Close

Dr Abby Emdin

Research Fellow

United Kingdom

I am a Research Fellow at LSHTM in the Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health. My research focuses on pharmacoepidemiology, particularly on how we can leverage 'big data' and routinely collected data sources (like electronic health records) to optimize treatment. My current research aims to deepen our understanding of the relationship between immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, that medications used to treat these diseases, and dementia. My PhD (University of Toronto) examined emerging methods in machine learning to understand complex medication use by older adults living with dementia. I have a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology (University of Toronto) and a Masters of Science in Global Health (McMaster University). I previously worked as a Data Analyst and consulting Senior Biostatistician for the Centre for Global Child Health and Child Health Evaluative Science centre at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. I worked as a Data Scientist prior to my research fellowship, providing statistical and data support across a wide range of methods, programming languages, and data types. I remain interested about the ethical and sustainable use of AI in healthcare and health-related research. I am the Academic Co-Chair of the Gender Equity Taskforce and am committed to our goal of promoting and improving intersectional gender equity at the School.

Affiliations

Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health

Teaching

I am open to opportunities to supervise MSc students or co-supervise PhD students who have an interest in healthy ageing, polypharmacy, older adults living with dementia, and pharmacoepidemiology methods. I am also open to providing committee support in these areas or in the ethical and sustainable use of artificial intelligence in healthcare and research.

Research

I often work within pharmacoepidemiology, investigating medication effectiveness and safety. I am interested in novel methods that leverage routinely collected data, such as electronic health records, to answer research questions with reduced bias —particularly for older adults and those living with neurodegenerative diseases like dementia. I am excited about how different methods can strengthen the quality of evidence produced by observational studies (methods like target trial emulation), and thereby improve our ability to produce impactful research. I have previously focused on exploring emerging approaches to managing 'big data' - such as using clustering methods to reduce complex multi-factor and time-varying medication exposures or confounding into a measurable variable. I have also implemented AI techniques such as natural language processing, classification, and predictive models - which sparked my other interest in the ethical and sustainable use of AI in healthcare and research.  
Research Area
Artificial Intelligence
Pharmacoepidemiology
Electronic health records
Ageing
Disease and Health Conditions
Dementia, incl. Alzheimer's
Neurological diseases
Arthritis
Country
United Kingdom

Selected Publications

Polypharmacy and patterns of medication use in the final year of life among people living with dementia in Canada: A case-control study
Mah, J; Richer, C; EMDIN, A; Rockwood, K; Stewart, S; Andrew, MK; Trenaman, SC;
2026
Journal of International Medical Research
Shorter versus longer durations of antibiotic treatment for pneumonia in dogs and cats: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Emdin, F; EMDIN, A; Ong, SW X; Leung, V; Schwartz, KL; Langford, BJ; Brown, KA; Weese, JS; Massarella, S; Daneman, N;
2026
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Exploring fall‐related hospitalizations following a new dementia diagnosis using prescribing clusters: a population‐based cohort study in Ontario, Canada
EMDIN, AL; Stukel, TA; Bethell, J; Maclagan, LC; Wang, X; Iaboni, A; Bronskill, SE;
2025
Alzheimer's & Dementia
Health service utilization and transition to nursing home among a cohort with mixed neurodegenerative pathologies: the linked Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative (ONDRI) Cohort
Bronskill, SE; Maclagan, LC; Matai, L; EMDIN, AL; Roberts, AC; Binns, M; McLaughlin, PM; Black, SE; Swartz, RH;
2025
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association
Using Medication Dispensation Data to Identify Clusters with Similar Prescribing Patterns in Older Adults Living with Dementia.
EMDIN, A; Stukel, TA; Bethell, J; Wang, X; Iaboni, A; Bronskill, SE;
2025
Drugs & aging
Severe infection incidence among young infants in Dhaka, Bangladesh: an observational cohort study.
Fung, A; Heasley, C; Pell, LG; Bassani, DG; Shah, PS; Morris, SK; Hamer, D; Islam, MS; Mahmud, AA; Pullenayegum, E; Saha, SK; Haque, R; Hossain, MI; Chen, C-Y; EMDIN, A; O'Callaghan, KM; Loutet, MG; Sultana, S; Billah, SM M; Gaffar, SM A; Karim, E; Sayed, S; Yeasmin, S; Hoque, MM; Ahmed, T; ... Roth, DE.
2025
BMJ Public Health
Differences in Parkinson's Disease Populations: Teaching Hospitals Versus Other Settings and Implications for Clinical Trials.
Gros, P; Marras, C; Wang, X; Chiu, M; Farkouh, ME; EMDIN, A; Bronskill, SE;
2025
Movement Disorders
Net Health System Costs of Parkinson Disease: A Propensity Score-Matched Health Administrative Data Cohort Study in Ontario, Canada.
Maclagan, LC; EMDIN, A; Fu, L; Guan, J; De Oliveira, C; Marras, C; Bronskill, SE;
2024
Neurology. Clinical practice
Trends in Hyperpolypharmacy Before and After Nursing Home Admission Among Older Adults in Ontario, Canada.
Maclagan, LC; EMDIN, A; Huang, A; Campitelli, MA; Tadrous, M; Iaboni, A; Viana, L; Maxwell, CJ; Bronskill, SE;
2024
The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
See more information