Laurel Alison Beckett, Ph.D.
Professor Emerita, Department of Public Health Sciences
Locations and Contact
UC Davis School of Medicine
UC Davis School of Medicine - Medical Sciences 1C
Davis, CA 95616
Research/Academic Interests
A major theme of Dr. Beckett's research since 1987 has been the public health impact of chronic diseases of aging, especially Alzheimer’s disease (AD). She led statistical efforts for the first population-based estimate of the number of people with AD in the US: 4 million.
As Director of the ADNI Biostatistics Core, Dr. Beckett has also served as external advisor for 3 additional ADC’s and for the AD prevention initiative, the CAMD biomarker initiative, the NINDS Parkinson’s disease biomarker development committee, and the national Autism Biomarker Consortium for Clinical Trials.
Dr. Beckett has a strong interest in Cancer Research. Her collaborations span the field from basic science to clinical trials to care-giving and community-based research. She has directed the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center's Biostatistics Shared Resources since its inception in 2000.
Dr. Beckett's work builds on strong mathematical training and an interest in applying discrete mathematical tools creatively to biomedical research.
Division
Biostatistics
Undergraduate School
B.A., Math, Pomona College, Claremont CA 1968
Other School
Ph.D., Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford CA 1972
Other School
M.S., Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford CA 1969
Dean's Team Award for Inclusion Excellence: Research, 2017
Mentor Award from School of Medicine. Outstanding Research by a Trainee, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine., 2017
Poster won first prize at Cancer Center 17th Annual Cancer Research Symposium., 2013
Poster won First Place. Alzheimer's Research Symposium, UC Berkeley Cal Alumni House.,
Fellow, American Statistical Association., 2004
Chen Y, Cress RD, Stewart SL, Semrad TJ, Harvey D, Tencredi DJ, Beckett L. Mediating Effect of Postsurgical Chemotherapy on Presence of Dementia and Survival among Patients 65 and Older with Stage III Colon Cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2017 Oct;26(10):1558-1563. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-17-0277. PMID:28939585.
Wintemute GJ, Beckett L, Kass PH, Tancredi D, Studdert D, Pierce G, Braga AA, Wright MA, Cerdá M. Evaluation of California's Armed and Prohibited Persons System: study protocol for a cluster-randomised trial. Inj Prev. 2017 Oct;23(5):358. doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2016-042194. Epub 2016 Oct 11. PMID:27729440.
Satake N, Duong C, Yoshida S, Oestergaard M, Chen C, Peralta R, Guo S, Seth PP, Li Y, Beckett L, Chung J, Nolta J, Nitin N, Tuscano JM. Novel Targeted Therapy for Precursor B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: anti-CD22 Antibody-MXD3 Antisense Oligonucleotide Conjugate. Mol Med. 2016 Oct;22:632-642. doi:10.2119/molmed.2015.00210. Epub 2016 Jul 22. PMID:27455414.
Beckett L, Nettiksimmons J, Howell LP, Villablanca AC. Do Family Responsibilities and a Clinical Versus Research Faculty Position Affect Satisfaction with Career and Work-Life Balance for Medical School Faculty? J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2015 Jun;24(6):471-80. doi:10.1089/jwh.2014.4858. PMID:26070036.
Beckett LA, Donohue MC, Wang C, Aisen P, Harvey DJ, Saito N; Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative phase 2: Increasing the length, breadth, and depth of our understanding. Alzheimers Dement. 2015 Jul;11(7):823-31. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.05.004. PMID:26194315.
Miller JW, Harvey DJ, Beckett LA, Green R, Farias ST, Reed BR, Olichney JM, Mungas DM, DeCarli C. Vitamin D Status and Rates of Cognitive Decline in a Multiethnic Cohort of Older Adults. JAMA Neurol. 2015 Nov;72(11):1295-303. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.2115. PMID:26366714.
Beckett LA, Tancredi DJ, Wilson RS. Multivariate longitudinal models for complex change processes. Stat Med. 2004 Jan 30;23(2):231-9. doi:10.1002/sim.1712. PMID:14716725.
Beckett LA, Tancredi DJ. Parametric empirical Bayes estimates of disease prevalence using stratified samples from community populations. Stat Med. 2000 Mar 15;19(5):681-95. doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-0258(20000315)19:5<681::aid-sim343>3.0.co;2-y. PMID:10700739.
Beckett LA, Brock DB, Lemke JH, Mendes de Leon CF, Guralnik JM, Fillenbaum GG, Branch LG, Wetle TT, Evans DA. Analysis of change in self-reported physical function among older persons in four population studies. Am J Epidemiol. 1996 Apr 15;143(8):766-78. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a008814. PMID:8610686.
Evans D, Scherr P, Cook N, Albert M, Funkenstein H, Smith L, Hebert L, Wetle T, Branch L, Chown M, Hennekens CH, Taylor JO. Estimated prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in the United States. Milbank Q. 1990;68(2):267-89. PMID:2233632.