My projects

My work sits at the intersection of aging epidemiology and digital health.

I use complementary data sources to build a picture of what aging looks like outside the clinic; ranging from decades of follow-up in the Cardiovascular Health Study cohort to a novel smartphone-based approach of digital phenotyping in stroke survivors at Stanford. To make sense of these data, I draw on causal inference methods, machine learning, and longitudinal modeling. A through-line of this work is capturing the kinds of everyday signals — where someone goes, how they sleep, how they feel — that traditional epidemiology tends to miss.

Graduate Research

Cardinal LifeSpace Smartphone-based digital phenotyping, measuring real-world mobility, activity, and well-being using GPS, HealthKit, and ecological momentary assessment. In collaboration with the Odden and Buckwalter Labs at Stanford.

  • Tan AX, Dobrota Lai S, Ravi V, et al. Seasonal Variation in Temperature and Life-Space Mobility among Older Adults: A Pilot Study using Mobile Health Technology. Innovation in Aging, 2026. → DOI
  • Odden MC, Tan AX, Dobrota Lai S, et al. Objectively Measured Life-Space using Participants' Mobile Phones: A Cross-Sectional Study. Under review.

Mobility, Aging & Cognition in the Cardiovascular Health Study Using 25+ years of follow-up to examine factors related to aging.

  • Dobrota Lai S, Buzkova P, Delaney JA, et al. Association of Immune Cell Subsets With Longevity: The Cardiovascular Health Study. Journals of Gerontology, Series A, 2025. → DOI
  • Dobrota SD, Biggs ML, Pratt S, Popat R, Odden MC. The association of hearing problems with social network strength and depressive symptoms: the Cardiovascular Health Study. Age and Ageing, 2022. → DOI

Diurnal Patterns and Cognition in PRIMA (Aim 3, in progress) Examining how 24-hour activity rhythms and diurnal patterns relate to cognitive function in older adults. In progress.

Mobility & Inflammation — Jackson Heart Study

  • Hayes CA, Dobrota Lai S, et al. Cumulative Peripheral Systemic Inflammation Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Mobility Impairment in African Americans — The Jackson Heart Study. Under review.

Clinical Trials & Translational Research

Halo Biosciences — Phase IIa Trial Analytics

  • Czepiel K, Nagy N, Panjalingam T, et al. (incl. Dobrota Lai S). Randomised, placebo-controlled trial of oral hymecromone in adults with pulmonary hypertension. Thorax, 2025. → DOI

Earlier Research

Digital Health & Patient-Centered Research (Cor / Stanford Medicine X / Chu Lab) Earlier work in industry digital health and patient-engaged clinical research, spanning wearable device development, infrared spectroscopy for lifestyle interventions, and provider burnout.

  • Rouholiman D, Andries E, Dobrota SD, et al. Rapid Lifestyle Prototyping: Assessment of Infrared Spectroscopic Blood Responses for Short-Term Lifestyle Interventions. Nutrition, 2021. → DOI
  • Martinez-Hollingsworth A, Hicks M, Dobrota SD, Chu LF. The Burnout Dyad: A Collaborative Approach for Including Patients in a Model of Provider Burnout. J Contin Educ Health Prof, 2021. → DOI
  • Rouholiman D, Gamble JG, Dobrota SD, et al. Improving Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients With an Ostomy Using a Novel Digital Wearable Device: Protocol for a Pilot Study. JMIR Research Protocols, 2018. → DOI

Inflammation & Opioid Exposure (Chu Lab) Mathi K, Dobrota SD, Lee TJ, et al. Inflammatory Response to Chronic Opioid Exposure in Humans. Journal of Immunology, 2020.

For a complete list of publications, see my Google Scholar.