Team Member
Our team brings together experts from various fields, including medicine, academia, research, and data analysis.
Team Member -
Research

Edward Lai
Center Director
Edward is the founder and the leader of the Public Health Data Center and works as a Professor at the Institute of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, School of Pharmacy, National Cheng Kung University. He has expertise in the use of a variety of healthcare databases across Asia, Oceania, North America, and Europe in the conduct of international multi-database pharmacoepidemiologic research. His research interests include the safety and effectiveness of psychotropic, rheumatologic, and oncologic medications. He has published 100+ research articles in top journals such as BMJ, Nature Medicine, JAMA of Internal Medicine. He has served as an Associate Editor of Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety since 2013. He served as the chair of the Asian Pharmacoepidemiology Network (AsPEN) (2016-2018). He is now an active Neurological and Mental Health Global Epidemiology Network (NeuroGEN) member. Additonally, he was awarded the Fellow of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (FISPE) designation in 2023.
Apart from his work, he enjoys having quality personal time, playing with his pet cats, and exploring delicious food.

Tzu-Chi Liao
Statistician
Tzu-Chi Liao holds a master's degree in statistics and specializes in data analysis at the center. With extensive SAS programming experience, Tzu-Chi generates required datasets and reports based on Statistical Analysis Protocols (SAP), ensuring high quality and accuracy. Additionally, Tzu-Chi plays a vital role in developing the Common Data Model (CDM), where they are responsible for converting NHIRD datasets into the Sentinel CDM format. This process includes rigorous program-based checks to guarantee data transformation quality. Tzu-Chi also develops various analytical modules based on the CDM structure to improve the team's efficiency in leading cross-national collaborative projects.
Moreover, Tzu-Chi serves as the head of the management team, utilizing data analysis expertise to assist in budget planning for the group.
Outside of work, Tzu-Chi is the proud owner of four cats and enjoys spending time at home with them. In their leisure time, Tzu-Chi loves hosting friends, conversing, enjoying good food, and playing with the cats.
- Email:zichi710@gmail.com

Chin-Yao Shen
PhD Candidate
Chin-Yao Shen is a senior PhD student at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. He has a particular interest in cardiovascular diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and urology, with several publications in these fields. As a pharmacoepidemiologist, his aim is to generate real-world evidence by integrating diverse datasets from Asian countries to support decision-making in regulatory contexts. Chin-Yao focuses on the design and development of distributed data networks in Asia, particularly using the Common Data Model, to produce reliable evidence through descriptive studies, drug surveillance, and comparative effectiveness research. Outside of their professional life, Chin-Yao enjoys to reach the nature, which provide a refreshing balance to their scientific pursuits.

Miyuki Hsieh
Post-doctoral Research Fellow
Miyuki Hsing-Chun Hsieh is a postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Lai's group at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), specializing in drug safety. Her work emphasizes using data-mining techniques to identify potential drug safety signals and evaluating medication safety through various pharmacoepidemiological methods. She focuses primarily on cardiovascular diseases and extends her research to special populations, including pediatric patients and pregnant women. In her free time, Miyuki enjoys family trips with her baby, participating in parent-child activities, getting massages, and practicing yoga.
- Email:miyuki.hch@gmail.com

Daniel Tsai
Research Fellow
Daniel Tsai is a doctoral research fellow at Population Health Data Center, NCKU. He specializes in comparative effectiveness research and policy research. His expertise includes triangulating claims databases, electronic health records, and biomedical databases to inform causal inference. Additionally, he is actively involved in the intersection of artificial intelligence and geriatric medicine. Moreover, Daniel contributes as an active member to both the Asian Pharmacoepidemiology Network (AsPEN) and the Neurological and Mental Health Global Epidemiology Network (NeuroGEN), where he is deeply involved in fostering research collaborations and advancements in the field.
- Email:danielhttsai@gmail.com

Avery Yang
PhD Student
Avery is a PhD student from National Cheng-Kung University. Avery’s current research focused on the drug safety evaluation using self-controlled approaches and investigated the causal inference by advanced method (i.e., clone-censoring weighting approach, sequential trial). Avery has developed deep expertise in pharmacoepidemiology, supported by extensive research and clinical experience as a pharmacist. His work primarily focused on the field of oncology, including skin cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer and certain chronic metabolic disease (i.e., diabetes, hyperlipidemia). During leisure time, Avery enjoys engaging in various activities that provide relaxation and creative fulfillment like photography, movie watching, and reading, particularly sci-fi and classic novels. He particularly enjoys capturing beautiful landscapes and architecture through photography, finding joy in exploring various angles, lighting, and perspectives to create visually stunning images.
- Email:Averysh.0523@gmail.com/

Chris Su
PhD Candidate
Chris graduated from the School of Pharmacy at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) with a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Institute of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at NCKU. Focusing on methodological applications in pharmacoepidemiology, Chris specializes in advanced study designs such as the case-crossover design, case-time-control, and case-case-time-control design. He also possesses fundamental skills in SAS and R programming. Recently, he has been investigating adverse drug reactions associated with medications that have anticholinergic effects or are anti-diabetic agents. His work aims to enhance the understanding of medication-related risks and contribute to improved patient safety. In addition to his academic pursuits, Chris enjoys baking and playing the piano, hobbies that allow him to express creativity and find balance outside of his research activities.
- Email:chrissu0107@gmail.com

Albert Chuang
Research Fellow
Albert Tzu-Ming Chuang, PharmD, is a third-year research fellow at the Population Health Data Center, where he has been actively involved in various projects. His work primarily focuses on utilizing large-scale claims and electronic healthcare databases to approach causal inferences that can inform both clinical practice and policy-making. With a specialization in cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and rheumatology, Albert brings a strong background in cohort and case-crossover study designs. He is also proficient in conducting comprehensive literature reviews and is an experienced user of programming languages such as SAS and R.
In addition to his research responsibilities, Albert oversees the social media of Population Health Data Center. He manages its LinkedIn profile and official websites, ensuring the effective dissemination of research findings. In his personal time, Albert enjoys playing a variety of sports, including badminton, basketball, baseball, and volleyball. He is an avid fan of the NBA during winter and enjoys watching baseball in the summer. Additionally, he finds joy in cooking and playing video games with friends during holidays.

Michael Cheng
Statistician
Michael Chun-Yuan Cheng is a dedicated research assistant and statistician within our team, bringing a strong academic background in both statistics and public health. His expertise is centered around advanced epidemiology methodology and simulation studies, areas where his analytical skills have proven to be invaluable. In addition to his technical knowledge, he is proficient in R and SAS programming, which further enhances his ability to contribute to complex data-driven projects. More recently, he has taken on a leading role in overseeing our multinational collaborations with research teams from Hong Kong and South Korea, efficiently utilizing common data model approach to ensure consistency and comparability of results. Furthermore, Michael is deeply involved in supporting the team by assisting with programming instruction, sharing his knowledge and guiding others through technical training sessions, thereby fostering growth and collaboration within the team. He enjoys watching Korean dramas or magical movies in his leisure time. Perhaps one day, he might become a wizard.
- Email:chen0226@gmail.com

Brian Li
PhD Student
Brian Li is a PhD student at National Cheng-Kung University. His research interests primarily focus on the target trial emulation framework and the exploration of causal estimands. As an experienced clinical pharmacist, Brian leverages his domain knowledge in the causal interpretation within pharmacoepidemiology. He concentrates mainly on psychiatric disorders and extends his research to special populations, including individuals with illicit substance use. On his days off, Brian enjoys outdoor activities and working out, often spending time running, boxing or engaging in strength training to stay active and unwind.
- Email:Brianli6699@gmail.com

Zoe Chang
Research Assistant
After graduating from the School of Pharmacy NCKU with Doctor of Pharmacy degree, Zoe joined the team as a research assistant. With the background of pharmacy, Zoe keeps broadening disease area and special study population in the field of pharmacoepidemiology, where neurodegenerative diseases and pregnancy are two topics she has experience with.
Currently, Zoe is focusing on COVID-19 vaccine studies and developing algorithm for validation study. In leisure time, Zoe enjoys doing yoga, trying out new recipe and photographing.
- Email:Zoechang827@gmail.com

Yu-Hui Chang
Assistant
Yu-Hui Chang serves as an administrative assistant in Professor Lai’s team at the Department of Pharmacy, National Cheng Kung University. In this role, she is responsible for managing administrative tasks related to the team's projects, including the reimbursement process and other finance-related operations. With a keen eye for detail and strong organizational skills, she ensures that the administrative side of research projects runs smoothly and efficiently.
Outside of her job life, Yu-Hui is a devoted mother of two and takes great joy in the daily experiences of parenting. Balancing work and family life, she finds fulfillment in both her career and the time she spends raising her children. Her ability to manage multiple responsibilities with dedication and care reflects her strong work ethic and nurturing nature.
- Email:cuj25@hotmail.com

Kevin Liao
PhD Student
Kevin is a first-year PhD student studying pharmacoqpidemiology.
He is enthusiased in self-controlled case series and case-crossover design. In addition to the within-comparison study, he is also interested in some advanced cohort study design, such as clone-censoring weighting and the prevalent new user design.
Currently, he is working in the domain of type II diabetes and the correlation of asthma exacerbation. Furthermore, he is doing study about COVID-19 vaccination and the association of some safety concern, for example, the autoimmune disease.
For the programming, there's still a long way to go, but he will overcome these obstacles.
Kevin is an outdoor person, he loves going to the gym and playing volleyball.

Peter Pin-Sung Liu
Post-doctoral Research Fellow
Peter Pin-Sung Liu is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Population Health Data Center (PHDc) of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU). He specializes in epidemiology and statistical methods for observational studies, with a focus on applying the target trial emulation framework to enhance causal inference in real-world evidence. Peter's primary research interests lie in the fields of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus, encompassing both treatment regimens and associated complications. Beyond his work at PHDc, Peter is frequently invited to lead workshops on study design, data management, and statistical analysis using software such as R and SAS for research involving Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.
By the way, coffee is an essential part for him!
- Email:psliu520@gmail.com

Chin-Hung Tsai
Project Manager
Chin-Hung Tsai holds a Bachelor's degree in Statistics from National Cheng Kung University and is currently working as a Project Manager. With a solid foundation in statistical analysis and problem-solving, he strives to effectively manage projects and contribute to their successful execution. His role involves coordinating teams and delivering results that align with organizational goals. Chin-Hung values collaboration and continuous improvement, and he is always seeking ways to enhance processes and support his team.
Outside of his work, Chin-Hung enjoys playing volleyball and watching movies, which reflect his appreciation for teamwork, creativity, and balance. He also believes in the importance of lifelong learning, often exploring new skills or knowledge to stay adaptable in a constantly evolving world. Whether it’s improving his technical expertise or refining his communication abilities, he approaches every challenge as an opportunity for growth.
His dedication to his work and personal interests highlights a goal-oriented approach to life, making him a dependable and supportive team member who values the success of the group as much as his own.
- Email:jing_jang11@hotmail.com