on the application of Bayesian hierarchical models to disease mapping, joint modeling of longitudinal and survival outcomes, item-response theory for grant review, functional enrichment analysis to detect important pathways, and multi-level modeling to detect factors that impact cancer screening, etc. Another area of his research interest is design methodology for clinical trials to account for various pragmatic issues such as correlated outcomes (clustered and longitudinal), missing data, small sample sizes, historical control, random variability in cluster size, and cost constraints, etc. He has published multiple high quality papers in this area and in 2015 he co-authored a book titled “Sample Size Calculations on Clustered and Longitudinal Outcomes in Clinical Research” (Chapman & Hall, New York). Dr. Zhang has been successful in securing extramural grants as the PI to support his independent research program, examples include an NIH R03 grant to conduct secondary data analysis on VA HIV registry; an NSF grant to build risk prediction model based on electronic health record data; and a PCORI methodology development grant to address pragmatic design issues in stepped-wedge cluster randomized trials.

Graduate School

Xiamen University - China , Econometrics

Graduate School

University of Missouri-Columbi (2005), Statistics

• Bayesian statistical methods
• Bioinformatics
• Clinical trial design
• Missing data methods
• Multi-level models

Featured Publications

Sample size calculation for cluster randomized trials with zero-inflated count outcomes.

Zhou Z, Li D, Zhang S, Stat Med 2022 May 41 12 2191-2204

Association of Statin Therapy Initiation With Diabetes Progression: A Retrospective Matched-Cohort Study.

Mansi IA, Chansard M, Lingvay I, Zhang S, Halm EA, Alvarez CA, JAMA Intern Med 2021 Oct

A flexible sample size solution for longitudinal and crossover cluster randomized trials with continuous outcomes.

Wang J, Cao J, Zhang S, Ahn C, Contemp Clin Trials 2021 Aug 106543

Sample size determination for stepped wedge cluster randomized trials in pragmatic settings.

Wang J, Cao J, Zhang S, Ahn C, Stat Methods Med Res 2021 Jun 9622802211022392

Power Analysis for Cluster Randomized Trials with Multiple Binary Co-Primary Endpoints

DT Li, J. Cao, S. Zhang Biometrics 2020 4 76 1064-1074

Sample Size Calculation for Clinical Trials with Correlated Count Measurements Based on the Negative Binomial Distribution

D. Li, S. Zhang, J. Cao Statistics in Medicine 2019 28 38 5413-5427

Paired versus two-group experimental design for rheological studies of vocal fold tissues.

Xu CC, Li D, Mau T, McPherson E, Du M, Zhang S, J Biomech 2019 01 83 150-156

An investigation of left-right vocal fold symmetry in rheological and histological properties.

Xu CC, Gao A, Zhang S Laryngoscope 2018 Aug

Effect of Low-Dose Ferrous Sulfate vs Iron Polysaccharide Complex on Hemoglobin Concentration in Young Children With Nutritional Iron-Deficiency Anemia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Powers JM, Buchanan GR, Adix L, Zhang S, Gao A, McCavit TL JAMA 2017 06 317 22 2297-2304

Inference and sample size calculation for clinical trials with incomplete observations of paired binary outcomes.

Zhang S, Cao J, Ahn C Stat Med 2016 Nov

 Featured Books

Sample Size Calculations for Clustered and Longitudinal Outcomes in Clinical Research

C. Ahn, M. Heo, S. Zhang (2015). New York, Chapman & Hall

Statistical Treatment of Various Cluster Randomization Designs for Pragmatic Trials

Song Zhang, Chul Ahn, Hong Zhu (2023). New York, in press, Chapman & Hall

Optimal Biological Dose for Molecularly Targeted Therapies. In Wiley StatsRef: Statistics Reference Online

Chul Ahn, Seung-Ho Kang, Yang Xie, Song Zhang (2016). Hoboken, New Jersey., John Wiley & Sons

• Early Career Researcher and Postgraduate travel awards
  International Society for Bayesian Analysis (2008)
• Graduate Professional Council Travel Scholarship
  University of Missouri-Columbia (2004)
• Outstanding Performance in Doctoral Exams
  Department of Statistics, University of Missouri-Columbia (2003)
• Excellent Student Award
  Xiamen University, China (1999)
• Third Prize
  College Student Science and Technology Thesis Competition, Fujian, China (1998)

• Eastern North American Region (ENAR) of the International Biometric Society (IBS)
• Institute of Mathematical Statistics
• The American Statistical Association