Dan Kowal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at Cornell University, joining in 2024. His research focuses on Bayesian models for large/dependent data, mixed data modeling, and interpretable uncertainty quantification. Key areas include public health, environmental justice, epidemiology, and economics. He holds a PhD from Cornell University (2017) and previously served as an Assistant Professor at Rice University. Awards include the Blackwell-Rosenbluth Award (2021), Army Research Office Young Investigator Award (2020), and Lindley Prize Honorable Mention (2024). Notable grants include NSF funding for adaptive dependent data models (2022–2025) and Army Research Office support for Bayesian prediction methods (2020–2022). His work addresses racial inequities in statistical modeling and has been published in top journals like JASA and Bayesian Analysis. He advises multiple PhD students and develops R packages (e.g., SeBR, countSTAR) for Bayesian regression and data synthesis. Teaching roles include Bayesian Statistics at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Tianxi Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, within the College of Science and Engineering. Their research integrates statistical methodology with applications in network science, data privacy, and biomedical data analysis. Their research interests lie at the intersection of statistics and network science, focusing on statistical modeling of complex networks , data privacy , network security , and biomedical applications such as neuroimaging and genomics. They develop adaptive and scalable methods for network estimation, community detection, and differential correlation analysis. The recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on advancing statistical tools for network-structured data, with increasing applications in neuroscience and cancer genomics. The work spans theoretical development (e.g., network growth models) and practical applications (e.g., glioblastoma gene modules), reflecting a balance between methodology and real-world impact. Tianxi Li leads an active research program funded by the National Science Foundation, indicating recognition and support for their innovative work. Principal Investigator, Statistical tools for network security protection: from data privacy to threat detection , NSF (2024–2025) They advise graduate students in statistics and data science, though specific advisees are not listed. Their collaborative network includes researchers in biostatistics, computer science, and machine learning, as evidenced by co-authorships and interdisciplinary projects. Li's work contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly through advancements in data-driven solutions for secure and ethical data analysis.
Halina Frydman is a Professor in the Department of Statistics and Operations Research at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, where she has been a faculty member since 1978. Her academic work bridges statistical theory and real-world applications in finance and labor economics. Institution: New York University School: Leonard N. Stern School of Business Department: Department of Statistics and Operations Research Academic Rank: Professor Email: hf2@stern.nyu.edu Education: Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics, Columbia University, 1978 M.A. in Mathematical Statistics, Columbia University, 1974 B.S. in Physics and Mathematics, Cooper Union, 1972 Research Interests: Professor Frydman specializes in survival analysis and Markov processes , with a strong focus on their applications in financial modeling and labor market dynamics . Her work explores mixture models of Markov chains to capture heterogeneity in longitudinal data, particularly in the context of corporate credit rating migrations and employment/unemployment transitions. She also contributes to methodological advances in stochastic modeling and statistical inference for time-to-event data. Publication Trends: Her recent research, reflected in reconstructed articles, demonstrates a consistent focus on developing and applying advanced statistical models—particularly survival models, Markov chains, and mixture models—to problems in finance and economics. There is a clear progression toward more complex, data-driven models incorporating Bayesian methods, high-dimensional estimation, and time-varying effects. Scientific Awards: No awards explicitly mentioned in the source text. Advising and Grants: While specific advisees and grant funding are not listed in the available text, Professor Frydman's long-standing research program and publications in premier journals such as the Journal of the American Statistical Association and The Journal of Finance suggest a significant scholarly impact and likely history of research sponsorship. She teaches core courses including Regression & Forecasting Models , Stochastic Processes I , and Stochastic Models in Finance , indicating active engagement in graduate education. Labs and Research Teams: No specific laboratories or research groups are mentioned in the provided content. However, her research aligns with interdisciplinary efforts in financial statistics and econometric modeling, potentially involving collaboration within NYU’s broader quantitative research community.
Keming Yu is a Professor and Chair in Statistics at the Department of Mathematics, Brunel University London, within the College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences. He is also the Impact Champion for REF in Mathematical Sciences. He joined Brunel in 2005 after holding positions at the University of Plymouth, Lancaster University, and The Open University. He earned his PhD from The Open University and earlier degrees in Mathematics and Statistics from Chinese institutions. PhD in Statistics – The Open University, UK MSc in Statistics – China BSc in Mathematics – China His research centers on quantile regression, Bayesian modeling, survival analysis, and statistical methods for big data . His work spans applications in health, finance, environment, and social sciences. He has made significant contributions to robust and flexible regression methods, including expectile, mode, and censored quantile regression. His recent publications (2023–2025) show a strong focus on streaming data, spatiotemporal modeling, high-dimensional data, and Bayesian methods . He frequently publishes in top-tier journals such as the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, B, and C , Statistica Sinica , and Computational Statistics and Data Analysis . His work often involves collaboration with international researchers, especially in China and Europe. He has contributed to methodological discussions in leading statistical journals, demonstrating active engagement with the academic community. His work on financial risk, environmental statistics, and health data analysis reflects interdisciplinary impact. Reviewed and contributed to discussions on safe testing, confidence sequences, and betting-based inference. Active in developing methods for nonignorable missing data, censored models, and functional covariates. He supervises PhD students and is involved in teaching and curriculum development, including as Course Director for the MSc Statistics with Data Analytics. His research is supported by extensive publication output and academic service. He leads or contributes to research on Bayesian models, robust regression, and scalable methods for big data , often involving collaborations in interdisciplinary teams. His lab or research group focuses on statistical methodology development with real-world applications.
Dr. Alan Huang is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland. He holds a PhD in Statistics from the University of Chicago (McCormick Fellowship) and an Honours degree in Science (Advanced Mathematics) from the University of Sydney. His academic career includes lecturing roles at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Technology Sydney before joining UQ. Research Focus: Biostatistics, nonparametric methods, and statistical modeling for dispersed counts. Key Projects: Bayesian methods for agricultural data, trend analysis of pesticide concentrations in the Great Barrier Reef, spectral water quality analysis. Article Trends: His work spans generalized linear models, count data analysis, and environmental statistics, with recent emphasis on Conway-Maxwell-Poisson regression and time-series modeling. Collaborations include environmental science applications. Awards: McCormick Fellowship (University of Chicago). Supervision: Currently advising PhD research on count data methods. Past supervision includes topics in geotechnical uncertainty and rock mechanics. Collaborates with Queensland Department of Environment and Science on water quality projects.
Ben Bloem-Reddy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver Campus. His research focuses on statistical theory and applications in machine learning, particularly in causal inference, Bayesian methods, neural networks, and probabilistic models. He advises current students Quanhan (Johnny) Xi, Kenny Chiu, and Gian Carlo Diluvi. His work bridges foundational statistical theory with practical machine learning challenges, including causal discovery, model identifiability, and uncertainty quantification. Recent research explores topics such as latent variable models, generative processes, and symmetry in data and algorithms. His contributions span interdisciplinary areas like particle physics applications and information theory-based compression techniques. Ben’s research trends emphasize advancing theoretical guarantees for modern machine learning systems while addressing real-world problems. His publications frequently intersect with algebraic topology (e.g., cocycles in causal inference) and nonparametric methods. He maintains an active lab within the Department of Statistics, fostering collaborations across UBC’s academic ecosystem. No scientific awards are explicitly listed in the provided information. His advising and grant activities focus on statistical methodology development, as evidenced by his student supervision and published work. His office is located in ESB 3168, and he can be reached at benbr@stat.ubc.ca.
Thomas C. M. Lee is a Distinguished Professor of Statistics and Associate Dean of the Faculty in Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of California, Davis, within the College of Letters and Science. He holds a prominent position in the Department of Statistics and serves as a key academic leader at UC Davis. Education: B.App.Sc. (Math) from University of Technology, Sydney, Australia (1992) B.Sc. (Hons) (Math) with University Medal from University of Technology, Sydney, Australia (1993) Ph.D. from Macquarie University and CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences, Sydney, Australia (1997) Professor Lee's research spans multiple areas of statistics with a focus on developing innovative methodologies. His work particularly emphasizes nonparametric and semiparametric modeling , statistical learning , and statistical image and signal processing . He has made significant contributions to applying statistical methods across various scientific disciplines, demonstrating the versatility and power of statistical approaches in solving complex real-world problems. His research often bridges theoretical developments with practical applications, creating methodologies that are both mathematically sound and practically useful. Scientific Awards and Honors: Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, 2019) Elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) Elected Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) Elected Senior Member of the IEEE Professor Lee has held significant editorial roles including serving as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics (2013-2015) and currently as Review Editor for the Journal of the American Statistical Association. From 2015 to 2018, he chaired the Department of Statistics at UC Davis. He has taught numerous statistics courses including STA 13 (Elementary Statistics), STA 131C (Introduction to Mathematical Statistics), STA 243 (Computational Statistics), and STA 401 (Statistical Consulting). His leadership extends beyond research to academic administration, where he has shaped statistics education and departmental direction at UC Davis.
Daniel B. Neill is a Professor of Computer Science, Public Service, and Urban Analytics at New York University (NYU), jointly appointed across the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and the Center for Urban Science and Progress (Tandon School of Engineering). He also serves as the Director of the Machine Learning for Good Laboratory (ML4G) and is affiliated with NYU's Center for Data Science and Tandon Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University M.S. in Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University M.Phil. in Computer Speech, Cambridge University Research Interests: Dr. Neill's research focuses on developing novel machine learning methods for social good, with applications in disease surveillance (e.g., early outbreak detection), healthcare (e.g., anomalous care patterns), and urban analytics (e.g., predicting citizen needs). He also explores algorithmic fairness , causal inference , and pre-syndromic surveillance using unstructured data. His work bridges theoretical machine learning with real-world policy challenges, collaborating with health departments, hospitals, and city governments to deploy data-driven tools that enhance public health, safety, and security. Scientific Awards & Honors: NSF CAREER Award NSF Graduate Research Fellowship IEEE Intelligent Systems' "Top Ten AI Researchers to Watch" Yelp Dataset Challenge Winner Hidden Signals Challenge Runner-Up (DHS) Grants & Funding: He has received significant funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), including grants on fairness in AI (IIS-2040898), bias in urban analytics (IIS-1926470), and others. He also acknowledges support from UPMC, MacArthur Foundation, and Richard King Mellon Foundation. Laboratory & Leadership: He directs the Machine Learning for Good Laboratory (ML4G) at NYU, focusing on AI for social impact. He previously co-directed NYU's Urban Initiative (2019-2022) and led the Event and Pattern Detection Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University.
David M. Higdon is a Professor and Department Head of the Department of Statistics at Virginia Tech within the College of Science. He specializes in Bayesian statistical modeling of environmental and physical systems, focusing on integrating physical observations with computer simulations for prediction and inference. Previously, he spent 14 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a scientist and group leader in the Statistical Sciences Group. Education: Ph.D. in Statistics, University of Washington, 1994 M.A. in Mathematics, University of California San Diego, 1989 B.A. in Mathematics, University of California San Diego, 1987 Research Interests: Higdon’s work spans space-time modeling , inverse problems in hydrology and imaging , statistical modeling in ecology and environmental science , and multiscale models . He develops methods for parallel processing in posterior exploration , statistical computing , and Monte Carlo simulations . His research addresses critical challenges in uncertainty quantification (UQ), including climate modeling, nuclear density functional theory, and geophysical imaging. Publications Trends: His recent articles emphasize Bayesian methodologies applied to complex systems, such as climate forecasting, materials science, and cosmology. A recurring theme is the development of emulators and surrogate models to handle computationally intensive simulations. Awards: Fellow of the American Statistical Association Advising & Grants: While no specific advisees are listed, Higdon has contributed to interdisciplinary collaborations in UQ and statistical modeling. His work has been supported by grants from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy. Labs/Teams: He leads the Statistics Department’s efforts in UQ and computational statistics, fostering collaborations across engineering, environmental science, and physics.
Dr. Masoumeh Dashti is an Associate Professor in Mathematics at the University of Sussex, UK, affiliated with the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. She holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Warwick (2008) and prior degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology and Tehran Polytechnic. Her research focuses on Partial Differential Equations, Inverse Problems, Bayesian Inference, and their applications in fluid dynamics and epidemiology. Key research interests include: Bayesian approaches to inverse problems, sparsity-promoting estimators, uncertainty quantification, and mathematical modeling of epidemics on networks. She has contributed to foundational work on Besov priors and MAP estimator consistency in nonparametric Bayesian frameworks. Her publications span topics like network inference from epidemic data, contraction rates of posterior distributions, and fluid-structure interaction problems. She has secured grants including 'Two-dimensional stochastically perturbed shallow water equations' (2019-2023) and 'Confronting High Dimensional Network Models With Data' (2018-2022). Currently, she serves as an Associate Editor for SIAM-ASA Journal on Uncertainty Quantification and AIMS Foundations of Data Science . Teaching expertise includes Functional Analysis, Partial Differential Equations, and Calculus of Several Variables at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Dr. Haiyan Liu is an Associate Professor of Quantitative Methods, Measurement, and Statistics in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of California, Merced, within the School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts. She earned her Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology from the University of Notre Dame (2018). Her research focuses on advanced statistical modeling of psychological and educational data, including high-dimensional, longitudinal, and social network data. She develops Bayesian methodologies and machine learning techniques to enhance understanding of human behavior, with recent emphasis on structural equation modeling, network dynamics, and nonparametric growth curves. Her work addresses challenges in survey methodology and behavioral data analysis. Dr. Liu’s educational background includes a Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology from the University of Notre Dame (2018), complementing her current academic role. Her lab, accessible at https://sites.google.com/view/ucmhaiyanliu , supports her research activities. Her research interests span Bayesian SEM, social network analysis, and applications of machine learning to behavioral data, aiming to bridge methodological innovation with practical psychological inquiry. Her recent articles highlight advancements in Bayesian model selection, longitudinal sentiment analysis, and social network mediation. She emphasizes prior specification rigor in Bayesian frameworks and explores nonlinear relationships in social dynamics. Though no awards are explicitly listed, her contributions to statistical methodologies in psychological research reflect significant scholarly impact. Dr. Liu advises students in quantitative methods and has developed software tools like logistic4p for misclassification correction in logistic regression. Her work integrates computational methods with theoretical advancements, positioning her as a key contributor to modern quantitative psychology.
Johanna Ziegel is a Professor of Statistics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, since 2024, and a Visiting Scientist at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS). Previously, she held positions at the University of Bern, where she was promoted to Full Professor in 2023. Her research focuses on decision-theoretically sound methods for forecast evaluation, probabilistic forecasting, risk measures in finance, and applications in meteorology, medicine, and climate science. She is actively involved in editorial roles for journals like Bernoulli , JASA: Theory & Methods , and SIAM Journal on Financial Mathematics . Education: PhD in Stereological Analysis of Spatial Structures from ETH Zurich (2010), supervised by Paul Embrechts and Eva B. Vedel Jensen. Postdoctoral research at the University of Melbourne and Heidelberg University. Research Interests: Forecast evaluation, elicitable functionals, risk measures, isotonic regression, statistical calibration, and applications in finance, climate science, and biostatistics. Her work bridges theoretical statistics with practical challenges in uncertainty quantification and decision-making under uncertainty. Advising & Collaborations: Supervised 7 PhD students and mentored several postdocs. Collaborates with the Computational Statistics group at HITS and the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research. Her group explores distributional regression under order constraints and novel methods for forecast comparison. Recognition: Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching (2022), H.I.T. Program for Academic Leadership (2021–2022). Active in professional service, including the Bernoulli Society Council and editorial boards.
Xiaoxiao Zhou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), affiliated with multiple centers including the Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education (COERE), Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), and the Global Center for Craniofacial, Oral and Dental Disorders (GC-CODED). She holds a PhD in Statistics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2022) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University's Department of Statistical Science. Her research focuses on causal inference, Bayesian methods, longitudinal data analysis, and survival analysis, with applications in Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular conditions, and neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Zhou’s work integrates advanced statistical techniques with medical and behavioral data, including neuroimaging and latent variable modeling. Key areas include handling intercurrent events in clinical trials, causal mediation analysis, and joint modeling of longitudinal and survival outcomes. She collaborates widely with clinicians and biostatisticians to address real-world challenges in healthcare and disease progression studies. Her scholarly contributions span over a dozen peer-reviewed articles, emphasizing methodological innovations in biostatistics and their practical applications. She advises students such as Zhenying Ding and actively participates in academic committees. Outside academia, she enjoys outdoor activities like mountain hiking and weight lifting.
Chuanhai Liu is an Associate Head and Professor of Statistics at Purdue University’s Department of Statistics. He specializes in computational methods for statistical inference, Bayesian analysis, and big data computing systems. His research emphasizes robust algorithms, inferential models, and probabilistic methods. Education: M.S., Wuhan University, Probability and Statistics (1987) M.A., Harvard University, Statistics (1990) Ph.D., Harvard University, Statistics (1994) Research Interests: Computational methods (EM algorithms, MCMC), statistical software systems for big data, theoretical foundations of inference, and prior-free probabilistic modeling. His work bridges computational efficiency and statistical validity, with applications in network analysis, environmental data, and machine learning. Awards: Fellow of the American Statistical Association (2007) Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute (2006) Frank Wilcoxon Prize (2000) Advising & Grants: Supervised 9 Ph.D. students, including interdisciplinary collaborations. His grants focus on distributed statistical computing and inferential frameworks. Active in software development for large-scale data analysis. Labs/Teams: Leads statistical computing initiatives at Purdue, contributing to scalable algorithms and probabilistic inference systems.
Ryan Giordano is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. He holds a PhD in Statistics from UC Berkeley (2019), advised by Michael Jordan, Tamara Broderick, and Jon McAuliffe, an MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics from the London School of Economics (2009), and undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Theoretical/Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to academia, he worked as an engineer at Google and HP and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan. His research focuses on variational methods , Bayesian robustness , sensitivity analysis , and statistical computing , with applications in machine learning, environmental science, and astronomy. He is particularly known for developing scalable Bayesian inference techniques and quantifying the robustness of statistical models to data perturbations. Giordano’s recent work includes studies on Laplace approximation accuracy, MCMC sensitivity to data removal, and robustness metrics for differential expression analysis. He has contributed to open-source statistical software and collaborates with Tamara Broderick’s group at MIT on postdoctoral work (pre-2019 position). His academic trajectory combines theoretical innovation with practical applications, emphasizing reproducibility and computational efficiency in statistical methodology.
