David Couper, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, serving as Deputy Director of the Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center (CSCC). His academic background includes a BSc in Mathematics (1975) and BS in Mathematical Statistics (1977) from the University of Cape Town, an MSc in Statistics (1982) from the University of South Africa, and an MS (1991) and PhD (1994) in Biostatistics from the University of Washington, with Margaret Sullivan Pepe as his advisor. Since joining the CSCC in 1998, Couper has led the coordinating centers for several landmark epidemiological studies and clinical trials. He is Principal Investigator for the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, ARIC Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS), Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) trial, Clinical, Imaging, and Endoscopic Outcomes of Children Newly Diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease (CAMEO) trial, and the Genomics and Informatics Center for the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS).

Couper's research interests encompass data quality, epidemiological methods, and longitudinal data analysis, applied to large-scale cohort studies investigating cardiovascular disease, respiratory conditions, cognitive decline, and related health outcomes. He has advised doctoral students at UNC Chapel Hill, including Meagan Clement (PhD 2008) and Noorie Hyun (PhD 2014). His extensive publication record features high-impact articles such as 'Hearing intervention versus health education control to reduce cognitive decline in older adults with hearing loss in the USA (ACHIEVE)' in The Lancet (2023), 'Longitudinal Follow-Up of Participants With Tobacco Exposure and Preserved Spirometry' in JAMA (2023), 'Correlations Within and Between Highly Multiplexed Proteomic Assays of Human Plasma' in Clinical Chemistry (2025), 'Associations Among 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels, Lung Function, and Exacerbation Outcomes in COPD' in Chest (2020), 'Design of the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcomes in COPD Study (SPIROMICS)' in Thorax (2014), and ARIC Study analyses on cardiovascular risks including monocyte myeloperoxidase (PLoS One, 2018) and small dense low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 2014).

Professional Email: david_couper@unc.edu