Professor James Lewis
Director of Y Lab
- lewisj78@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 9874
- sbarc|spark, Maindy Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am the director of Cardiff University's Y Lab - the Public Services Innovation Lab for Wales. 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
We are currently unable to retrieve the list of publications. Visit our institutional repository.@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).