He has published over 170 peer-reviewed articles and is a well-recognised speaker in the field of pragmatic trials, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacovigilance and osteoporosis. He has been awarded several academic affiliations (Utrecht University, the Netherlands; Medical Research Council, Southampton; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine). Van Staa is the recipient of the 2005 Iain I Boyle Award of the European Calcified Tissue Society (a monetary price awarded to the scientist who has made significant contributions to bone disease research.
My current research activities concern randomised trials that use routinely collected data (such as electronic health records). These trials can either randomise patients or practices to different interventions (the latter are known are known as cluster trials). These types of trials could help to answer questions around routinely used interventions and should be conducted with minimal impact on clinicians and patients. Other research activities concern multidatabase research and analysis of quality of electronic health records.