Lead Projects

  • Sakal C, Chen T, Xu W, Zhang W, Yang Y, Li X. Towards proactively improving sleep: machine learning and wearable device data forecast sleep efficiency 4-8 hours before sleep onset. SLEEP (2025). https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaf113

  • Sakal C, Li T, Li J, Li X. Predicting poor performance on cognitive tests among older adults using wearable device data and machine learning: a feasibility study. npj Aging (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41514-024-00177-x

  • Sakal C, Zhao W, Xu W, Li X. Effects of caffeine on accelerometer measured sleep and physical activity among older adults under free-living conditions. BMC Public Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20115-6

  • Sakal C, Li T, Li J, Yang C, Li X. Association Between Sleep Efficiency Variability and Cognition Among Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Accelerometer Study. JMIR Aging (2024). 10.2196/54353

  • Sakal C, Li T, Li J, Li X. Identifying Predictive Risk Factors for Future Cognitive Impairment Among Chinese Older Adults: Longitudinal Prediction Study. JMIR Aging (2024). 10.2196/53240

  • Sakal C, Li J, Xiang YT, Li X. Development and validation of the Chinese Geriatric Depression Risk calculator (CGD-risk): A screening tool to identify elderly Chinese with depression. Journal of Affective Disorders (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.034

Collaborations

  • Zhang W, Xu W, Chen T, Sakal C, Li X. Integrating images and genomics for multi-modal cancer survival analysis via mixture of experts. Information Fusion (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2025.103521

  • Xu W, Sakal C, Zhang W, Tong C, Wang C, Zhao Q, Li X. Time-Restricted Eating and Dietary Intake Shape 24-Hour Glycemic Patterns in Type 2 Diabetes: A Functional Data Analysis. Preprint, medRxiv link.

Posters, Presentations, and Talks

  • Sakal C, Li X. Daytime activity attenuates associations between sleep efficiency and mortality among older adults. Poster presentation, Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting, 2024. Seattle, USA.

  • Sakal C. Polars as an alternative to Pandas for data science. Guest Lecture, City University of Hong Kong Department of Data Science, 2024. Hong Kong, China

  • Sakal C. An introduction to the Polars library for data science. Guest lecture, City University of Hong Kong Department of Data Science, 2023. Hong Kong, China

Peer Review Experience

  • Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR)

  • JMIR Public Health and Surveillance

  • JMIR mHealth and uHealth

  • Scientific Reports

  • BMC Public Health

  • BMC Geriatrics

  • Annals of General Psychiatry

  • JMIR Aging

  • JMIR Medical Informatics

  • JMIR Research Protocols

  • JMIR Formative Research

  • Online Journal of Public Health Informatics

  • Aging Clinical and Experimental Research