Faculty profile

Olli Saarela

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Associate ProfessorBiostatistics DivisionUniversity of Toronto

Olli Saarela

Associate Professor

Biostatistics Division

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

University of Toronto

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Supervision signals

Professors usually supervise graduate students in their department's programs.
27 publications in the last five years, latest in 2026.
Senior (last) author on 5 recent papers, a sign of leading a research group.
Principal investigator on 2 research grants (2 NSERC), most recently in 2020.

These signals come from public records, including CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions. Ask the professor or the graduate program whether they are taking new students.

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Publications

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Grants

Publications by year

Counts cover the works listed on the university profile; citation counts come from Dimensions.

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Signals and details

Latest papers

Mapping neighbourhood-level drivers of type 2 diabetes for precision public health using predictive and causal machine learning.
Scientific reports · 2026
Longitudinal, population-based analysis of burn injuries across Canada pre-recreational and post-recreational cannabis legalisation.
BMJ public health · 2026
A Bayesian Causal Model for Matrix‐Valued Exposures With Applications to Radiotherapy Planning
Statistics in Medicine · 2026 · senior author

All 73 publications

Latest funding

Artificial Intelligence for Public Health (AI4PH) Training Platform
CIHR · 2021 · Co-investigator
$2,394,219
TRACE STUDY: An RCT using tranexamic acid in the treatment of subdural hematoma
CIHR · 2021 · Co-investigator
$1,542,792
Effects of Recreational Cannabis Legalization on Polysubstance Use, Mental Health, and Injury in Canada: The RCL IMPACT Study
CIHR · 2021 · Co-investigator
$650,252

All 7 grants and awards

73 publications.

Mapping neighbourhood-level drivers of type 2 diabetes for precision public health using predictive and causal machine learning.

Noaeen M, Rostami A, Ghanem I, Saarela O, Keshavjee K, Brook JR, Shakeri Z

Scientific reports2026

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-34287-7 PMID: 41491227

Longitudinal, population-based analysis of burn injuries across Canada pre-recreational and post-recreational cannabis legalisation.

Paleczny S, Rjaibi ST, Saarela O, Selby P, Rueda S, Levitan A, Wang E, Brogly C, Cusimano MD

BMJ public health2026

DOI: 10.1136/bmjph-2025-004778 PMID: 42524469

A Bayesian Causal Model for Matrix‐Valued Exposures With Applications to Radiotherapy Planning

Liu Z, Liu Z, Dang J, Catton C, Lukka HR, Chung P, Saarela O

Statistics in Medicine2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1002/sim.70559

Optimal characteristics of peer navigators: adapting peer-based intervention with street-involved youth in Canada and Kenya with the aim of increasing HIV prevention, testing and treatment.

Lee EOJ, Tang TS, Fuentes-Bernal J, MacEntee K, Wachira J, Apondi E, Abramovich A, Oudshoorn A, Ayuku D, Kiptui R, Van Berkum A, MacDonald SA, Saarela O, Braitstein P

Health research policy and systems2025

DOI: 10.1186/s12961-025-01309-9 PMID: 40197481

Mediation CNN (Med-CNN) Model for High-Dimensional Mediation Data.

Li Y, Zhang ZJ, Saarela O, Sharma D, Xu W

International journal of molecular sciences2025

DOI: 10.3390/ijms26051819 PMID: 40076446

A Bayesian latent class approach to causal inference with longitudinal data.

Liu K, Saarela O, Tomlinson G, Feldman BM, Pullenayegum E

Statistical methods in medical research2025

DOI: 10.1177/09622802241298704 PMID: 39668594

Prediction of brain metastasis development with DNA methylation signatures.

Zuccato JA, Mamatjan Y, Nassiri F, Ajisebutu A, Liu JC, Muazzam A, Singh O, Zhang W, Voisin M, Mirhadi S, Suppiah S, Wybenga-Groot L, Tajik A, Simpson C, Saarela O, Tsao MS, Kislinger T, Aldape KD, Moran MF, Patil V, Zadeh G

Nature medicine2025

DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03286-y PMID: 39379704

A marginal structural model for normal tissue complication probability.

Tang TS, Liu Z, Hosni A, Kim J, Saarela O

Biostatistics (Oxford, England)2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1093/biostatistics/kxae019 PMID: 38981039

Continuous-Time Causal Inference With Marked Point Process Weights: An Example on Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporters 2 Inhibitor Medications and Urinary Tract Infection.

Kalia S, Saarela O, Chen T, O'Neill B, Meaney C, Moineddin R, Aliarzadeh B, Sullivan F, Greiver M

Statistics in medicine2025

DOI: 10.1002/sim.70102 PMID: 40386859

Molecular classification to refine surgical and radiotherapeutic decision-making in meningioma.

Wang JZ, Patil V, Landry AP, Gui C, Ajisebutu A, Liu J, Saarela O, Pugh SL, Won M, Patel Z, Yakubov R, Kaloti R, Wilson C, Cohen-Gadol A, Zaazoue MA, Tabatabai G, Tatagiba M, Behling F, Almiron Bonnin DA, Holland EC, Kruser TJ, Barnholtz-Sloan JS, Sloan AE, Horbinski C, Chotai S, Chambless LB, Gao A, Rebchuk AD, Makarenko S, Yip S, Sahm F, Maas SLN, Tsang DS, International Consortium on Meningiomas (ICOM), Rogers CL, Aldape K, Nassiri F, Zadeh G

Nature medicine2024

DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03167-4 PMID: 39169220

Artificial Intelligence for Public Health (AI4PH) Training Platform

Co-investigatorCIHR2021Training Grant: Health Research Training Platform - AI, Public Health and Equity

Principal investigators: Rosella, Laura C; Anderson, Maureen; Buckeridge, David L; Fan, Lisa; Lee, Joon; Lix, Lisa M; Osgood, Nathaniel D

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Big Data; Decision Making; Health Equity; Machine Learning; Public Health; Social Determinants Of Health; Training

$2,394,219

TRACE STUDY: An RCT using tranexamic acid in the treatment of subdural hematoma

Co-investigatorCIHR2021Project Grant

Principal investigators: Cusimano, Michael D

Keywords: Clinical Trial; Geriatrics; Machine Learning; Neuroimaging; Patient-Oriented Outcomes; Quality Of Life; Subdural Hematoma; Tranexamic Acid; Trauma; Traumatic Brain Injury

$1,542,792

Effects of Recreational Cannabis Legalization on Polysubstance Use, Mental Health, and Injury in Canada: The RCL IMPACT Study

Co-investigatorCIHR2021Project Grant

Principal investigators: Cusimano, Michael D

Keywords: Addiction; Cannabis; Injury; Longitudinal Study; Mental Health Outcomes; Policy; Polysubstance Use; Population Health; Public Health; Trauma

$650,252

Causal mediation analysis methods for polytomous, functional and high-dimensional data

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Saarela, Olli

$144,000

Adapting and scaling-up "Peer Navigators" to targeted populations of street-involved youth in Canada and Kenya to increase linkage to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment

Co-investigatorCIHR2017Team Grant: HIV Implementation Science - Component 2

Principal investigators: Braitstein, Paula; Apondi, Edith; Donnelly, Peter; Johnston, Christine; kimaiyo, sylvester; Mackie, Christopher; Rourke, Sean B; Sider, Douglas

Keywords: Adaptation; Aids; Antiretroviral Treatment; Hiv; Homeless Youth; Implementation Science; Injection Drug Use; Peers; Prevention; Testing

$1,994,657

Benchmarking the quality of urologic cancer care in Ontario: a population-based analysis

Co-investigatorCIHR2016Catalyst Grant: Health Services and Economics Research in Cancer Control

Principal investigators: Finelli, Antonio

Keywords: Benchmarking; Kidney; Prostate; Quality Improvement; Quality Indicators; Urologic Oncology

$96,250

Towards more dynamic modeling of high-dimensional register-based data

Principal investigatorNSERC2014Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Saarela, Olli

$90,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Profile data last refreshed on July 30, 2025 from the university directory, publication records and CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding.

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Olli Saarela

Latest papers

Latest funding

Mapping neighbourhood-level drivers of type 2 diabetes for precision public health using predictive and causal machine learning.

Longitudinal, population-based analysis of burn injuries across Canada pre-recreational and post-recreational cannabis legalisation.

A Bayesian Causal Model for Matrix‐Valued Exposures With Applications to Radiotherapy Planning

Optimal characteristics of peer navigators: adapting peer-based intervention with street-involved youth in Canada and Kenya with the aim of increasing HIV prevention, testing and treatment.

Mediation CNN (Med-CNN) Model for High-Dimensional Mediation Data.

A Bayesian latent class approach to causal inference with longitudinal data.

Prediction of brain metastasis development with DNA methylation signatures.

A marginal structural model for normal tissue complication probability.

Continuous-Time Causal Inference With Marked Point Process Weights: An Example on Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporters 2 Inhibitor Medications and Urinary Tract Infection.

Molecular classification to refine surgical and radiotherapeutic decision-making in meningioma.

Artificial Intelligence for Public Health (AI4PH) Training Platform

TRACE STUDY: An RCT using tranexamic acid in the treatment of subdural hematoma

Effects of Recreational Cannabis Legalization on Polysubstance Use, Mental Health, and Injury in Canada: The RCL IMPACT Study

Causal mediation analysis methods for polytomous, functional and high-dimensional data

Adapting and scaling-up "Peer Navigators" to targeted populations of street-involved youth in Canada and Kenya to increase linkage to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment

Benchmarking the quality of urologic cancer care in Ontario: a population-based analysis

Towards more dynamic modeling of high-dimensional register-based data

Frequent collaborators

Antonio Finelli

Neil Fleshner

Ramandip Grewal

Aisha Lofters

Kuan Liu

Alejandro Berlin

David Lloyd Streiner

Daniel Grace

Harry Samuel Shannon

Gelareh Zadeh

Gina Ogilvie

Ronald Moore

Ron Rosenes

Farshad Nassiri

Aisha Lofters

Alex Abramovich

Linda Penn

Peter Black

Laura Rosella

Paul Macpherson