Overview: Join us for an insightful webinar exploring the role of leadership in bridging statistical theory with scientific inquiry. This event, co-hosted by COPSS and NISS, brings together distinguished leaders in statistics and data science to discuss the critical intersections of theory, research, and practice. Attendees will gain valuable perspectives on how statistical methodologies drive innovation and shape scientific progress across various disciplines. This is a must-attend event for statisticians, researchers, and professionals looking to enhance their leadership and impact in the field.
Speakers
Michael R. Kosorok, PhD, W.R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biostatistics, Professor of Statistics and Operations Research, and Director of the Gillings School Center for AI and Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Daniela Witten, Professor of Statistics and Biostatistics at University of Washington, and the Dorothy Gilford Endowed Chair in Mathematical Statistics.
Moderator
Anru Zhang, Professor, Departments of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics and Computer Science & Departments of Statistical Science, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Mathematics, Duke University.
About the Speakers
Michael R. Kosorok, PhD, is the W.R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biostatistics, Professor of Statistics and Operations Research, and Director of the Gillings School Center for AI and Public Health, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He develops statistical and AI tools for precision health and has written a text on the theoretical foundations of this and related areas, "Introduction to Empirical Processes and Semiparametric Inference" (2008, Springer), and co-edited with Erica E.M. Moodie the monograph "Adaptive Treatment Strategies in Practice: Planning Trials and Analyzing Data for Personalized Medicine" (2016, ASA-SIAM). He received the COPSS Snedecor Award in 2023 and the ASA Noether Distinguished Scholar Award in 2019. He was also guest editor for the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Theory and Method Section, Special Issue on Precision Medicine (2021). He is currently past-president of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. In addition to working as a statistician, he composes classical music.
Daniela Witten is a professor of Statistics and Biostatistics at University of Washington, and the Dorothy Gilford Endowed Chair in Mathematical Statistics. She develops statistical machine learning methods for high-dimensional data, with a focus on unsupervised learning. She has received a number of awards for her research in statistical machine learning: most notably the Spiegelman Award from the American Public Health Association for a (bio)statistician under age 40, and the Presidents' Award from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies for a statistician under age 41. Daniela is a co-author of the textbook "Introduction to Statistical Learning", and since 2023 serves as Joint Editor of Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B.
About the Moderator
Anru Zhang is a tenured primary faculty member in the Departments of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics and Computer Science at Duke University, and also holds secondary appointments in the Departments of Statistical Science, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Mathematics. Before joining Duke, he served as an assistant professor of statistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in 2015 under the mentorship of T. Tony Cai, after earning his Bachelor's degree in mathematics from Peking University in 2010. In addition to his faculty roles, he serves as the Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics at Duke. His editorial responsibilities include positions as Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Statistical Association, both in the Applications & Case Studies and Theory & Methodology sections. He is also an Associate Editor for *Statistica Sinica* and *Statistics and Its Interface*. Moreover, he serves as an Area Chair for the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR) in 2023 and 2024. His research focuses on areas such as tensor learning, generative models, high-dimensional statistics, electronic health records, healthcare, and microbiome studies. His group's publications can be found on arXiv or Google Scholar. He has received several prestigious awards, including the COPSS Emerging Leader Award in 2024, the IMS Tweedie Award in 2022, the ASA Gottfried E. Noether Junior Award in 2021, the NSF CAREER Award in 2020, and the AMIA Data Science Outstanding Paper Award in 2023. At Duke, he has been honored with the title of Eugene Anson Stead, Jr. M.D. Associate Professor.
COPSS (Committee of the Presidents of Statistical Societies) and NISS have come together to organize and host a new webinar series focusing on leadership in statistics and data science. Plan to attend these webinars every month during the academic year! Visit the COPSS-NISS Leadership Series Page for previous webinars.
The COPSS-NISS Leadership Webinar Series is co-organized by the Committee of the Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) Emerging Leaders in Statistics and the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS). The purpose of the webinar series is to promote leadership skills for members of the statistical societies at any stage in their careers. The series features conversations with leaders throughout the discipline, including leaders from major academic and government institutions, and companies. Invited speakers share their leadership stories and answer questions about their experiences. Each webinar is moderated by a member of the COPSS Emerging Leaders in Statistics program.
Access the Full COPSS-NISS Leadership Webinar Series YouTube Playlist | COPSS-NISS Leadership Webinar Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoRtupvDJTjvFukMcO6NfDr0GvxDsIj81