Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Erik Westlund, PhD, is a data scientist, statistical engineer, and sociologist who works with researchers to design and execute research studies using complex data sets and data sources.
Research Interests
Statistical Analysis and Methods: data science applications, causal inference, statistical modeling, research design, open science, and statistical programming (R, SQL, Python).
Medicine and Public Health: analysis of electronic health records data, diagnostic error, quality and safety.
Sociology and Education: social inequality, sociology of education, technology, social theory, meta-science.
Experiences & Accomplishments
I work as a data scientist and statistical engineer for the Johns Hopkins Biostatistics Center and the Individualized Health (inHealth) and Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) Lab. I enjoy working on teams to design and execute research studies that rely upon complex data sets and data sources. I work on projects spanning public health, medicine, sociology, and education.
I was trained as a sociologist with a focus on research design and quantitative methods. I have worked professionally as an applied data scientist and software engineer. Additionally, I have over 15 years of experience teaching both high school and college students.
Education
PhD, Sociology, Johns Hopkins University, 2015
MA, Sociology, Johns Hopkins University, 2013
MSc, Education, University of Oxford, 2007
BA, History, University of Maryland, 2006
BA, Secondary Education, University of Maryland, 2006
Honors & Awards
- Peabody Scholar in Sociology of Education, Johns Hopkins University, 2013
- Outstanding Planning, Policy, or Management Research Award, American Educational Research Association, 2012
- Heritage Partnership of the Year (in collaboration with students in Anne Arundel County Public Schools), Four Rivers Heritage Area, 2010
- Distinction, M.Sc. Dissertation, University of Oxford, 2007
- Distinction, Written Examinations in Comparative and International Education, University of Oxford, 2007
Select Publications
Cifra, Christina and Erik Westlund. 2023. “Breaking Point.” Pediatric Research. 1: (2).
Cifra, Christina, Erik Westlund, Patrick Ten Eyck, Marcia M. Ward, Nicholas M. Mohr, David A. Katz. 2021. “Missed Diagnosis of Pediatric Sepsis: Analysis of a Large Population-Based Sample.” Diagnosis. 8 (2), 198-198.
Westlund, Erik and Elizabeth A. Stuart. 2017. “The Nonuse, Misuse, and Proper Use of Pilot Studies in Experimental Evaluation Research.” American Journal of Evaluation. 38 (2): 246-261.
Owen, Laura and Erik Westlund. 2015. "Increasing College Opportunity: School Counselors and FAFSA Completion." Journal of College Access. 2 (1), Article 3.
Westlund, Erik. 2007. Time and Comparative and International Education. Research in Comparative and International Education. 2 (2): 144-153.