Hongying Dai

Hongying (Daisy) Dai, PhD is Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the UNMC College of Public Health, where she also serves as Associate Dean of Research. She is a full member of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. Her research focuses on statistical methodology applied to public health challenges including tobacco policy, social media analytics using big data, and genomic studies.

Education:
2006 PhD Statistics, University of Kentucky
2004 MS Statistics, University of Kentucky
2004 MS Mathematics, University of Kentucky
1997 BS Economics, University of International Business and Economics

Research Focus: Dr. Dai develops statistical models for tobacco policy evaluation, social media surveillance (Google Trends/Twitter data), genome-wide association studies, and hierarchical modeling. Her work bridges advanced statistical theory with real-world public health applications.

Publication Trends: Her recent articles (2023-2025) cluster around tobacco control epidemiology, biomarkers of exposure, vaping behavior patterns, and health disparities research using advanced statistical modeling techniques.

Research Funding:

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Tobacco 21 policy analysis
• NIH/FDA: Tobacco retailer inspections impact study
• Health Forward Foundation: Kansas City Tobacco 21 evaluation
• NU Planning Grant: Youth vaping prevention