Personal statement of research and research objectivesThere is often a gap between the research questions and the analytical methods being used in epidemiologic research. My training in biostatistics and epidemiology allows me to bridge this gap. Therefore a primary research interest is in helping to foster the transition of statistical methodologies into the field of epidemiology especially as applied to the setting of HIV research. For example, competing risk methods have been in the statistical literature for decades, but it has only been recently that these methods are being widely applied in epidemiologic research. However, just because there is a sophisticated analytical tool that is available (e.g. causal inference methods) does not mean that this is necessarily the right tool for the research question. Thus a guiding principle for me is to use the simplest but most appropriate tool to answer the research question in a suitable manner. Nevertheless, my methodological interests are in the areas of competing risks, causal inference including analytical methods for controlling for confounding (e.g. propensity scores, g-methods, instrumental variables), selection bias, and cohort study design.My applied research focuses on HIV, specifically on the care of people with HIV ranging from HIV disease progression to co-morbidities. Current focus has been on the intersection of alcohol and HIV outcomes as well as the intersection of HIV and cancer. With the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, much focus has switched to applications regarding COVID-19. Work has focused on COVID-19 trials, therapeutic allocation strategy modeling, and how to obtain evidence of efficacy from experimental treatments that have been issued expanded access or emergency use authorization. KeywordsEpidemiology, epidemiologic methods, biostatistics, observational study, cohort study, competing risks, survival analysis, HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2