Health Services Research – Leadership

William Irish, PhD, MSc

William Irish, PhD, MSc, is Research Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Surgery and Co-Director of the Big Data & Analytic Research Cluster at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. Dr. Irish has been involved in health-outcomes and clinical research both in academia and industry for over 25 years; applying various methods to evaluate the effectiveness of health care interventions on clinical and economic outcomes. Dr. Irish has collaborated with clinical investigators internationally, implemented large-scale database analyses and directed analysis/programming teams. He specializes in outcomes research, clinical trial methodology, statistical modeling and prediction, and large-scale database and claims analyses. His major research interest consists of: (1) identification of important prognostic factors of disease progression and clinical outcomes, including validation of biomarkers; (2) developing statistical models and assessing their clinical utility; and (3) designing randomized controlled trials, specifically in low incidence/rare conditions with specific reference to subject enrichment strategies. Dr. Irish is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Transplantation and the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research. Dr. Irish is currently Associate Editor for Clinical Transplantation.