![Mandy Lau BSc, PhD](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/9758?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Mandy Lau
(she/her)
BSc, PhD
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Mandy Lau
Senior Research Fellow/ Deputy Director in Statistics (Centre for Trials Research)
Overview
I am a Statistician (Research Fellow) and hold the Deputy Director of Statistics role at the Centre for Trials Research (CTR).
My academic background is in Medical Statistics, and I have been actively involved in the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting of randomised controlled trials and other rigorously designed studies since June 2013. I completed my PhD in early 2025. My doctoral research, titled “The use of modern modelling methods for the statistical analysis of microbiological data in clinical trials of antimicrobial stewardship interventions”, focused on the application of advanced statistical methods to address challenges in analysing complex microbiological outcomes.
Clinically, my research interests lie primarily within infectious diseases. Methodologically, I have a particular interest in complex intervention design, multi-arm trials, and latent class modelling.
I am currently involved in the following studies as either the senior statistician or trial statistician:
- CLARITY - Clopidogrel, Aspirin and Rivaroxaban after revascularisation with angioplasty
- VESPER - Intravesical preparations for recurrent urinary tract infection prevention: a multi-arm, multi-site open label randomised superiority trial.
- ESTEEM - Evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of testosterone to improve menopause-related quality of life
- REFINE - Respiratory viral testing in the management of febrile infants presenting to emergency care: A pilot study.
- DEVISE-HD - Developing evidence for antidepressant choice to treat depression in Huntington’s Disease.
- VER-A-T1D - A randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel group, multi-centre trial in adult subjects with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus investigating the effect of Verapamil SR on preservation of beta-cell function
Completed studies:
- ABACus - A randomised controlled trial of the health check intervention to improve cancer symptom awareness and help-seeking among people living in socioeconomically deprived communities
- AZTEC - The Azithromycin therapy for Chronic Lung Disease of Prematurity study is a national clinical trial investigating if the antibiotic azithromycin can improve the lung outcomes of premature babies who are born at less than 30 weeks of gestational age
- CIC - Evaluating the long-term impact of the Fostering Changes training programme for foster carers in Wales, the Confidence in Care trial
- FNP - Evaluation of the Family Nurse Partnership Scotland: A Natural Experiment Approach
- Homelessness, type of homelessness, and risk of cause-specific mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Improving access to care and treatment for patients with hip and knee pain at the interface between primary and secondary care
- LUCI - The long-term follow-up of urinary tract infection in childhood: an electronic population-based cohort study in Welsh primary and secondary care
- Plan-it - The acceptability and feasibility of a planned pre-pregnancy weight loss intervention
- POETIC - The point of care testing for urinary tract infection in primary care (POETIC) study: A randomised controlled trial of the clinical and cost effectiveness of Flexicult point of care urine culture
- PRINCESS - Probiotic to reduce infections in care home residents
- Project SFP Cymru - A cluster randomised controlled trial of the Strengthening Families 10-14 UK programme
- Seal or Varnish - A randomised controlled trial to measure the relative cost and effectiveness of pit and fissure sealants and fluoride varnish in preventing dental decay
Publication
2026
- White, J. et al. 2026. Mortality in people experiencing homelessness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology 55 (5) dyag129. (10.1093/ije/dyag129)
- Lowe, J. et al. 2026. Azithromycin therapy for prevention of chronic lung disease of prematurity (AZTEC): a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Health Technology Assessment 30 (12)(10.3310/gjsk0401)
2025
- White, J. et al., 2025. Homelessness, type of homelessness, and risk of cause-specific mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 116 studies comprising 2,563,633 homeless people and 129,292,553 population controls. null (10.2139/ssrn.5188040)
2024
- Lowe, J. et al. 2024. Azithromycin therapy for prevention of chronic lung disease of prematurity (AZTEC): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine 12 (8), pp.608-618. (10.1016/S2213-2600(24)00079-1)
- Hughes, K. et al. 2024. Long-term consequences of urinary tract infection in childhood: an electronic population-based cohort study in Welsh primary and secondary care. British Journal of General Practice 74 (743), pp.e371-e378. (10.3399/BJGP.2023.0174)
- Lau, T. M. M. 2024. The use of modern modelling methods for the statistical analysis of microbiological data in clinical trials of antimicrobial stewardship interventions. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.
2023
- Gillespie, D. et al. 2023. Gut microbiology of UK care home residents: cross-sectional analysis from a randomised controlled trial. Clinical Microbiology and Infection 29 (11), pp.1437-1442. (10.1016/j.cmi.2023.08.001)
- Boateng, I. et al., 2023. Using microbiological data to improve the use of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections: A protocol for an individual patient data meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 18 (11) e0294845. (10.1371/journal.pone.0294845)
- Channon, S. et al. 2023. Acceptability and feasibility of a planned preconception weight loss intervention in women with long-acting reversible contraception: the Plan-it mixed-methods study. Health Technology Assessment 27 (1)(10.3310/NKIX8285)
2022
- Channon, S. et al. 2022. The acceptability of asking women to delay removal of a long-acting reversible contraceptive to take part in a preconception weight loss programme: a mixed methods study using qualitative and routine data (Plan-it). BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 22 778. (10.1186/s12884-022-05077-0)
- Lau, T. M. M. et al. 2022. AZTEC—azithromycin therapy for prevention of chronic lung disease of prematurity: a statistical analysis plan for clinical outcomes. Trials 23 (1) 704. (10.1186/s13063-022-06604-2)
- Lau, T. M. M. et al. 2022. A systematic review investigating the use of microbiology outcome measures in randomized controlled trials evaluating antimicrobial stewardship interventions published between 2011 and 2021. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance 4 (1) dlac013. (10.1093/jacamr/dlac013)
- Segrott, J. et al. 2022. Effectiveness of the strengthening families programme in the UK at preventing substance misuse in 10-14 year-olds: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open 12 (2) e049647. (10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049647)
2021
- Moriarty, Y. et al. 2021. Randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of a targeted cancer awareness intervention for adults living in deprived areas of the UK. British Journal of Cancer 125 , pp.1100-1110. (10.1038/s41416-021-01524-5)
- Castro-Herrera, V. M. et al., 2021. Combination of the probiotics Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis, BB-12 has limited effect on biomarkers of immunity and inflammation in older people resident in care homes: results from the Probiotics to Reduce Infections iN CarE home reSidentS Randomized, Controlled Trial. Frontiers in Immunology 12 643321. (10.3389/fimmu.2021.643321)
- Coulman, E. et al. 2021. The acceptability and feasibility of a planned pre-pregnancy weight loss intervention (the Plan-it Study): A Protocol Paper. Clinical Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine 7 (1)(10.15761/COGRM.1000325)
- M.Castro-Herrera, V. et al., 2021. Relationship between age, frailty, length of care home residence and biomarkers of immunity and inflammation in older care residents in the UK. Frontiers in Aging 2 599084. (10.3389/fragi.2021.599084)
2020
- Moody, G. et al. 2020. A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of the fostering changes programme. Child Abuse and Neglect 108 104646. (10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104646)
- Butler, C. C. et al., 2020. Effect of probiotic use on antibiotic administration among care home residents: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of the American Medical Association 324 (1), pp.47 - 56. (10.1001/jama.2020.8556)
- Button, K. et al. 2020. Using routine referral data for patients with knee and hip pain to improve access to specialist care. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 21 66. (10.1186/s12891-020-3087-x)
- Lugg-Widger, F. V. et al. 2020. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Family Nurse Partnership home visiting programme in first time young mothers in Scotland: a protocol for a natural experiment. International Journal of Population Data Science 5 (1) 12. (10.23889/ijpds.v5i1.1154)
2019
- Owen-Jones, E. et al. 2019. Protocol for a double-blind placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics in reducing antibiotics for infection in care home residents: the Probiotics to Reduce Infections iN CarE home reSidentS (PRINCESS) trial. BMJ Open 9 (6) e027513. (10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027513)
- Lugg-Widger, F. V. et al. 2019. Long-term outcomes of urinary tract infection (UTI) in Childhood (LUCI): protocol for an electronic record-linked cohort study. BMJ Open 9 e024210. (10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024210)
2018
- Button, K. et al. 2018. Improving access to care and treatment for patients with hip and knee pain at the interface between primary and secondary care [Abstract]. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 26 (S1), pp.S268-S269. (10.1016/j.joca.2018.02.546)
- Moody, G. et al. 2018. Evaluating the long-term impact of the Fostering Changes training programme for foster carers in Wales, the Confidence in Care trial: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials 19 34. (10.1186/s13063-017-2424-3)
2017
- Butler, C. C. et al. 2017. Variations in presentation, management, and patient outcomes of urinary tract infection: a prospective four-country primary care observational cohort study. British Journal of General Practice 67 (665), pp.e830-e841. (10.3399/bjgp17X693641)
- Chestnutt, I. G. et al. 2017. Fissure seal or fluoride varnish? A randomised trial of their relative effectiveness. Journal of Dental Research 96 (7), pp.754-761. (10.1177/0022034517702094)
- Chestnutt, I. G. et al. 2017. Seal or Varnish? A randomised controlled trial to determine the relative cost and effectiveness of pit and fissure sealant and fluoride varnish in preventing dental decay. Health Technology Assessment 21 (21), pp.1-256. (10.3310/hta21210)
Articles
- White, J. et al. 2026. Mortality in people experiencing homelessness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology 55 (5) dyag129. (10.1093/ije/dyag129)
- Lowe, J. et al. 2026. Azithromycin therapy for prevention of chronic lung disease of prematurity (AZTEC): a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Health Technology Assessment 30 (12)(10.3310/gjsk0401)
- White, J. et al., 2025. Homelessness, type of homelessness, and risk of cause-specific mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 116 studies comprising 2,563,633 homeless people and 129,292,553 population controls. null (10.2139/ssrn.5188040)
- Lowe, J. et al. 2024. Azithromycin therapy for prevention of chronic lung disease of prematurity (AZTEC): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine 12 (8), pp.608-618. (10.1016/S2213-2600(24)00079-1)
- Hughes, K. et al. 2024. Long-term consequences of urinary tract infection in childhood: an electronic population-based cohort study in Welsh primary and secondary care. British Journal of General Practice 74 (743), pp.e371-e378. (10.3399/BJGP.2023.0174)
- Gillespie, D. et al. 2023. Gut microbiology of UK care home residents: cross-sectional analysis from a randomised controlled trial. Clinical Microbiology and Infection 29 (11), pp.1437-1442. (10.1016/j.cmi.2023.08.001)
- Boateng, I. et al., 2023. Using microbiological data to improve the use of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections: A protocol for an individual patient data meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 18 (11) e0294845. (10.1371/journal.pone.0294845)
- Channon, S. et al. 2023. Acceptability and feasibility of a planned preconception weight loss intervention in women with long-acting reversible contraception: the Plan-it mixed-methods study. Health Technology Assessment 27 (1)(10.3310/NKIX8285)
- Channon, S. et al. 2022. The acceptability of asking women to delay removal of a long-acting reversible contraceptive to take part in a preconception weight loss programme: a mixed methods study using qualitative and routine data (Plan-it). BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 22 778. (10.1186/s12884-022-05077-0)
- Lau, T. M. M. et al. 2022. AZTEC—azithromycin therapy for prevention of chronic lung disease of prematurity: a statistical analysis plan for clinical outcomes. Trials 23 (1) 704. (10.1186/s13063-022-06604-2)
- Lau, T. M. M. et al. 2022. A systematic review investigating the use of microbiology outcome measures in randomized controlled trials evaluating antimicrobial stewardship interventions published between 2011 and 2021. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance 4 (1) dlac013. (10.1093/jacamr/dlac013)
- Segrott, J. et al. 2022. Effectiveness of the strengthening families programme in the UK at preventing substance misuse in 10-14 year-olds: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open 12 (2) e049647. (10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049647)
- Moriarty, Y. et al. 2021. Randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of a targeted cancer awareness intervention for adults living in deprived areas of the UK. British Journal of Cancer 125 , pp.1100-1110. (10.1038/s41416-021-01524-5)
- Castro-Herrera, V. M. et al., 2021. Combination of the probiotics Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis, BB-12 has limited effect on biomarkers of immunity and inflammation in older people resident in care homes: results from the Probiotics to Reduce Infections iN CarE home reSidentS Randomized, Controlled Trial. Frontiers in Immunology 12 643321. (10.3389/fimmu.2021.643321)
- Coulman, E. et al. 2021. The acceptability and feasibility of a planned pre-pregnancy weight loss intervention (the Plan-it Study): A Protocol Paper. Clinical Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine 7 (1)(10.15761/COGRM.1000325)
- M.Castro-Herrera, V. et al., 2021. Relationship between age, frailty, length of care home residence and biomarkers of immunity and inflammation in older care residents in the UK. Frontiers in Aging 2 599084. (10.3389/fragi.2021.599084)
- Moody, G. et al. 2020. A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of the fostering changes programme. Child Abuse and Neglect 108 104646. (10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104646)
- Butler, C. C. et al., 2020. Effect of probiotic use on antibiotic administration among care home residents: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of the American Medical Association 324 (1), pp.47 - 56. (10.1001/jama.2020.8556)
- Button, K. et al. 2020. Using routine referral data for patients with knee and hip pain to improve access to specialist care. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 21 66. (10.1186/s12891-020-3087-x)
- Lugg-Widger, F. V. et al. 2020. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Family Nurse Partnership home visiting programme in first time young mothers in Scotland: a protocol for a natural experiment. International Journal of Population Data Science 5 (1) 12. (10.23889/ijpds.v5i1.1154)
- Owen-Jones, E. et al. 2019. Protocol for a double-blind placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics in reducing antibiotics for infection in care home residents: the Probiotics to Reduce Infections iN CarE home reSidentS (PRINCESS) trial. BMJ Open 9 (6) e027513. (10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027513)
- Lugg-Widger, F. V. et al. 2019. Long-term outcomes of urinary tract infection (UTI) in Childhood (LUCI): protocol for an electronic record-linked cohort study. BMJ Open 9 e024210. (10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024210)
- Button, K. et al. 2018. Improving access to care and treatment for patients with hip and knee pain at the interface between primary and secondary care [Abstract]. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 26 (S1), pp.S268-S269. (10.1016/j.joca.2018.02.546)
- Moody, G. et al. 2018. Evaluating the long-term impact of the Fostering Changes training programme for foster carers in Wales, the Confidence in Care trial: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials 19 34. (10.1186/s13063-017-2424-3)
- Butler, C. C. et al. 2017. Variations in presentation, management, and patient outcomes of urinary tract infection: a prospective four-country primary care observational cohort study. British Journal of General Practice 67 (665), pp.e830-e841. (10.3399/bjgp17X693641)
- Chestnutt, I. G. et al. 2017. Fissure seal or fluoride varnish? A randomised trial of their relative effectiveness. Journal of Dental Research 96 (7), pp.754-761. (10.1177/0022034517702094)
- Chestnutt, I. G. et al. 2017. Seal or Varnish? A randomised controlled trial to determine the relative cost and effectiveness of pit and fissure sealant and fluoride varnish in preventing dental decay. Health Technology Assessment 21 (21), pp.1-256. (10.3310/hta21210)
Thesis
Research
I have been awarded >£4m in grant funding in 5 grants.
Research grants (most recent first):
2026
- Supporting Stability: Evaluating Parenting Interventions for Youth in Foster and Kinship Care. NIHR HTA
- Effectiveness of a special school mental health intervention for children with learning disabilities. NIHR Public Health Research Programme – Commission
2025
- Respiratory viral testing in the managEment of Febrile INfants presenting to Emergency care (REFINE): A pilot study. Health and Care Research Wales Integrated Funding Scheme
2023
- IntraVESical Preparations for Recurrent Urinary TrAct Infection Prevention (The VESPA Study): a multi-arm, multi-site open label randomised superiority trial. NIHR HTA
2019
- Using microbiological data to improve the use of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections: individual patient data meta-analysis. Collaborator. NIHR School for Primary Care Research
Teaching
Teaching
- During the 2021/2022/2023/2024/2025 academic years, I am a STATA demonstrator for Master of Public Health students in School of Medicine at Cardiff University.
- Student lecturer at the University of South Wales between 01/2022 - 04/2022.
Supervision
- Co-supervisor for Intercalated BSc project in 2018/2019 & 2020/2021 academic years
- Co-supervisor for Master of Public Health student's dissertation in 2024/2025 & 2025/2026 academic years
Biography
Education and qualifications
- 2020 - 2025: PhD "The use of modern modelling methods for the statistical analysis of microbiological data in clinical trials of antimicrobial stewardship interventions" (School of Medicine) Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- 2010 - 2014: BSc in Mathematics, Operational Research and Statistics (School of Mathematics) Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK (with placement year)
Career overview
- January 2026 - Present: Deputy Director of Statistics, Centre for Trials Research, Cardiff University
- October 2023 - Present: Research Fellow in Statistics, Centre for Trials Research, Cardiff University
- August 2023 - October 2023: Research Fellow in Statistics, Centre for Trials Research, Cardiff University (part-time)
- January 2022 - April 2022: Student lecturer, University of South Wales (part-time)
- October 2020 - August 2023: Research Associate in Statistics, Centre for Trials Research, Cardiff University (part-time)
- May 2019 - September 2020: Research Associate in Statistics, Centre for Trials Research, Cardiff University
- October 2014 - May 2019: Research Assistant in Statistics, South East Wales Trials Unit & Centre for Trials Research, Cardiff University
- June 2014 - September 2014: Statistician Internship, South East Wales Trials Unit, Cardiff University
- June 2012 - September 2013: Trainee Statistician, South East Wales Trials Unit, Cardiff University
Honours and awards
- Protecting integrity and quality - Highly commended, CTR Awards 2025
- Making a Difference – Improving the health, wellbeing and sustainability of society, CTR Awards 2023
- Outstanding contribution award scheme, Cardiff University (2017)
Professional memberships
- Currently a senior statistician on the Ver-A-T1D, VESPER, DEVISE-HD, and REFINE trials.
- I was a PhD student representative in the academic year 2021 -2023.
- Line manager for junior statisticians.
- Mentored several junior statisticians, provided statistical and non-statistical support where needed.
Committees and reviewing
- Current Independent Trial Steering Committee / Independent Data Monitoring committee member for: HAMLET
- Previous independent member for several TSCs and IDMCs
Supervisions
Past projects
- Clinical Epidemiology Intercalated BSc project 2018/2019 - Predictors of antimicrobial resistance in childhood urinary tract infections: a population-based cohort study (Ffion M.)
- Clinical Epidemiology Intercalated BSc project 2020/2021 - Effectiveness of a multimodal intervention for people with frailty and diabetes delivered from primary and secondary care sites: A secondary analysis of an international cluster-randomised trial (Katharine P.)
- Master of Public Health Dissertation 2024/2025 - What factors influence individuals living in Wales to use the Sexual Health Test and Post Service, the user satisfaction, and their experience? (Victoria D.)
- Master of Public Health Dissertation 2025/2026 - Air pollution and nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a systematic review (Po C.)
News articles
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Clinical Trials
- Infectious diseases
