Professor James Lewis
Co-lead and Academic Director, Y Lab
- lewisj78@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 9874
- 56 Park Place, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3AT
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am the co-lead and academic director for Y Lab, the Public Services Innovation Lab for Wales, a partnership between Cardiff University and Nesta (the innovation foundation). At Y Lab we support and promote experimentation and innovation in public services in Wales, and conduct research on the hows and whys of public services innovation. Please see our website ylab.wales and our Twitter account @ylabwales for more details.
Prior to this, I worked as a statistician and epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine for 12 years. I still conduct some research in global health, focusing on pragmatic evaluations of health system innovations across a range of disease areas and geographies.
Biography
Education
2001 –2005: PhD in Epidemiology at Imperial College London. “Behavioural, demographic and social risk factors for HIV infection in rural Zimbabwe.” Received MRC funding.
1999 –2000: MSc in Applied Statistics at the University of Oxford. Grade: Distinction. Gutierrez Toscano prize for joint top result. Received EPSRC funding.
1996 – 1999: BA (Hons) in Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Class: 2:1.
Professional memberships
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
Academic positions
2016 – 2018: Associate Professor, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Based in London.
2013 – 2018: Deputy Director, Centre for Evaluation, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
2013 – 2016: Senior Lecturer, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Based in London.
2012 – 2013: Lecturer, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Based in London.
2007 – 2012: Lecturer, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Based at Aurum Institute, Johannesburg.
2005 – 2007: Research Fellow, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Based at Aurum Institute, Johannesburg.
2001: Research assistant, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra.
2000 – 2001: Research assistant, Centre for Socioeconomic Research, Welsh School of Pharmacy, University of Wales, Cardiff.
Committees and reviewing
Statistical reviewer, Lancet journals
Publications
2021
- Sarrassat, S.et al. 2021. An Integrated eDiagnosis Approach (IeDA) versus standard IMCI for assessing and managing childhood illness in Burkina Faso: a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial. BMC Health Services Research 21, article number: 354. (10.1186/s12913-021-06317-3)
- Velen, K.et al. 2021. Performance of GeneXpert MTB/RIF for diagnosing tuberculosis among symptomatic household contacts of index patients in South Africa. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 8(4), article number: ofab025. (10.1093/ofid/ofab025)
- Hardyman, W.et al. 2021. Enhancing public service innovation through value co-creation: capacity building and the 'innovative imagination’. Public Money and Management
2020
- Izzo, A. A.et al. 2020. An ecological study to evaluate the association of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination on cases of SARS-CoV2 infection and mortality from COVID-19. PLoS ONE 15(12), article number: e0243707. (10.1371/journal.pone.0243707)
- Stagg, H. R.et al. 2020. Temporal factors and missed doses of tuberculosis treatment: a causal associations approach to analyses of digital adherence data. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 17(4), pp. 438-449. (10.1513/AnnalsATS.201905-394OC)
2019
- Hargreaves, J. R.et al. 2019. Five challenges in the design and conduct of IS trials for HIV prevention and treatment. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 82, pp. S261-S270. (10.1097/QAI.0000000000002192)
- Williams, A.et al. 2019. Evaluation of the clinical effectiveness of a work-based mentoring programme to develop clinical reasoning on patient outcome: A stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. PLoS ONE 14(7), article number: e0220110. (10.1371/journal.pone.0220110)
- Hensen, B.et al. 2019. Application of an HIV prevention cascade to identify gaps in increasing coverage of voluntary medical male circumcision services in 42 rural Zambian communities. AIDS and Behavior 23(5), pp. 1095-1103. (10.1007/s10461-019-02407-w)
2018
- Lewis, J. J.et al. 2018. Evaluation of a medication monitor-based treatment strategy for drug-sensitive tuberculosis patients in China: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. Trials 19, pp. -., article number: 398. (10.1186/s13063-018-2650-3)
- Page-Shipp, L.et al. 2018. Household point of care CD4 testing and isoniazid preventive therapy initiation in a household TB contact tracing programme in two districts of South Africa. PLoS ONE 13(3), article number: e0192089. (10.1371/journal.pone.0192089)
2017
- Mastropasqua, R.et al. 2017. Black patients sustain vision loss while White and South Asian patients gain vision following delamination or segmentation surgery for tractional complications associated with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Eye 31(10), pp. 1468-1474. (10.1038/eye.2017.95)
- Wingfield, T.et al. 2017. Socioeconomic support to improve initiation of tuberculosis preventive therapy and increase tuberculosis treatment success in Peru: a household-randomised, controlled evaluation. Lancet 389, pp. 16-16.
- Wingfield, T.et al. 2017. A randomized controlled study of socioeconomic support to enhance tuberculosis prevention and treatment, Peru. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 95, pp. 270-280. (10.2471/BLT.16.170167)
2016
- Greenland, K.et al. 2016. Multiple behaviour change intervention for diarrhoea control in Lusaka, Zambia: a cluster randomised trial. Lancet Global Health 4(12), pp. e966-e977. (10.1016/S2214-109X(16)30262-5)
- Kliemann, B. S.et al. 2016. Socioeconomic determinants of antibiotic consumption in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil: The effect of restricting over-the-counter sales. PLoS ONE 11(12), pp. -., article number: e0167885. (10.1371/journal.pone.0167885)
- Wingfield, T.et al. 2016. The economic effects of supporting tuberculosis-affected households in Peru. European Respiratory Journal 48(5), pp. 1396-1410. (10.1183/13993003.00066-2016)
- Blanchet, K.et al. 2016. A mixed methods protocol to evaluate the effect and cost-effectiveness of an Integrated electronic Diagnosis Approach (IeDA) for the management of childhood illnesses at primary health facilities in Burkina Faso. Implementation Science 11, pp. -., article number: 111. (10.1186/s13012-016-0476-5)
- Jha, S.et al. 2016. Cost-effectiveness of automated digital microscopy for diagnosis of active tuberculosis. PLoS ONE 11(6), pp. -., article number: e0157554. (10.1371/journal.pone.0157554)
- Velen, K.et al. 2016. Household HIV testing uptake among contacts of TB patients in South Africa. PLoS ONE 11(5), pp. -., article number: e0155688. (10.1371/journal.pone.0155688)
- Hermans, S. M.et al. 2016. The timing of tuberculosis after isoniazid preventive therapy among gold miners in South Africa: a prospective cohort study. BMC Medicine 14, pp. -., article number: 45. (10.1186/s12916-016-0589-3)
2015
- Ononge, S.et al. 2015. Effectiveness and safety of misoprostol distributed to antenatal women to prevent postpartum haemorrhage after child-births: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 15, pp. -., article number: 315. (10.1186/s12884-015-0750-6)
- Hensen, B.et al. 2015. Frequency of HIV-testing and factors associated with multiple lifetime HIV-testing among a rural population of Zambian men. BMC Public Health 15, article number: 960. (10.1186/s12889-015-2259-3)
- Liu, X.et al. 2015. Effectiveness of electronic reminders to improve medication adherence in tuberculosis patients: a cluster-randomised trial. PLoS Medicine 12(9), article number: e1001876. (10.1371/journal.pmed.1001876)
- van Halsema, C. L.et al. 2015. The effect of antiretroviral therapy and CD4 count on markers of infectiousness in HIV-associated tuberculosis. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 70(1), pp. 104-108. (10.1097/QAI.0000000000000684)
- Wingfield, T.et al. 2015. Designing and implementing a socioeconomic intervention to enhance TB control: operational evidence from the CRESIPT project in Peru. BMC Public Health 15, pp. -., article number: 810. (10.1186/s12889-015-2128-0)
- Beard, E.et al. 2015. Stepped wedge randomised controlled trials: systematic review of studies published between 2010 and 2014. Trials 16, pp. -., article number: 353. (10.1186/s13063-015-0839-2)
- Prost, A.et al. 2015. Logistic, ethical, and political dimensions of stepped wedge trials: critical review and case studies. Trials 16, pp. -., article number: 351. (10.1186/s13063-015-0837-4)
- Copas, A. J.et al. 2015. Designing a stepped wedge trial: three main designs, carry-over effects and randomisation approaches. Trials 16, article number: 352. (10.1186/s13063-015-0842-7)
- Hargreaves, J. R.et al. 2015. Five questions to consider before conducting a stepped wedge trial. Trials 16, article number: 350. (10.1186/s13063-015-0841-8)
- Davey, C.et al. 2015. Analysis and reporting of stepped wedge randomised controlled trials: synthesis and critical appraisal of published studies, 2010 to 2014. Trials 16, pp. -., article number: 358. (10.1186/s13063-015-0838-3)
- Ismail, N. A.et al. 2015. Performance of a novel algorithm using automated digital microscopy for diagnosing tuberculosis. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 191(12), pp. 1443-1449. (10.1164/rccm.201502-0390OC)
- Vynnycky, E.et al. 2015. Tuberculosis control in South African gold mines: Mathematical modeling of a trial of community-wide isoniazid preventive therapy. American Journal of Epidemiology 181(8), pp. 619-632. (10.1093/aje/kwu320)
- Hensen, B.et al. 2015. Factors associated with HIV-testing and acceptance of an offer of home-based testing by men in rural Zambia. AIDS and Behavior 19(3), pp. 492-504. (10.1007/s10461-014-0866-0)
- Mathema, B.et al. 2015. Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among South African gold miners. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 12(1), pp. 12-20. (10.1513/AnnalsATS.201404-150OC)
- van Halsema, C. L.et al. 2015. Clinical relevance of nontuberculous mycobacteria isolated from sputum in a gold mining workforce in South Africa: an observational, clinical study. BioMed Research International 2015, article number: 959107. (10.1155/2015/959107)
2014
- Churchyard, G. J.et al. 2014. A trial of mass isoniazid preventive therapy for tuberculosis control. New England Journal of Medicine 370(4), pp. 301-310. (10.1056/NEJMoa1214289)
2004
- Salek, M.et al. 2004. Quality of life improvement in treatment of psoriasis with intermittent short course Cyclosporin (Neoral®). Quality of Life Research 13(1), pp. 91-95. (10.1023/B:QURE.0000015293.69661.ff)
- Grassly, N.et al. 2004. Comparison of household-survey estimates with projections of mortality and orphan numbers in sub-Saharan Africa in the era of HIV/AIDS. Population Studies 58(2), pp. 207-217. (10.1080/0032472042000224431)
2003
- Becker, N. G.et al. 2003. Age-specific back-projection of HIV diagnosis data. Statistics in Medicine 22(13), pp. 2177-2190. (10.1002/sim.1406)
@ylabwales we are conducting research on public service innovation, including through several of our programmes, including:
- Innovate to Save
- Health, Arts, Research, People (HARP)
- Innovative Future Services (InFuSe)
- Cardiff Capital Region Challenge Fund
The primary evaluation methodologies I have applied in global health have been cluster randomised trials and stepped wedge trials, always in interdisciplinary teams. I lived and worked in Johannesburg for seven years and I have also worked on projects in Peru, Burkina Faso, India, China, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Supervision
I currently supervise one professional doctorate student, Becky Parish, looking at cross-border experiences of the NHS focussed on Gloucestershire where elements of both Welsh and English NHS care can be experienced.
I currently supervise one PhD student, Cara O'Connor, looking at experiences of an intervention that supports people to adhere to their antiretroviral medication in an innovative HIV clinic in the Philippines.
I am interested in supervising PhD and Professional Doctorate students in the areas of public services innovation and social innovation.
Past projects
Co-Supervisor for Kavindhran Velen (University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, PhD) – optimizing contact tracing for tuberculosis patients – successfully defended.
PhD statistical advisor for six completed PhD students – Katie Greenland (LSHTM), Bernadette Hensen (LSHTM), Katharina Kranzer (LSHTM), Laura Ferguson (LSHTM), Wilbroad Mutale (LSHTM) and Charmaine Mlambo (University of Witwatersrand, South Africa).
