Research
Coastal Flood Risk Under Climate Change
How high will a 100-year storm surge be at a given location, and how is that changing as the climate shifts? I'm building methods that fuse physics-based ocean simulations with historical tide gauge observations to forecast extreme coastal water levels across climate scenarios, bridging what models predict and what we've actually measured.
Dissertation in progress · Expected May 2026 · Advised by Richard Smith
Opioid Misuse Surveillance
Most opioid misuse goes unobserved in standard surveillance data. I implement and contribute to the development of Bayesian models that integrate fragmented data sources across spatial and temporal scales to estimate the size of hidden populations, and work with state health departments to turn these estimates into operational tools.
Clinical Research
Embedded statistician across clinical teams in surgery, pediatrics, gerontology, and gastroenterology. Statistician on the NIH-funded LEAP randomized clinical trial studying long-term anti-obesity medication effectiveness. I also apply causal inference methods to observational health records for outcomes research.
Publications
2026
Young, Rives, Gudzune, Jaeger, Simmons,
White, et al. The long-term effectiveness of the anti-obesity medication phentermine (LEAP) trial: Rationale, design, and baseline characteristics.
Contemporary Clinical Trials.
doiJeong, Edmunds, McCollum,
White, Clayton. Lower mean nocturnal baseline impedance in erosive reflux disease, Barrett's Esophagus, and elevated body mass index compared to nonerosive reflux disease.
Diseases of the Esophagus.
doi2025
Kline,
White, Lancaster, et al. Estimating prevalence of opioid misuse in North Carolina counties from 2016-2021: An integrated abundance model approach.
Epidemiology.
doiLippert, Callahan,
White, et al. Hospitalist and "SNFist" Clinician Perspectives on Frailty Assessment of Rehab Patients.
Journal of General Internal Medicine.
doiSemelka,
White, Callahan, Pajewski. The Association of Frailty With Post-Hospital Discharge Location and Health Outcomes.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
doiHeeren, Ruddiman, Simmons,
White, et al. Application of the Lancet Commission Criteria for the Diagnosis of Obesity to a Clinical Trials Population: The LEAP Trial.
Obesity.
doiKrakovski, Madigan, Cecil, White, et al. Patient Factors Contributing to Wireless pH Monitoring Intolerance. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology.
Brown,
White, Hanchate, et al. Short Term Health Outcomes of the Weaver Fertilizer Plant Fire on the Surrounding Community.
Journal of Public Health Management & Practice.
doi2024
Estadt,
White, Ricks, et al. The impact of fentanyl on state- and county-level psychostimulant and cocaine overdose death rates by race in Ohio from 2010 to 2020: a time series and spatiotemporal analysis.
Harm Reduction Journal.
doiKhanna, Banga, Rigdon,
White, et al. Role of continuous pulse oximetry and capnography monitoring in the prevention of postoperative respiratory failure, postoperative opioid-induced respiratory depression and adverse outcomes on hospital wards: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Journal of Clinical Anesthesia.
doiKipp, Vesely, Lance,
White, et al. Age influence on total ankle arthroplasty outcomes: a systematic review.
Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery.
doiVesely, Kipp, Lance,
White, et al. BMI influence on total ankle arthroplasty outcomes: A systematic review.
Foot & Ankle Surgery: Techniques, Reports & Cases.
doiFabian, Adkins,
White, et al. Temporal trends in BAHA softband wear time among pediatric patients.
International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology.
doiPresentations
White, Hepler, Hu, Jetson, Xiong, Smith, Delcher, Kline. Estimation of the prevalence of opioid misuse in Washington State counties, 2017–2023: A Bayesian spatiotemporal abundance model approach. Wake Forest School of Medicine, Public Health Staff Science Day. Winston-Salem, NC. October 2025. Poster & Ignite talk (one of two statisticians selected from ~100 applicants).
White, Blanton, Luettich, Smith. Combining Observational and Model Data for Spatial Extremes through a Multivariate Gaussian Latent Process. 14th International Conference on Extreme Value Analysis (EVA 2025). UNC Chapel Hill. June 2025. Poster.