Ying Xian, M.D., Ph.D.
Section Head Research, Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases
Associate Professor

Ying Xian, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA, is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Population and Data Science at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Xian earned his medical degree at Beijing Medical University (Peking University Health Science Center), completed a residency in Internal Medicine, and a fellowship in Cardiology at Peking University People’s Hospital, and Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College. Dr. Xian obtained his Ph.D. degree in Health Services Research and Policy at University of Rochester and received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) Pharmaceutical Roundtable-Spina Fellowship training in Cardiovascular Outcomes Research at Duke University. 

For more than a decade, Dr. Xian’s research has been focused on improving health care quality and outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease and stroke. Prior to joining the UT Southwestern faculty in 2021, Dr. Xian served as the clinical lead for the AHA/ASA Get With The Guidelines Stroke (GWTG-Stroke) Registry and Society of Thoracic Surgeons' (STS) National Database Analytical Center at Duke. He has led multiple groundbreaking comparative effectiveness and patient-centered outcomes research projects, with extensive experiences with large national registry and data linkage with Medicare claims.

Dr. Xian is the principle investigator of two National Institute on Aging (NIA) funded R01s to evaluate the safety and efficacy of antithrombotic therapy for secondary stroke prevention and the AHA Clinical Research Program and Scientist Development Grant to investigate off-label/off-guideline thrombolytic therapy in stroke. Dr. Xian has served on multiple committees of the AHA/ASA, including the GWTG Quality Improvement Subcommittee, Stroke Systems of Care Advisory Group, Stroke Council’s Quality and Outcomes Committee, Quality of Care and Outcomes Research (QCOR) Council’s Young Clinicians & Investigators Committee, and GWTG-Stroke Clinical Work Group. Dr. Xian has authored or coauthored over 190 peer-reviewed publications and has been recognized for his research through the AHA QCOR Young Investigator Award and the Northwestern Junior Faculty Clinical Research Award.

• Cardiovascular disease
• Comparative effectiveness research
• Global health
• Health services research
• Outcomes research
• Patient-centered outcomes research
• Primary and secondary prevention
• Quality improvement
• Stroke

Featured Publications

Association of Recent Use of Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants With Intracranial Hemorrhage Among Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke Treated With Alteplase.

Kam W, Holmes DN, Hernandez AF, Saver JL, Fonarow GC, Smith EE, Bhatt DL, Schwamm LH, Reeves MJ, Matsouaka RA, Khan YM, Unverdorben M, Birmingham MC, Lyden PD, Asimos AW, Altschul D, Schoonover TL, Jumaa MA, Nomura JT, Suri MFK, Moore SA, Lafranchise EF, Olson D, Peterson ED, Xian Y, JAMA 2022 Feb

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes Associated With Oral Anticoagulant Use Among Patients Hospitalized With Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Xian Y, Zhang S, Inohara T, Grau-Sepulveda M, Matsouaka RA, Peterson ED, Piccini JP, Smith EE, Sheth KN, Bhatt DL, Fonarow GC, Schwamm LH, JAMA Netw Open 2021 02 4 2 e2037438

Clinical Effectiveness of Direct Oral Anticoagulants vs Warfarin in Older Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Ischemic Stroke: Findings From the Patient-Centered Research Into Outcomes Stroke Patients Prefer and Effectiveness Research (PROSPER) Study.

Xian Y, Xu H, O'Brien EC, Shah S, Thomas L, Pencina MJ, Fonarow GC, Olson DM, Schwamm LH, Bhatt DL, Smith EE, Hannah D, Maisch L, Lytle BL, Peterson ED, Hernandez AF, JAMA Neurol 2019 Oct 76 10 1192-1202

Use of Intravenous Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke Who Take Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants Before Stroke.

Xian Y, Federspiel JJ, Hernandez AF, Laskowitz DT, Schwamm LH, Bhatt DL, Smith EE, Fonarow GC, Peterson ED, Circulation 2017 Mar 135 11 1024-1035

Association of Preceding Antithrombotic Treatment With Acute Ischemic Stroke Severity and In-Hospital Outcomes Among Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Xian Y, O'Brien EC, Liang L, Xu H, Schwamm LH, Fonarow GC, Bhatt DL, Smith EE, Olson DM, Maisch L, Hannah D, Lindholm B, Lytle BL, Pencina MJ, Hernandez AF, Peterson ED, JAMA 2017 03 317 10 1057-1067

Risks and Benefits Associated With Prestroke Antiplatelet Therapy Among Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke Treated With Intravenous Tissue Plasminogen Activator.

Xian Y, Federspiel JJ, Grau-Sepulveda M, Hernandez AF, Schwamm LH, Bhatt DL, Smith EE, Reeves MJ, Thomas L, Webb L, Bettger JP, Laskowitz DT, Fonarow GC, Peterson ED, JAMA Neurol 2016 Jan 73 1 50-9

Real world effectiveness of warfarin among ischemic stroke patients with atrial fibrillation: observational analysis from Patient-Centered Research into Outcomes Stroke Patients Prefer and Effectiveness Research (PROSPER) study.

Xian Y, Wu J, O'Brien EC, Fonarow GC, Olson DM, Schwamm LH, Bhatt DL, Smith EE, Suter RE, Hannah D, Lindholm B, Maisch L, Greiner MA, Lytle BL, Pencina MJ, Peterson ED, Hernandez AF, BMJ 2015 Jul 351 h3786

Association of Discharge Aspirin Dose With Outcomes After Acute Myocardial Infarction: Insights From the Treatment with ADP Receptor Inhibitors: Longitudinal Assessment of Treatment Patterns and Events after Acute Coronary Syndrome (TRANSLATE-ACS) Study.

Xian Y, Wang TY, McCoy LA, Effron MB, Henry TD, Bach RG, Zettler ME, Baker BA, Fonarow GC, Peterson ED, Circulation 2015 Jul 132 3 174-81

Risks of intracranial hemorrhage among patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving warfarin and treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator.

Xian Y, Liang L, Smith EE, Schwamm LH, Reeves MJ, Olson DM, Hernandez AF, Fonarow GC, Peterson ED JAMA 2012 Jun 307 24 2600-8

Racial differences in mortality among patients with acute ischemic stroke: an observational study.

Xian Y, Holloway RG, Noyes K, Shah MN, Friedman B Ann. Intern. Med. 2011 Feb 154 3 152-9

 Featured Books

Data Resources. In Understanding Clinical Research

Renato Lopes and Robert Harrington (2013). McGraw-Hill Education / Medical

• 2nd Place Winner, Junior Faculty Clinical Category Young Investigator Research Award
  12th Annual Northwestern Cardiovascular Young Investigators' Forum (2016)
• Fellow
  American Heart Association (2016)
• Travel Award
  International Stroke Conference (2016)
• Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award
  Clinical Research Forum. Fonarow GC, Zhao X, Smith EE, Saver JL, Reeves MJ, Bhatt DL, Xian Y, Hernandez AF, Peterson ED, and Schwamm LH. Door-to-needle times for tissue plasminogen activator administration and clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke before and after a quality improvement initiative. JAMA. 2014, 311(16), 1632-1640 (2015)
• 2nd Place Winner, Junior Faculty Clinical Track
  10th Annual Northwestern Cardiovascular Young Investigators' Forum (2014)
• Young Investigator Finalist
  American Heart Association Epidemiology and Prevention|Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Scientific Sessions (2011)
• Young Investigator Award
  American Heart Association Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Interdisciplinary Council (2010)
• Bertram Scott Research Fellow
  American Heart Association Founders Affiliate (2008)
• Predoctoral Fellowship
  American Heart Association Founders Affiliate (2008)
• Excellus Fellowship in Health Services Research and Policy
  Excellus BCBS (2005)
• Dean's Fellowship
  University of Rochester (2003)

• African Stroke Organization (2021)
• Geological Society of America (2021)
• European Stroke Organisation (2019)
• World Stroke Organization (2019)
• American Heart Association (2007)