I am Professor of Biostatistics and I hold the endowed University Chair in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (EBOH) at McGill University. Between 2002 and 2016 I worked in the Department of Statistical Methods of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I became Full Professor of Statistics in 2012. This article describes how I decided to be a Statistician.
I am an Elected Fellow of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis (2024), the American Statistical Association (2020) and an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute (2010). I was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Medal (2017) from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and the Environment and the Abdel El-Shaarawi Young Investigator Award (2008), from The International Environmetrics Society. I was the President of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis in 2015.
I am an Associate Member of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and of the Quantitative Life Sciences Program (QLS). My main areas of research are on the modelling of complex spatial and spatio-temporal processes under the Bayesian framework.
PhD in Statistics, 2001
University of Sheffield, UK
MSc in Statistics, 1996
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
BSc in Statistics, 1994
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
A nationwide joint spatial modelling of simultaneous epidemics of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in Colombia. Laís P. Freitas, Mabel Carabli, Alexandra M. Schmidt, J. E. S. Flórez, M. A. Monsalve, C. Garcı́a-Balaguera, B. N. Restrepo, G. I. Jaramillo-Ramirez, and K. Zinszer (2025). BMC Infectious Diseases, 25, 406.
Conditional forecasting of bus travel time and passenger occupancy with Bayesian Markov regime-switching vector autoregression, Xiaoxu Chen, Zhanhong Cheng, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Lijun Sun (2025). Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 192, 103147.
A Bayesian hierarchical model for disease mapping that accounts for scaling and heavy-tailed latent effects, Victoire Michal, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Laís P. Freitas, Oswaldo G. Cruz (2025). Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 34(2):307–321.
A three-state coupled Markov switching model for COVID-19 outbreaks across Quebec based on hospital admissions. Dirk Douwes-Schultz, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Yannan Shen, David L. Buckeridge (2025). The Annals of Applied Statistics, 19(1): 371-396.
A joint temporal model for hospitalizations and ICU admissions due to COVID-19 in Quebec, Mariana Carmona-Baez, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Shirin Golchi, David L. Buckeridge (2024). Stat, 13: e70000.
Mapping socio-economic status using mixed data: a hierarchical Bayesian approach, Gabrielle Virgili-Gervais, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Honor Bixby, Alicia Cavanaugh, George Owusu, Samuel Agyei-Mensah, Brian Robinson, and Jill Baumgartner (2024). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, qnae080.
Model-based prediction for small domains using covariates: a comparison of four methods, Victoire Michal, Jon Wakefield, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Alicia Cavanaugh, Brian Robinson, and Jill Baumgartner (2024). Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, smae032.
A comparison of Bayesian approximation methods for analyzing large spatial skewed data, Paritosh Kumar Roy and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2024). Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics.
A Bayesian Non-Stationary Heteroskedastic Time Series Model for Multivariate Critical Care Data, Zayd Omar, David A. Stephens, Alexandra M. Schmidt and David Buckeridge (2024). Statistics in Medicine, 43(20), 3958-3974.
Zika emergence, persistence, and transmission rate in Colombia: a nationwide application of a space-time Markov switching model, Laís P. Freitas, Dirk Douwes-Schultz, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Brayan Ávila Monsalve, Jorge Emilio Salazar Flórez, César García-Balaguera, Berta N. Restrepo, Gloria I. Jaramillo-Ramirez, Mabel Carabali, and Kate Zinszer (2024). Scientific Reports, 14, 10003.
Modelling left-censored skewed spatial processes: the case of arsenic drinking water contamination, Qi Zhang, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Yogendra P. Chaubey (2024). Spatial Statistics, 59, 100816.
Strangers in a strange land: Mapping household and neighbourhood associations with improved wellbeing outcomes in Accra, Ghana, Alicia C. Cavanaugh, J. C. Baumgartner, H. Bixby, Alexandra M. Schmidt, S. Agyei-Mensah, S. K. Annim, J. Anum, R. Arku, J. Bennett, F. Berkhout, M. Ezzati, S. E. Mintah, G. Owusu, J. Doku Tetteh, B. E. Robinson (2023), Cities, 143, 104584.
Bayesian modeling of dynamic behavioral change during an epidemic, Caitlin Ward, Rob Deardon and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2023). Infectious Disease Modelling, 8(4), 947–963.
Modelling temporally misaligned data across space: the case of total pollen concentration in Toronto, Sara Zapata-Marin, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Scott Weichenthal and Eric Lavigne (2023). Environmetrics, 34(8), e2820.
The impact of directly observed therapy on the efficacy of Tuberculosis treatment: A Bayesian multilevel approach, Widemberg S. Nobre, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Erica E. M. Moodie and David A. Stephens (2023). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series C: Applied Statistics, 72 (4), 889–911.
Causal inference under mis-specification: adjustment based on the propensity score (with Discussion), David A. Stephens, Widemberg S. Nobre, Erica E. M. Moodie and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2023). Bayesian Analysis, 18(2): 639–694.
Identifying deprived “slum” neighbourhoods in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana using census and remote sensing data, Robert MacTavis, Honor Bixby, Alicia Cavanaugh, Samuel Agyei-Mensah, Ayaga Bawah, George Owusu, Majid Ezzati, Raphael Arku, Brian Robinson, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Jill Baumgartner (2023). World Development, 167, 106253.
On-line warning system for pipe burst using Bayesian dynamic linear models, Renato Henriques-Silva, Sophie Duchesne, Nicolas F. St-Gelais, Naysan Saran, Alexandra M. Schmidt (2023). Water Resources Research, 59 (4), e2021WR031745.
Dynamical non-Gaussian modelling of spatial processes, Thaís C. O. Fonseca, Viviana G. R. Lobo and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2023). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series C: Applied Statistics, 72, (1), 76–103.
Spatial modelling of ambient concentrations of volatile organic compounds in Montreal, Canada, Sara Zapata-Marin, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Dan Crouse, Vikki Ho, France Labrèche, Eric Lavigne, Marie-Élise Parent and Mark S. Goldberg (2022). Environmental Epidemiology, 6 (5), p e226.
A process convolution model for crash count data on a network, Hassan Rezaee, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Joshua Stipancic and Aurélie Labbe (2022). Accident Analysis and Prevention, 14;177:106823.
Extended Bayesian endemic–epidemic models to incorporate mobility data into COVID-19 forecasting, Dirk Douwes-Schultz, Shuo Sun, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Erica E. M. Moodie (2022). Canadian Journal of Statistics, 50, 713-733.
Estimating the lagged effect of price discounting: a time-series study on sugar sweetened beverage purchasing in a supermarket, Hiroshi Mamiya, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Erica E. M. Moodie and David L. Buckeridge (2022). BMC Public Health, 22, 1502.
Revisiting Transfer Functions: Learning About a Lagged Exposure-Outcome Association in Time-Series Data, Hiroshi Mamiya, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Erica E. M. Moodie and David L. Buckeridge (2022). International Journal of Public Health, 11; 67:1604841.
A Poisson-multinomial spatial model for simultaneous outbreaks with application to arboviral diseases, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Laís P. Freitas, Oswaldo G. Cruz and Marilia S. Carvalho (2022). Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 31 (8), 1590–1602.
A joint hierarchical model for the number of cases and deaths due to COVID-19 across the boroughs of Montreal, Victoire Michal, Leo Vanciu and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2022). Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Epidemiology, 42, 100518.
Zero-state coupled Markov switching count models for spatio-temporal infectious disease spread, Dirk Douwes-Schultz and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2022). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series C, 71(3), 589–612.
A joint spatial marked point process model for dengue and severe dengue in Medellin, Colombia, Mabel Carabali, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Berta N. Restrepo and Jay S. Kaufman (2022). Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Epidemiology, 41, 100495.
Socioeconomic factors and bacillary dysentery risk in Jiangsu Province, China: a spatial investigation using Bayesian hierarchical models, Sabrina Li, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Susan J. Elliot (2022). International Journal of Environmental and Health Research, 32(1), 220-231.
Quantifying within-city inequalities in child mortality across neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana: A Bayesian spatial analysis, Honor Bixby, James E. Bennett, Ayaga Agula Bawah, Raphael E. Arku, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Brian E. Robinson, Samuel Agyei Mensah, George Owusu, Samilia E. Mintah, Jacqueline D. Anum, Majid Ezzati, and Jill Baumgartner (2022). BMJ Open, 12, 1, e054030.
Within city spatiotemporal variation of pollen concentration in the city of Toronto, Canada, Sara Zapata-Marin, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Scott Weichenthal, Daniel S.W.Katz, Tim Takaro, Jeffrey Brooke, Eric Lavigne (2022). Environment Research, 206, 112566.
Generating Community Measures of Food Purchasing Activities Using Store-Level Electronic Grocery Transaction Records: An Ecological Study in Montreal, Canada, Mamiya, H., Schmidt, A. M., Moodie, E. M., Ma, Y., and Buckeridge, D. L. (2021). Public Health Nutrition, 24(17), 5616-5628.
Spatio-temporal modelling of the first Chikungunya epidemic in an intra-urban setting: the role of socioeconomic status, environment and temperature, Laís P. Freitas, Alexandra M. Schmidt, William Cossich, Oswaldo G. Cruz, and Marilia S. Carvalho (2021). PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 15(6): e0009537.
Estimating an individual-level deprivation index for HIV/HCV coinfected persons in Canada, Adam Palayew, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Sahar Saeed, Curtis L Cooper, Alexander Wong, Valérie Martel-Laferrière, Sharon Walmsley, Joseph Cox, and Marina B. Klein (2021). PLOS ONE 16(4): e0249836.
Price discounting as a hidden risk factor of energy drink consumption, Hiroshi Mamiya, Erica E. M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Yu Ma, and David Buckeridge (2021). Canadian Journal of Public Health, 112, 638–646.
Importation of SARS-CoV-2 following the semaine de relâche and Québec’s COVID-19 burden - a mathematical modeling study, A. Godin, Y. Xia, D.L. Buckeridge, S. Mishra, D. Douwes-Schultz, Y. Shen, M. Lavigne, M. Drolet, A.M. Schmidt, M. Brisson and M. Maheu-Giroux (2021). International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 102, 254–259.
On the effects of spatial confounding in hierarchical models, Widemberg S. Nobre, Alexandra M. Schmidt and João B. M. Pereira (2021). International Statistical Review, 89, 302–322.
Flexible spatial covariance functions, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Peter Guttorp (2020). Spatial Statistics - Special Issue on Frontiers in Spatial Research, 37, 100416.
Spatial confounding in hurdle multilevel beta models: the case of the Brazilian Mathematical Olympics for public schools, João B. M. Pereira, Widemberg S. Nobre, Igor F. L. Silva and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2020). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, 183, 1051–1073.
Fluoroquinolone use and seasonal patterns of ciprofloxacin resistance in community-acquired urinary Escherichia coli in a large urban center, Jean-Paul R Soucy, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Caroline Quach and David L Buckeridge (2020). American Journal of Epidemiology, 189, 215–223.
Longitudinal evaluation of a household energy package on blood pressure, central hemodynamics, and arterial stiffness in China, Sierra N. Clark, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Ellison M. Carter, James J. Schauer, Xudong Yang, Majid Ezzati, Stella S. Daskalopoulou and Jill Baumgartner (2019). Environmental Research, 177, 108592.
An area-level indicator of latent soda demand: Spatial statistical modeling of grocery store transaction data to characterize the nutritional landscape in Montreal, Canada, Hiroshi Mamiya, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Erica E. M. Moodie, Yu Ma and David L. Buckeridge (2019). American Journal of Epidemiology, 188, 1713–1722.
Joint modelling of resistance to six antimicrobials in urinary Escherichia coli isolates in Quebec, Canada, Jean-Paul R Soucy, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Charles Frenette, Patrick Dolcé, Alexandre A Boudreault, David L Buckeridge and Caroline Quach (2019). Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 63, e02531-18.
Bayesian estimation of the average treatment effect on the treated using inverse weighting, Estelina S. Capistrano, Erica E. M. Moodie and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2019). Statistics in Medicine, 38: 2447-2466.
Healthcare-associated bloodstream infection trends under a provincial surveillance program, Iman Fakih, Élise Fortin, Marc-André Smith, Alex Carignan, Claude Tremblay, Jasmin Villeneuve, Danielle Moisan, Charles Frenette, Caroline Quach for SPIN-BACTOT and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2019). Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 40, 307–313.
Accounting for covariate information in the scale component of spatio-temporal mixing models, Renata S. Bueno, Thaís C. O . Fonseca and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2017). Spatial Statistics, 22, 196-218.
Rejoinder to the Discussion of Genton and Hering, and Huerta and Stroud on Spatio-temporal models for skewed processes, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Kelly Gonçalves and Patrícia L. Velozo (2017). Environmetrics, 28:e2411.
Spatio-temporal models for skewed processes, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Kelly Gonçalves and Patrícia L. Velozo (2017). Environmetrics (with discussion), 28:e2411.
A Hierarchical Mixture Beta Dynamic Model of School Performance in the Brazilian Mathematical Olympiads for Public Schools, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Caroline P. de Moraes and Helio S. Migon (2017) (Invited by the Editor-in-Chief). Chilean Journal of Statistics, 8, 3-24.
A nonlinear population Monte Carlo scheme for the Bayesian estimation of parameters of alpha-stable distributions, Eugenia Koblents, Joaquín Míguez, Marco A. Rodríguez and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2016). Computational Statistics and Data Analysis, 95, 57-74.
Population counts along elliptical habitat contours: hierarchical modelling using Poisson-lognormal mixtures with nonstationary spatial structure, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Marco A. Rodríguez and Estelina S. Capistrano (with Supplementary Material) (2015). Annals of Applied Statistics, 9, 1372-1393.
Modelling categorized levels of precipitation, Patricia L. Velozo, Mariane B. Alves and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2014). Brazilian Journal of Probability and Statistics, 28, 2, 190-208.
Accounting for spatially varying directional effects in spatial covariance structures, Joaquim H. Vianna Neto, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Peter Guttorp (2014). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series C (Applied Statistics), 63, 1, 102-122.
An efficient sampling scheme for dynamic generalized models, Helio S. Migon, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Romy R. Ravines and João B. M. Pereira (2013). Computational Statistics, 28, 2267-2293.
A hierarchical model for aggregated functional data, Ronaldo Dias, Nancy L. Garcia and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2013). Technometrics, 55, 321-334.
Covariance structure of spatial and spatio-temporal processes, Peter Guttorp and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2013). WIREs Computational Statistics, 5, 279-287
Measuring the vulnerability of the Uruguayan population to vector-borne diseases via spatially hierarchical factor models, Hedibert F.Lopes, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Esther Salazar, Mariana Gómez and Marcel Achcar (2012). Annals of Applied Statistics, 6, 1, 284-303.
Evolutionary Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms for optimal monitoring network designs, Ramiro Ruiz C., Marco A. R. Ferreira and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2012). Statistical Methodology, 9, 185-194.
A class of covariate-dependent spatiotemporal covariance functions, Brian J. Reich, Jo Eidvisk, Michele Guindani, Amy J. Nail and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2011). Annals of Applied Statistics, 5 (4), 2425–2447.
Spatially varying autoregressive processes, Aline A. Nobre, Bruno Sansó and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2011). Technometrics, 53 (3), 310–321
Considering covariates in the covariance structure of spatial processes, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Peter Guttorp and Anthony O’Hagan (2011). Environmetrics, 22, 487-500.
Modelling time series of counts in epidemiology Alexandra M. Schmidt and João Batista M. Pereira (2011). International Statistical Review, 79, 48-69.
Stochastic search algorithms for optimal monitoring network designs, Ramiro Ruiz C., Marco A. R. Ferreira and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2010). Environmetrics, 21, 102-112.
Modelling zero-inflated spatio-temporal processes, Marcus Vinicius Fernandes, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Helio S. Migon (2009). Statistical Modelling, 9(1), 3-25
Spatial stochastic frontier models: accounting for unobserved local determinants of inefficiency, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Ajax R. B. Moreira, Steven M. Helfand, and Thais C. O. Fonseca (2009). Journal of Productivity Analysis, 31, 101-112
Investigating the sensitivity of Gaussian processes to the choice of their correlation function and prior specifications, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Ma. de Fátima da G. Conceição and Guido A. Moreira (2008). Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation, 78, 8, 681-699.
Bayesian Spatio-temporal models based on discrete convolutions, Bruno Sansó, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Aline A. Nobre (2008). Canadian Journal of Statistics, 36, 239-258.
A joint model for rainfall-runoff: the case of Rio Grande Basin, Romy R. Ravines, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Helio S. Migon and Camilo D. Rennó (2008). Journal of Hydrology, 353, 189-200.
Spatial modelling of the relative risk of dengue fever in Rio de Janeiro for the epidemic period between 2001 and 2002, Gustavo S. Ferreira and Alexandra M. Schmidt (2006). Brazilian Journal of Probability and Statistics, 20, 1, 29-47.
Revisiting distributed lag models through a Bayesian perspective, Romy R. Ravines, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Helio S. Migon (2006). Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry, 22, 2, 193-210.
Spatio-temporal models for mapping the incidence of malaria in Pará, Aline A. Nobre, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Hedibert F. Lopes (2005). Environmetrics, 16, 291-304.
Explaining Species Diversity Through Species Level Hierarchical Modeling, Alan E. Gelfand, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Shanshan Wu, John A. Silander Jr., Andrew Latimer and Anthony G. Rebelo (2005). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series C (Applied Statistics), 54, 1, 1-20.
Nonstationary Multivariate Process Modeling through Spatially Varying Coregionalization (with discussion), Alan E. Gelfand, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Sudipto Banerjee and C.F. Sirmans (2004). TEST, 13, 2, 1-50.
Bayesian Inference for Nonstationary Spatial Covariance Structures via Spatial Deformations, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Anthony O’Hagan (2003). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B, 65, 3, 743-758.
A Bayesian Coregionalization Approach for Multivariate Pollutant Data, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Alan E. Gelfand (2003). Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 108.
An Adaptive Resampling Scheme for Cycle Estimation, Alexandra M. Schmidt, Dani Gamerman and Ajax R. B. Moreira (1999). Journal of Applied Statistics, 26, 5, 619-641.
Hyperparameter Estimation in Forecast Models, Hedibert Freitas Lopes, Ajax R. B. Moreira and Alexandra M. Schmidt (1999). Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 29, 387-410.
Temporal Aggregation in Dynamic Linear Models, Alexandra M. Schmidt and Dani Gamerman (1997). Journal of Forecasting, vol. 16, 293-310.
Bayesian Spatial Interpolation of Pollution Monitoring Stations, Alexandra M. Schmidt. Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Probability and Statistics, University of Sheffield, UK, June 2001.
I joined the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health at McGill University, Montreal, in August 2016. I am Professor of Biostatistics, and currently, hold the endowed University Chair.
Contact me if you are interested to do a Ph.D. or M.Sc. in Biostatistics developing statistical methods for spatial and spatio-temporal processes.
I am a teaching instructor for the following courses at the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health at McGill University:
I was born in Nova Friburgo, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I’m the result of a mixture between a German father and a Brazilian mother. From 1977 until 1987 I studied at Colegio Anchieta. In 1988 I moved from Nova Friburgo to the city of Rio de Janeiro to get ready to start my undergrad studies. I lived in Rio until 1997.
I lived in England from September 1997 until July 2001 to do my PhD under the supervision of Anthony O’Hagan. There, I lived in Nottingham for one year, then I moved to Sheffield. Soon after finishing my PhD I moved to Connecticut in the USA, where I did a Post-Doc with Alan E. Gelfand.
From 2002 until 2016 I lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In August 2016, I followed my heart and moved to Montreal, QC, Canada.