Dr Adrian Walker

I am a biostatistician whose research focuses on the use of causal analysis and data linkage to improve population health focusing on the Australian context. My work spans women’s and children’s health, mental health, and the health of populations requiring special consideration. I have published on the health needs of people with intellectual disability, people living with dementia, and people with psychotic disorders.

Currently, I am leading analytical work on a multinational research program examining infertility, assisted reproduction, and cancer. I am also contributing on analyses on HPV vaccination coverage in Australia, and analyses on the relationship between infectious diseases and dementia. My methodological expertise includes target trial emulation, mediation analysis, and interrupted time-series analysis, which I have applied across a range of large-scale Australian health data assets, including the Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA) and the National Health Data Hub (NDNH).

I am committed to co-designed research and work closely with healthcare consumers, clinicians, and policymakers to support translation and real-world impact. I have coordinated advocate advisory groups for multiple large health data projects. More broadly, I lead the Causal Analysis, Reasoning, and Inference Club at UNSW Sydney, and I have a strong interest in promoting best practice in observational research, particularly in relation to bias assessment and the use of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs).