Seminar 2023-11-10

Challenges and Opportunities in Statistics and Data Science: Ten Research Areas

Xihong Lin

Professor

Department of Biostatistics and Department of Statistics

Harvard University

Date: Friday, November 10, 2023

Time: 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time

Location: Johnson Center, Room 325 Meeting Room A

As a data-driven discipline that deals with many aspects of data, statistics is a critical pillar in the rapidly evolving landscape of data science. The increasingly vital role of data, especially big data, in many disciplines, presents the field of statistics with unparalleled challenges and exciting opportunities. Statistics plays a pivotal role in data science by assisting with the use of data and decision making in the face of uncertainty. In this article, we present ten research areas that could make statistics and data science more impactful on science and society. These areas will help better transform data into knowledge, actionable insights and deliverables, and promote more collaboration with computer and other quantitative scientists and domain scientists.

Xihong Lin is a Professor and Former Chair of the Department of Biostatistics, Coordinating Director of the Program in Quantitative Genomics at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and Professor of the Department of Statistics at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, and Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Dr. Lin’s research interests lie in the development and application of scalable statistical and machine learning methods for the analysis of massive and complex genetic and genomic, epidemiological and health data. Some examples of her current research include analytic methods and applications for large scale Whole Genome Sequencing studies, biobanks and Electronic Health Records, techniques and tools for whole genome variant functional annotations, analysis of the interplay of genes and environment, multiple phenotype analysis, polygenic risk prediction and heritability estimation. Dr. Lin was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2018 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2023. She received the 2002 Mortimer Spiegelman Award from the American Public Health Association, the 2006 Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) Presidents’ Award, the 2017 COPSS FN David Award, the 2008 Janet L. Norwood Award for Outstanding Achievement of a Woman in Statistics, the 2022 National Institute of Statistical Sciences Jerome Sacks Award for Outstanding Cross-Disciplinary Research, and the 2022 Marvin Zelen Leadership in Statistical Science Award. She is an elected fellow of American Statistical Association (ASA), Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and International Statistical Institute.

David Kepplinger

Nicholas Rios