Laura Coombs, PhD, MS

Laura P. Coombs is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

• Phone: (301) 881-9260
• Fax: (301) 881-3767
• Email: LCoombs@biostat.bsc.gwu.edu

Several clinical fields, including diabetes and cardiology, have been enriched by Professor Coombs's rigorous understanding of statistical analyses. At The Biostatistics Center, Dr. Coombs is the coordinating center co-investigator on two multi-center trials funded by the National Institute of Diabetes &Digestive &Kidney Disorders: Minimally Invasive Surgical Therapies (MIST) for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Studies to Treat or Prevent Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes (STOPP-T2D).

Prior to coming to the School in 2003, Dr. Coombs spent four years at Duke Clinical Research Institute, where she was part of the Outcomes Research and Assessment Group. She analyzed research queries in the area of cardiology for the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Database and served as the statistician on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's "Strategies for Continuous Quality Improvement: A National Randomized Trial."

Education

Master of Statistics (Statistics), University of Florida, 1989
Doctor of Philosophy (Statistics), Oklahoma State University, 1999

Research

Dr. Coombs's primary statistical research interests are hierarchical modeling, logistic regression and observational analysis.

Community Service

Professor Coombs is a member of the American Statistical Association and the Society for Clinical Trials and has been a reviewer for the Journal of Statistics Education and the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Departments

• Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Institutes & Centers

• Biostatistics Center

Publications

• The evaluation of process measures when center-specific selection criteria vary with respect to patient risk.
  DeLong ER, Coombs LP, Ferguson TB, Peterson ED. The evaluation of process measures when center-specific selection criteria vary with respect to patient risk. Biometrics. In press.
• Odds ratios for a continuous outcome variable without dichotomizing.
  Moser BK, Coombs LP. Odds ratios for a continuous outcome variable without dichotomizing. Stat Med 2004;23:1843-60.
• Selecting patients with mitral regurgitation and left ventricular dysfunction for isolated mitral valve surgery.
  Haan CK, Cabral CI, Conetta DA, Coombs LP, Edwards FH. Selecting patients with mitral regurgitation and left ventricular dysfunction for isolated mitral valve surgery. Ann Thorac Surg 2004;8(3):820-5.
• Validity of the society of thoracic surgeons national adult cardiac surgery database.
  Welke KF, Ferguson TB, Coombs LP, Dokholyan RS, Murray CJ, Schrader MA, Peterson ED. Validity of the society of thoracic surgeons national adult cardiac surgery database. Ann Thorac Surg 2004;77(4):1137-9.
• Procedural volume as a marker for quality in CABG surgery.
  Peterson ED, Coombs LP, DeLong ER, Haan CK, Ferguson TB. Procedural volume as a marker for quality in CABG surgery. J Am Med Assoc 2004;291(2):195-201.
• Willingness to participate in cardiac trials.
  Peterson ED, Lytle B, Coombs LP, Biswas M. Willingness to participate in cardiac trials. Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2004; 13(1).
• Patient selection and current practice patterns for off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery.
  Magee MJ, Coombs LP, Peterson ED, Mack MJ. Patient selection and current practice patterns for off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. Circulation Suppl 2004;1:II9-14.
• Use of continuous quality improvement to increase use of process measures in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a randomized controlled trial.
  Ferguson TB, Peterson ED, Coombs LP, Eiken MC, Carey ML, DeLong ER. Use of continuous quality improvement to increase use of process measures in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a randomized controlled trial. J Am Med Assoc 2003;290(1):49-56.
• The Society of Thoracic Surgeons: 30-day operative mortality and morbidity risk models.
  Shroyer AL, Coombs LP, Peterson ED, Eiken M, DeLong ER, Chen A, et al. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons: 30-day operative mortality and morbidity risk models. Ann Thorac Surg 2003;75(6):1856-64.
• Cardiac surgery in nonagenarians and centenarians.
  Bridges CR, Edwards FH, Peterson ED, Coombs LP, Ferguson TB. Cardiac surgery in nonagenarians and centenarians. J Am Coll Surg 2003;197(3):347-56.
• Comparison of risk profiles and outcomes in women-vs-men >= 75 years of age undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.
  Haan CK, Chiong JR, Coombs LP, Edwards FE, Geraci SA. Comparison of risk profiles and outcomes in women-vs-men >= 75 years of age undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Am J Cardiol 2003;91(10):1255-8.
• Effect of cardiac rehabilitation on functional outcomes after coronary revascularization.
  Pasquali SK, Alexander KP, Coombs LP, Lytle BL, Peterson ED. Effect of cardiac rehabilitation on functional outcomes after coronary revascularization. Am Heart J 2003;145(3):445-51.
• The risks of moderate and extreme obesity for coronary artery bypass grafting outcomes: a study from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database.
  Prabhakar G, Haan CK, Peterson ED, Coombs LP, Cruzzavala JL, Murray GF. The risks of moderate and extreme obesity for coronary artery bypass grafting outcomes: a study from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database. Ann Thorac Surg 2002;74:1125-30.
• The influence of age on outcomes in patients undergoing mitral valve replacement.
  Mehta RH, Coombs LP, Peterson ED, Eagle KA, Edwards FH, Bolling SF, Prager RL. The influence of age on outcomes in patients undergoing mitral valve replacement. Ann Thorac Surg 2002;74:1459-67.
• Hospital variability in length of stay following coronary artery bypass surgery: results from the Society of Thoracic Surgery National Cardiac database.
  Peterson ED, Coombs LP, Ferguson TB, Shroyer AL, DeLong ER, Grover FL, Edwards FH. Hospital variability in length of stay following coronary artery bypass surgery: results from the Society of Thoracic Surgery National Cardiac database. Ann Thorac Surg 2002;74:464-73.
• Preoperative beta blocker use and mortality and morbidity following CABG in North America.
  Ferguson TB, Coombs LP, Peterson ED. Preoperative beta blocker use and mortality and morbidity following CABG in North America. J Am Med Assoc 2002;287:2221-7.
• Internal thoracic artery grafting in the elderly patient undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: room for process improvement?
  Ferguson TB, Coombs, LP, Peterson ED. Internal thoracic artery grafting in the elderly patient undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: room for process improvement? J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2002;123:869-80.
• Testing an intervention to increase cardiac rehabilitation enrollment after coronary artery bypass grafting.
  Pasquali SK, Alexander KP, Lytle BL, Coombs LP, Peterson ED. Testing an intervention to increase cardiac rehabilitation enrollment after coronary artery bypass grafting. Am J Cardiol 2001;88:1415-16.
• Gender differences in neurologic outcomes and mortality after cardiac surgery: an STS national database report.
  Hogue CW, Barzilai B, DeLong ER, Pieper KS, Coombs LP, Kouchoukos NT, Dávila-Román VG. Gender differences in neurologic outcomes and mortality after cardiac surgery: an STS national database report. Circulation 2001;103:2133-7.
• Prediction of operative mortality following valve replacement surgery.
  Edwards FH, Peterson ED, Coombs LP, DeLong ER, Jamieson E, Shroyer ALW, Grover FL. Prediction of operative mortality following valve replacement surgery. J Am Coll Cardiol 2001;37:885-92.
• The effect of race on coronary bypass operative mortality.
  Bridges CR, Edwards FH, Peterson ED, Coombs LP. The effect of race on coronary bypass operative mortality. J Am Coll Cardiol 2000;36:1870-6.