Rhonda D. Szczesniak, PhD
- Member, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
- Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
- UC Department of Environmental Health; UC Department of Mathematical Sciences
About
Biography
My research focuses on predictive modeling, longitudinal data analysis, environmental health, biomarker discovery and medical monitoring, with an emphasis on lung diseases and disorders. My lab designs and analyzes medical monitoring studies and integrates geo‑ and bio‑markers to improve early detection and prediction of rapid disease progression. Notable contributions include identifying pediatric phenotypes of rapid lung disease progression using the U.S. Cystic Fibrosis Registry and developing geo‑ and bio‑marker–informed prediction models.
I have taught introductory statistics and longitudinal data analysis and have developed advanced statistical and epidemiologic courses at the University of Cincinnati. I have nearly 20 years of experience in biostatistics, beginning my career at Cincinnati Children’s in 2007, and I have received recognition for biostatistical contributions to rare lung disease research. My work has been supported by the NIH, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and The LAM Foundation.
PhD: Statistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 2007
MS: Statistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 2005
BS: Mathematics, Radford University, Radford, VA, 2003
Interests
Cystic fibrosis; blood pressure; glycemic control
Services and Specialties
Interests
Data management and coordination; functional data analysis; longitudinal data analysis; medical monitoring; prediction
Publications
Lung Function Decline in Cystic Fibrosis: Impact of Data Availability and Modeling Strategies on Clinical Interpretations. Annals of the American Thoracic Society. 2023; 20(7):958-968.
Long-Term Effects of Maternal Glycemic Measures in Pregnancy and Offspring Adverse Glycemic Outcomes: Results from the TEAM Study. American Journal of Perinatology. 2026; 43(8):1082-1090.
Maternal Hyperglycemia and Adult Offspring Overweight and Obesity: Is Birthweight a Mediator? American Journal of Perinatology. 2026; 43(8):1031-1044.
A Bayesian Location-Scale Joint Model for Time-To-Event and Multivariate Longitudinal Data With Association Based on Within-Individual Variability. Statistics in Medicine. 2026; 45(10-12):e70596.
C104-06 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Multicenter Safety and Durability of Sirolimus for Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) (MIDAS) Registry: Real-World Safety and Efficacy of Sirolimus in Lymphangioleiomyomatosis. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2026; 212(Supplement_1):aamag162.2824.
Clinical effectiveness of elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI) in People with Cystic Fibrosis in the United States. Annals of the American Thoracic Society. 2026.
Structural and Functional Pulmonary MRI to Predict Pulmonary Exacerbations in Cystic Fibrosis. Chest. 2026; 169(4):919-931.
Feasibility and reliability of home spirometry in lymphangioleiomyomatosis. Annals of the American Thoracic Society. 2026; 23(4):657-661.
Patterns of weight gain during the first half of pregnancy and risk of large newborns in women with insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus. Pregnancy. 2026; 2(2).
Integrating US Registry data to reveal social and environmental determinants impacting lung function decline in cystic fibrosis patients. Journal of Applied Statistics. 2026; ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print):1-13.
From the Blog
Lung Health Varies Widely State-to-State for People with Cystic Fibrosis
Rhonda D. Szczesniak, PhD, Emrah Gecili, PhD2/27/2026
Developing a Framework for Studying Lung Function Decline in Cystic Fibrosis
Rhonda D. Szczesniak, PhD7/1/2023
Inclined to Predict Declines: A Tool for Informing Early Intervention for Cystic Fibrosis Patients
Rhonda D. Szczesniak, PhD, Assem G. Ziady, PhD ...5/17/2021
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