Research

Selected Peer-reviewed Publications

Statistical Theory and Methods

1. Mandujano Reyes, J.F.*, Ma, T. F., McGahan, I.P. & Zhu, J. (2025+). A Generalization Error Bound of Physics-informed Neural Networks for Ecological Diffusion Models. Stat. To appear.

2. Wu, Q., Ma, T. F.*, Kuo, Y.-H., Yau, C. Y. & Cheung, T. (2025+). Used Car Pricing with Interpretable Machine Learning and Analysis of Marginal Effects. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. To appear.

3. Mandujano Reyes, J.F.*, Ma, T. F., McGahan, I. P., Storm, D. J., Walsh, D. P. & Zhu, J. (2025). Spatiotemporal Causal Inference with Mechanistic Ecological Models: Evaluating Targeted Culling on Chronic Wasting Disease Dynamics in Cervids. Environmetrics, 36, e2901.

4. Mandujano Reyes, J.F.*, McGahan, I. P., Ma, T. F., Ballmann, A. E., Walsh, D. P. & Zhu, J. (2025). Non-stationary Extensions of the Diffusion-based Gaussian Matérn Field for Ecological Applications. Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics, 30(4), 966–982.

5. Mandujano Reyes, J.F.*, Oh, G., McGahan, I.P., Ma, T. F., Russell, R., Walsh, D. P. & Zhu, J. (2025). Learning Complex Spatial Dynamics of Ecological Processes with Machine Learning-guided Partial Differential Equations. Environmental Data Science, 4: e28, 1–23.

6. Ma, T. F.*, Mandujano Reyes, J.F. & Zhu, J. (2024). M-estimators for Models with a Mix of Discrete and Continuous Parameters. Sankhya A, 86, 164-190.

7. Ma, T. F.*, Cai, Y.†, Shi, P. & Zhu, J. (2024). Hierarchical Dependence Modeling for the Analysis of Large Insurance Claims Data. The Annals of Applied Statistics, 18(2), 1404-1420.

8. Mandujano Reyes, J.F.*, Ma, T. F., McGahan, I. P., Storm, D. J., Walsh, D. P. & Zhu, J. (2024). Spatio-temporal Ecological Models via Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Studying Chronic Wasting Disease. Spatial Statistics, 62, 100850.

9. Zhao, Z.*, Ma, T. F., Ng, W. L. & Yau, C. Y. (2024). A Composite Likelihood-based Approach for Change-point Detection in Spatio-temporal Processes. Journal of the American Statistical Association - Theory and Methods, 119(548), 3086-3100.

10. Ma, T. F., Wang, F.* & Zhu, J. (2023). On Generalized Latent Factor Modeling and Inference for High-Dimensional Binomial Data. Biometrics, 79(3), 2311-2320.

11. Ma, T. F., Wang, F.*, Zhu, J., Ives, R.I. & Lewińska, K.E. (2023). Scalable Semiparametric Spatio-temporal Regression for Large Data Analysis. Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics, 28(2), 279-298.

12. Oh, G.*, Aravamuthan, S., Ma, T. F., Mandujano Reyes, J.F., Ballmann, A., Hefley, T., McGahan, I., Russell, R., Walsh, D. & Zhu, J. (2023). Model-based Surveillance System Design under Practical Constraints with Application to White Nose Syndrome. Environmental and Ecological Statistics, 30, 649-667.

13. Wang, P., Ma, T. F.*, Bandyopadhyay, D., Tang, Y. & Zhu, J. (2021). Composite Likelihood Inference for Ordinal Periodontal Data with Replicated Spatial Patterns. Statistics in Medicine, 40(26), 5871-5893. 

14. Ma, T. F. & Yau, C. Y.* (2016). A Pairwise Likelihood-based Approach for Changepoint Detection in Multivariate Time Series Models. Biometrika, 103(2), 409-421.

Selected Interdisciplinary Research

Statistical Applications in Public Health and Epidemiology

1. Chan, K. P. F., Ma, T. F., Fang, H., Tsui, W. K., Ho, J. C. M., Ip, M. S. M. & Ho, P. L. (2025). Changes in the Incidence, Viral Coinfection Pattern and Outcomes of Pneumococcal Hospitalizations During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. Pneumonia, 17,9. [2023 Impact Factor (IF): 8.5; Clarivate Journal Citation Indicator (JCI) Respiratory System: 20/101]

2. Chan, F. K. P., Ma, T. F., Sridhar, S., Lui, M. M. S., Ho, J. C. M., Lam, D. C. L., Ip, M. S. M., & Ho, P. L. (2024). Changes in the Incidence, Clinical Features and Outcomes of Tuberculosis during COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 17(9), September, 102511. [2023 Impact Factor: 4.7; JCI Infectious Diseases: 19/132, Public, Environmental, & Occupational Health: 45/403]

3. Kwok, W. C.*, Lung, D. C., Tam, T. C. C., Yap, D. Y. H.,  Ma, T. F., Tsui, C. K., Zhang, R., Lam, D. C. L., Ip, M. S. M. & Ho, J. C. M. (2024). Protective effects from prior Pneumococcal Vaccination in Patients with Chronic Airway Diseases during Hospitalization for Influenza - A Territory-wide Study, Vaccines, 12(7), 704. [2022 IF: 5.5; JCI Immunology: 33/181; Medicine, Research & Experimental: 36/189]

4. Kwok, W. C., Ma, T. F., Ho, J., Lam, D. C. L., Sit, K. Y., Ip, M. S. M., Au, T. W. K. & Tam, T. C. C.* (2023). Prediction Model on Disease Recurrence for Low-risk Resected Stage I Lung Adenocarcinoma. Respirology, 28(7), 669–676. [2023 IF: 6.6; JCI Respiratory System: 12/100]

5. Chan, K. P. F., Kwok, W. C., Ma, T. F., Ho, J. C. M., Lam, D. C. L., Wang, J. K. L., Ip, M. S. M. & Ho, P. L.* (2021). Territory Wide Study on Hospital Admissions for Asthma Exacerbation in COVID-19 Pandemic. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, Volume 18, Number 10, 1624–1633. [2021 IF: 8.8; JCI Respiratory System: 9/99]

6. Chan, K. P. F., Ma, T. F.,  Ip, M. S. M. & Ho, P. L.* (2021). Invasive Pneumococcal Disease, Pneumococcal Pneumonia and All-cause Pneumonia in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 Pandemic compared with the Preceding 5 years: a Retrospective Observational Study. BMJ Open, 11, e055575. [2021 IF: 3.1; JCI Medicine, General & Internal: 72/329]

7. Kwok, W. C., Wong, K. C., Ma, T. F.,  Ho, K. W.,  Fan, L. W. T., Chan, K. P. F., Chan, S. S. K., Tam, T. C. C. & Ho, P. L.* (2021). Modelling the Impact of Travel Restrictions on COVID-19 Cases in Hong Kong in Early 2020. BMC Public Health, 21, 1878. [2021 IF: 4.1; JCI Public, Environmental & Occupational Health: 92/392]

8. Chan, K. P. F., Ma, T. F., Kwok, W. C., Leung, K. C., Chiang, K. Y., Ho, J. C. M., Lam, D. C. L., Tam, T. C. C., Ip, M. S. M. & Ho, P. L.* (2020). Significant Reduction in Hospital Admissions for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Acute Exacerbations in Hong Kong during COVID-19 Pandemic. Respiratory Medicine, 171, September 106085. [2020 Impact Factor: 3.4; JCI Cardiac & Cardiovascular system 60/196, Respiratory System: 28/96]

9. Walsh, D.*, Ma, T. F., Ip, H. & Zhu, J. (2019). Artificial Intelligence and Avian Influenza: Using Machine Learning to Enhance Active Surveillance for Avian Influenza Viruses. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, 66(6), 2537-2545. [2022 IF: 4.3; JCI Veterinary Sciences: 10/171, Infectious Diseases: 18/129]

Statistical Consulting, Applications in Machine Learning and Data Science

10. Francis, H.*, Ma, T. F., Werle, R., Zegler, C., Smith, D., Soldat, D., Marin-Spiotta, E. & Ruark, M. (2025). Nitrogen Fertilizer Equivalence of Red Clover when Inter-seeded into Corn. To appear. Agronomy Journal, 117, e70133. [2024 IF: 2.0; JCI Agronomy: 32/126]

11. Daniels, M. C., Braziunas, K. H., Turner, M. G., Ma, T. F., Short, K. C. & Rissman, A. R.* (2024). Multiple Social and Environmental Factors Affect Wildland Fire Response of Full or Less-than-full Suppression. Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 351, February 2024, 119731. [2023 IF: 8.0; JCI Environmental Sciences: 34/358]

12. Foreman-Ortiz, I. U., Ma, T. F., Hoover, B. M., Wu, M., Murphy, C. J.*, Murphy, R. M. & Pedersen, J. A. (2022). Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis and Statistical Mixture Distribution Analysis to Quantify Nanoparticle–vesicle Binding. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 615, June 2022, 50-58.  [2022 IF: 9.9; JCI Chemistry, Physical: 21/172]

13. Chan, M.*, Cheung, F., Lau, C. & Ma, T. F. (2021). Global Trends in Cross-Cultural Endorsement of Social Mobility: Evidence from 167 Countries. American Psychologist, 76(6), 917–932. [2021 IF: 16.4; JCI Psychology - Multidisciplinary: 5/211]

14. Whyte, C., Ma, T. F., Sindelar, J. & Rankin, S.* (2021). Rapid Hygiene Assay Sensitive to Cumulative Adenylate Homologues Exhibits Equal or Higher Frequencies of Soil Contamination Detection than Assay Limited to ATP Detection. Journal of Food Protection, 84 (11), 1937-1944.

* Correspondence author † Mentee

Other Publication

• Wong, S. Y., Yau, C. H., Chan H. T. & Ma, T. F. (2019). The Living Evidence of Sexual Violence Against Women in Hong Kong: A Retrospective Study of RainLily’s Crisis Services (2000-2018). Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women Research Report. [Press release & Order a hard copy] [Selected news report]

Note: See Google Scholar or ResearchGate for a more completed list of publications.