Mathematics and Computer Science
Christopher Assaid
Lecturer
I am a full-time biostatistician working primarily on compounds in the neuroscience and anesthesia areas for Merck and Co. in North Wales, PA. I grew up in Roanoke, VA, and graduated from Roanoke Valley Christian Schools. I graduated from Roanoke College in Salem, VA with a B.S. in Mathematics and a great liberal arts education that included the college’s Honors Program. I also graduated from Virginia Tech with an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Statistics.
Department
Degrees
- Mathematics B.S., Roanoke College
- Statistics Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Teaching
I currently teach Stat 240, Computational Statistics at Ursinus, as well as an Introduction to Clinical Statistics class to my non-statistical colleagues at Merck multiple times a year. I also am an occasional instructor for an online Biostatistics course in the MPH program for Liberty University Online. In the past, I have taught statistics courses at Virginia Tech, Roanoke College, and the University of Delaware. I have also provided statistical consulting assistance for a multitude of Doctor of Ministry candidates from Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary as they worked on their dissertations
Research Interests
My research interests, in addition to novel teaching methods, include robust regression and adaptive clinical trial designs, especially as applied to the areas of acute migraine and neuropathic pain. In my free time, I enjoy exercising, playing golf, watching football, and working with the youth group at my local church. I have a passion for high quality teaching and interacting with students. I hope to continue teaching in various settings for a long, long time.
Recent Work
Selected publications/presentations/book reviews:
Assaid, C, Golm, G, Bradstreet, T. Teaching Clinical Trials Strategies and Methodologies to Non-Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Invited Presentation, 2013 Joint Statistical Meetings, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Assaid C, Kost J, Egan M, Methodologic Issues in Planning an Efficacy Trial in Prodromal AD for Therapies Targeting A?, Poster Presentation, 2012 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Ho TW, Pearlman E, Lewis D, Hamalainen M, Connor K, Michelson D, Zhang Y, Assaid C, et al., Efficacy and tolerability of rizatriptan in pediatric migraineurs: Results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial using a novel adaptive enrichment design. Cephalalgia 2012 32(10): 750-765.
Hewitt DJ, Aurora SK, Dodick DW, Goadsby P, Ge Y, Bachman R, Taraborelli D, Fan X, Assaid CA, Lines C, Ho TW. Randomized controlled trial of the CGRP receptor antagonist, MK-3207, in the acute treatment of migraine. Cephalalgia 2011 31(6): 712-722.
Fan X, Assaid CA, Ge Y, Ho TW. A Two-Stage Adaptive Design in Phase 2 Clinical Trials for Acute Treatment of Migraine. Drug Information Journal 2011: 45 (03): 315-330.
Assaid CA A Review of: “Randomized Clinical Trials: Design, Practice and Reporting, by D. Machin and P. M. Fayers”, Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics, 2011 21(2): 367-370.