Roderick Joseph Little

Roderick Joseph Little is the Richard D. Remington Distinguished University Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He is also a Professor in the Department of Statistics and a Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research. Dr. Little previously chaired the Biostatistics Department from January 2007 to December 2009 and from 1993 to 2001.

Dr. Little earned his educational credentials from prestigious institutions:

• PhD in Statistics, London University, 1974
• MSc in Statistics and Operational Research, London University, 1972
• BA in Mathematics, Cambridge University, 1971

Dr. Little's primary research interests focus on the analysis of data with missing values and complex survey designs. His work has revolutionized methods for handling missing data, moving from ad-hoc approaches like discarding incomplete cases to sophisticated model-based methods using likelihood-based inferential techniques. He is particularly known for his work on pattern-mixture models and penalized spline of propensity prediction methods. His research also extends to model-based approaches for survey analysis that are robust to misspecification. Dr. Little's inferential philosophy is model-based and Bayesian, though he carefully considers the effects of model misspecification. His applied interests span mental health, demography, environmental statistics, biology, economics, and social sciences.

Dr. Little has received numerous prestigious awards and recognitions including the Wilks' Memorial Award from the American Statistical Association, being named an ISI highly cited researcher, and election to the National Academy of Medicine. He is also a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Statistical Society.

Throughout his career, Dr. Little has chaired or co-chaired 30 doctoral committees, mentoring the next generation of statisticians. He has served in significant editorial and leadership roles, including as Coordinating and Applications Editor of the Journal of the American Statistical Association (1992-1994), co-editor of the Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology (2016-2018), and Vice President of the American Statistical Association (2010-2012). From September 2010-January 2013, he served as the inaugural Associate Director for Research and Methodology and Chief Scientist at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Dr. Little is best known for his seminal book "Statistical Analysis with Missing Data" (co-authored with Donald Rubin), now in its third edition (2019). His work has had profound impacts on both theoretical statistics and practical applications across numerous scientific disciplines.