Caitlin Ward

Caitlin Ward, PhD is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota's Division of Biostatistics & Health Data Science. Her work bridges methodological development and interdisciplinary collaboration.

• Education: PhD/MSc in Biostatistics (University of Iowa), BS in Statistics (Iowa State)

Methodologically, she specializes in Bayesian modeling for complex systems, particularly infectious disease dynamics, spatio-temporal analysis, and multiplex imaging data. Collaboratively, she engages with:

• Nursing (dementia care communication)
• Neuroradiology (brain tumor classification)
• Veterinary medicine (Mycoplasma bovis transmission)
• Public health (vaccine hesitancy)
• Education (open educational resources)

Her 15 most recent publications span epidemiological modeling, healthcare communication, and machine learning applications. Key contributions include:

• Bayesian SEIR models for behavioral change
• Network analysis of care coalitions
• Evaluation of elderspeak communication impacts
• Development of open-source BayesSEIR R package
• Statistical methods for imperfect diagnostics

Recognitions include the CANSSI Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship and Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. Current projects focus on making biostatistics education more accessible through open resources.