Helena Oakey

Helena Oakey

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Helena Oakey has been the Senior Biostatistician for the ENvironmental Determinants of Islet Autoimmunity (ENDIA) team at the University of Adelaide, since April 2019. She was previously a group leader within the Biometry Hub at the University of Adelaide, where she was the statistical adviser on 11 projects, supervising 3 biostatisticians. She consulted and collaborated with researchers on project design and protocol preparation, data capture and validation, statistical analysis and interpretation of findings, grant applications and manuscript publications.
Her area of statistical expertise includes methodological development in statistical genomics and omics data analysis, linear mixed models and multi-phase design having first author publications in these areas and she is currently co-supervising two PhD student in the area of genomic selection in crops and cattle (Note: genomic selection is equivalent of polygenic risk scores in Human Health and Medical Science), with two completed.
She has worked in Scotland at the University of Dundee as a Senior Biostatistician and has worked as a statistical consultant at Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland and as a private consultant to King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. She was formerly Director of the Data Management section of the Clinical Trials Unit (formerly the Australian Research Centre for Health of Women & Babies -ARCH) at the University of Adelaide where she was involved in all aspects of clinical trials from inception to completion. She was recently a committee member of the SA branch council of the Statistical Society of Australia receiving the President’s Award for Leadership in Statistics (awarded to the 2020-2022 Branch Councils), and is a current member of the ENDIA steering committee and the Women’s & Children’s Health Network HREC Committee.

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2019 - ongoing Senior Research Fellow University of Adelaide
    2017 - 2020 Senior Research Fellow University of Adelaide
    2015 - 2016 Senior Statistician Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, Edinburgh
    2010 - 2016 Senior Biological Statistician University of Dundee/James Hutton Institute

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2008 University of Adelaide Australia PhD
    1998 University of Southampton United Kingdom MSc Statistics with Applications in Medicine
    1994 University of Southampton United Kingdom BSc (Hons) Mathematics with Statistics

  • Research Interests
    Agriculture Applied Statistics Genomics Child and Adolescent Health Pregnancy and Birth

  • 2021-2023 JDRFA Research Grant "Using 3D genomics to functionally connect genetic risk of Type 1 diabetes to the genes that drive loss of immune tolerance" (Barry S, Wong Y, Penno M, Sadlon T, Couper J, Breen J, Oakey H). AUD$505,085

  • 2021-2023 Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust - Research Grant (R-2103-05117) "Environmental determinants of islet autoimmunity (ENDIA) Expanded Support" (Penno M, Couper J, Oakey H  Thomson R, Ashwood P, Brown J, Sinnott R, Harrison L, Colman P, Wentworth J, Soldatos, G, Vuillermin P, Craig M, Rawlinson W, Harris M, Davis E, Haynes A) AUD$1,428,543

  • 2021-2023 Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust - Research Grant (R-2112-04908) "Environmental determinants of islet autoimmunity (ENDIA) Science Continuation " (Couper J, Penno M, Harrison L, Craig M, Oakey H, Kim K, Rawlinson W, Morahan G) AUD$2,067,727

  • 2011-2013 NHMRC (51301001) "Prenatal repeat corticosteroids in women at risk of preterm birth for improving neonatal health - an individual patient data review" (Crowther C, Askie L, Oakey H, Middleton P) AUD$447,280

  • 2010-2011 NHMRC "Magnesium sulphate in women at risk of preterm birth for fetal neuroprotection - an individual patient data review" (Crowther C, Doyle L, Middleton P, Oakey H, Askie L) AUD$268,751

 

Short courses and workshops I have prepared and taught
Experimental design and analysis of variance using R 

A two day course which introduces the principals of experimental design and analysis of experiments with practical examples using R. Aimed at post-graduates and researchers.

Introduction to simple designs and their analysis 

A half day course that introduces simple designs such as CRD, RCBD and split plot: why design is important, how to generate and analyse them in R using relevant examples. Aimed at scientists.

Introduction to spatial designs for field trials and their analysis 

A half day course that introduces spatial designs such as unreplicated, partially replicated and row-column designs: why design is important, how to generate and analyse them in R and ASReml. Aimed at scientists.

Association mapping in R 

A half day course that introduces Association mapping with interactive lectures and practical sessions so that by the end of the course participants should feel confident in performing an Association mapping analysis on their own data using GAPIT. Aimed at scientists.

Introduction to Medical Statistics 

A series of one hour interactive lectures/workshops for clinical trials departmental staff with little or no experience of statistics. These included data cleaning, introduction to randomised control trials, means and standard deviation, p-values and confidence intervals and the principles of the analysis of randomised control trials. Aimed at wide audience.

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2020 Co-Supervisor Using existing private data set containing both genotypes and phenotypes for growth, fertility, carcase and novel traits investigate heterosis and effects of sperm traits in composite cattle. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Maddie Louise Facy
    2019 Co-Supervisor Genomic Selection in Barley Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Silvina Baraibar Pedersen

  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2017 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Genomic Selection for High Quality Beef Production Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Rudi Adrianna McEwin

  • Other Supervision Activities
    Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name
    2015 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Genomic selection for accelerated barley breeding University of Dundee - Doctorate Full Time Ruth Hamilton

  • Committee Memberships
    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2020 - ongoing Member ENDIA Steering Committee University of Adelaide Australia
    2020 - 2023 Member Women's & Children's Health Network HREC committee Women's and Children's Hospital Australia
    2019 - ongoing Council Statistical Society of Australia -SA Branch University of Adelaide Australia

  • Memberships
    Date Role Membership Country
    2018 - ongoing Member Statistical Society of Australia Australia
Connect With Me
External Profiles