KAUST offers me world-class research resources and support. Its highly international working environment allows me gain a global perspective.

Website

Personal website

Location

Building 1 (West), Al-Khawarizmi, 4th floor, 4200-CU05

Education

  • 2017: PhD in Biostatistics. Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore.
  • 2012: BSc (Hons) Statistics, National University of Singapore.

Dr. Chao received her Ph.D. in 2017 from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore. Her Ph.D. dissertation is “Bayesian Methods for Estimating Global Health Indicators”. She has been actively collaborating with United Nations Population Division and UNICEF since 2012. She develops complex statistical models for sparse and noisy data for population indicators (e.g. sex ratio at birth, under-5 child mortality rate) across countries over time.

Research Interest

Statistical demography; Global health; Bayesian modeling; Time series analysis.

Research Grant

  • Sep 2019 – Sep 2022: Long Term Agreement for Services (LTAS) for UNICEF. PI: Chao, F. LTAS-42107038. (Awarded to KAUST with faculty mentor Prof. Hernando Ombao). USD $35,300.

Awards

  • Aug 2013: XXVII IUSSP International Population Conference Best Poster Award.
  • May 2011: NUS Dean’s List: AY 2010/2011 Semester 2.
  • 2008–2012: NUS Undergraduate Scholarship (full scholarship).

Professional Activities

Associate Editor for: the Foundation of Data Science (AIMS).

Reviewed for: Annals of Applied Statistics. BMC Public Health. BMJ Global Health. BMJ Open. Cogent Economics and Finance. Demographic Research. Global Health Research and Policy. International Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Journal of Development Effectiveness. Lancet Global Health. Mathematical Population Studies. Medical Principles and Practice. Social Sciences. Spatial Demography. SSM - Population Health. Studies in Family Planning. Violence Against Women.

Selected Publications

Chao, F., Gerland, P., Cook, A. R., & Alkema, L. (2021). Global estimation and scenario-based projections of sex ratio at birth and missing female births using a Bayesian hierarchical time series mixture model. Ann. Appl. Stat. 15(3) 1499-1528
DOI
10.1214/20-AOAS1436
Altmetrics
Chao, F., Gerland, P., Cook, A. R., Guilmoto, C. Z., & Alkema, L. (2021). Projecting sex imbalances at birth at global, regional and national levels from 2021 to 2100: scenario-based Bayesian probabilistic projections of the sex ratio at birth and missing female births based on 3.26 billion birth records. BMJ Global Health, 6(8), e005516.
DOI
10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005516
Altmetrics
Chao, F., Guilmoto, C. Z., & Ombao, H. (2021). Sex ratio at birth in Vietnam among six subnational regions during 1980–2050, estimation and probabilistic projection using a Bayesian hierarchical time series model with 2.9 million birth records. PLoS ONE, 16(7), e0253721.
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0253721
Altmetrics
Chao, F., Guilmoto, C. Z., KC, S., & Ombao, H. (2020). Probabilistic projection of the sex ratio at birth and missing female births by State and Union Territory in India. PLoS ONE, 15(8), e0236673.
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0236673
Altmetrics
Guilmoto, C. Z., Chao, F., & Kulkarni, P. M. (2020). On the estimation of female births missing due to prenatal sex selection. Population Studies, 74(2), 283-289.
DOI
10.1080/00324728.2020.1762912
Altmetrics
Chao, F., & Yadav, A. K. (2019). Levels and trends in the sex ratio at birth and missing female births for 29 states and union territories in India 1990–2016: A Bayesian modeling study. Foundations of Data Science, 1(2), 177-196.
DOI
10.3934/fods.2019008
Altmetrics
Chao, F., Gerland, P., Cook, A. R., & Alkema, L. (2019). Systematic assessment of the sex ratio at birth for all countries and estimation of national imbalances and regional reference levels. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(19), 9303-9311.
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1812593116
Altmetrics
Chao, F., You, D., Pedersen, J., Hug, L., & Alkema, L. (2018). National and regional under-5 mortality rate by economic status for low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic assessment. The Lancet Global Health, 6(5), e535-e547.
DOI
10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30059-7
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Chao, F., & Alkema, L. (2014). How informative are vital registration data for estimating maternal mortality? A Bayesian analysis of WHO adjustment data and parameters. Statistics and Public Policy, 1(1), 6-18.
DOI
10.1080/2330443X.2013.856148
Altmetrics
Alkema, L., Chao, F., You, D., Pedersen, J., & Sawyer, C. C. (2014). National, regional, and global sex ratios of infant, child, and under-5 mortality and identification of countries with outlying ratios: a systematic assessment. The Lancet Global Health, 2(9), e521-e530.
DOI
10.1016/S2214-109X(14)70280-3
Altmetrics

Publications

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Principal Investigator
KAUST CEMSE STAT BIOSTAT Hernando Ombao

Hernando Ombao

Professor, Statistics
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