We are pleased to announce the second speaker for the Stats-Up-AI-Alliance webinar series: Dr. Ying Guo (Emory University). Dr. Guo will present cutting-edge analytical techniques and statistical methods for investigating brain function and connectivity using fMRI. The webinar will be held on May 8, 2025 (Thursday) at 3:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM CT / 1:00 PM MT / 12:00 PM PT. Details about the talk, including the abstract, are provided below. We encourage you to share this exciting event with colleagues who may be interested, and we look forward to your participation in the webinar. Stay connected with us through our social media channels, and don’t forget to join our official ASA Interest Group (details can be found at the end of this announcement).
Talk
Exploring Brain Function and Connectivity with fMRI: From Data Characteristics to Statistical and AI Methods
Abstract
Neuroimaging technology has played a central role in advancing scientific understanding of normal brain function in humans, as well as in investigating the neural basis of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Among the various neuroimaging techniques, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is one of the most commonly used tools in current neuroscience studies. This talk aims to introduce analytical techniques and statistical methods for investigating brain function and connectivity using fMRI. We will begin with a discussion of the background and key characteristics of fMRI data that are relevant to statistical modeling. This will be followed by an overview of fMRI analysis, with a focus on brain network and connectome analysis using statistical and AI-based approaches. The goal of the talk is to help familiarize researchers with data considerations, analysis procedures, and challenges in fMRI studies, thereby enabling more statisticians to contribute advanced and well-suited analytical tools for the field.
Zoom Link
https://upenn.zoom.us/j/99182616852
Presenter
Dr. Ying Guo is Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Emory University, an appointed Graduate Faculty of the Emory Neuroscience Program and an Associate Faculty in Emory Department of Computer Science. She is a founding member and the current Director of the Center for Biomedical Imaging Statistics (CBIS) at Emory University. Dr. Guo’s research focuses on developing analytical methods for neuroimaging and mental health studies. Her main research areas include blind source separation (BSS) methods such as independent component analysis (ICA), brain network and connectome methods, multimodal imaging, longitudinal imaging modeling, and imaging-based prediction methods. Dr. Guo is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and served as the 2023 Chair of the ASA Statistics in Imaging Section. She has served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals in statistics and psychiatry, and also served as a standing member of the NIH Emerging Imaging Technologies in Neuroscience (EITN) study section.
Contact
Please feel free to reach out to Drs. Edgar Dobriban, Yi Zhao, and Panpan Zhang if you have any questions.
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Panpan Zhang
Assistant Professor
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
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