Audrey Fu

Audrey Fu is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences and of Molecular Medicine and Genetics at Wayne State University School of Medicine, located at Scott Hall, 540 E. Canfield Street, Detroit, MI 48201. Her interdisciplinary work bridges computational methods with biomedical applications, particularly in genomics and medical imaging fields.

Her educational background includes a PhD from the University of Washington (2008), followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago (2008-2014) and a Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar position at Stanford University (2014-2015). This strong foundation in statistics and computational biology has enabled her to develop innovative approaches to complex biomedical data analysis.

Dr. Fu specializes in developing statistical methods and algorithms for analyzing high-dimensional biomedical data, with particular expertise in causal network inference using Mendelian randomization, deep learning for single-cell RNA-sequencing data, and methods for identifying disease-relevant cell types through integration of genomic data. Her research group actively practices open science, distributing open-source software packages in R and Python through GitHub and CRAN.

Her publication record reveals a clear progression from fundamental statistical methodology development toward increasingly translational biomedical applications. While her earlier work focused on DNA methylation patterns, statistical inference of gene expression noise, and Bayesian clustering methods, her recent publications demonstrate expansion into medical imaging analysis, particularly in space medicine applications and neurological conditions like Chiari malformation. This evolution shows her ability to adapt statistical frameworks to address diverse biomedical challenges.

• NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00; 2014-2019)
• International Society for Bayesian Analysis Travel Award (2010)
• Dorothy and Leon Gilford Fellowship, Department of Statistics, University of Washington (2003)

Dr. Fu is currently accepting new M.S. students for 2025-2026 but not new Ph.D. students. Her NIH K99/R00 award indicates successful transition from postdoctoral research to independent investigator status. Her lab develops multiple open-source software packages including MethylHMM, MRPC, LATE, and rolypoly, reflecting her commitment to making computational tools accessible to the broader research community. Her collaborative work spans multiple institutions and disciplines, from basic molecular biology to clinical applications in ophthalmology and neurosurgery.