Faculty Mentors
Virginia W. Chang, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Global Public Health | NYU School of Global Public Health, Associate Professor of Population Health | NYU School of Medicine, and Affiliated Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at NYU
Siyu Heng, PhD
Jonathan Odumegwu, PhD
Shu Xu, PhD
Graduate Student Mentors
Yuyu (Ruby) Chen, MS
Third year PhD student in Biostatistics | NYU School of Global Public Health
I'm a doctoral student at NYU School of Global Public Health specializing in Biostatistics. I received a B.A. in Biochemistry and a minor in Mathematics at Occidental College. After that, I joined NYU GPH and obtained M.S. in Biostatistics. I was involved in multiple collaborative projects and consulting tasks, including bayesian adaptive platform clinical trials, meta-analysis, machine learning, psychometrics/measurement development, and several longitudinal/cohort studies during my time at NYU. Currently, I'm working on a transfer learning application on missing data imputations. I'm interested in using data to address public health issues and finding optimal clinical solutions with statistical approaches.
Ruby supported Dr. Chang for summer 2023.
Spencer Cui
MS student in Biostatistics | NYU School of Global Public Health
I'm currently a second-year biostatistics student in the GPH program. As part of my academic journey, I have the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Xu on a research project that delves into the transition from e-cigarette use to tobacco use. Prior to this, I completed my undergraduate studies at Ohio State University, majoring in data analytics. I am particularly fascinated by the intersection of statistics, machine learning, and public health, with a specific focus on cancer research and the application of wearable medical devices. Outside of academics, I have a deep passion for tennis and kendo, although I consider myself more enthusiastic than skilled in these sports.
Instagram: @spencerclc
Spencer supported Dr. Xu for summer 2023.
Kexin Fu
MS student in Biostatistics | NYU School of Global Public Health
I’m an incoming second-year student in biostatistics. I’m now the research assistant in MLE lab and LePT Lab. I’m interested in applying survival analysis in exploring determinants and treatments for chronic disease. I worked as a student consultant for a cardiac resuscitation project organized by NYU Langone predicting ROSC by rSO2 during the biostatistical consulting course. I led one journal club discussing meta-analysis on the articles about chronic non cancer pain.
Instagram: @fkx_nyu
Kexin supported Dr. Odumegwu for summer 2023.
Jiawei Zhang
MS student in Computer Science and Mathematics | NYU Courant Institute of Mathematics
I have a strong mathematical background and a strong machine learning and statistics foundation. My research interests encompass machine learning and causal inference. Furthermore, I am a top 100 co-developer of scikit-learn. I am also a contributor to Pandas.
Instagram: @sci-arch
Jiawei supported Dr. Heng for summer 2023.
Instructors
Adrian Harris, MS
Statistical Analyst in the Center for Anti-racism, Social Justice & Public Health | NYU School of Global Public Health
Adrian earned his Bachelor's of Business Administration in Statistics and Quantitative Modeling from Baruch College and Masters of Applied Statistics in Social Research from NYU. He interested in topics such as leveraging Causal inference, Simulations, and Bayesian inference to behavioral studies, Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning Ethics, and Arbitrage Strategies.
In his current role he supports NYU Center for Anti-racism, Social Justice and Public Health as a Statistical Analyst. Adrian's work consists of conducting statistical analysis for research topics such as identifying at-risk groups for genetic testing and for people that use opioids. His other areas of research include looking at disparities over time with public health outcomes from the CDC, helping in building a Racism & Public Health Survey and supporting faculty in their own public health research.
Adrian taught the Introduction to Biostatistics course for summer 2023.
Zoé Haskell-Craig
Fourth year PhD student in Biostatistics | NYU School of Global Public Health
I'm a PhD student in the biostatistics concentration at New York University’s School of Global Public Health. My research focus is on spatial statistics and health disparities. In particular, I'm looking at the differences in disease prevalence between neighborhoods and race, socioeconomic, and geographic factors. Currently, I'm working with Dr. Melody Goodman in the Measurement, Learning, and Evaluation lab. I'm is also interested in infectious disease dynamics and vaccine delivery strategies. I grew up outside of Toronto, Canada, and attended Carnegie Mellon University where I received a B.Sc. in Physics and a B.A. in Social and Political History in 2020. My previous research focused on building a publicly available database of historic mortality rates from London, England, dating back to the 1660s. Using this data, as well as newspaper archives, I analyzed the response to the 1874 scarlet fever outbreak in London in the context of the public health revolution of the 1800s. Beyond public health, I'm also passionate about education and social justice. I spent a semester in Kenya evaluating the long-term sustainability of NGO water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives and worked for two summers on a literacy program for First Nations youth in Northern Ontario.
Zoé taught the Introduction to Statistical Computing course for summer 2023.
Abbey Jones, MPH
Fifth year PhD student in Epidemiology | NYU School of Global Public Health
I am a rising fifth-year doctoral candidate in the Epidemiology track. My dissertation research examines the epidemiology of gene deletions that cause false negative results in malaria diagnostic tests and the impact of these deletions on malaria intervention programs. I have an MPH in Global Epidemiology and a BA in Mathematics; prior to attending NYU, I worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for eight years. I have experience in the fields of public health surveillance, preparedness and response, infectious disease epidemiology, and maternal and child health.
Abbey taught the Introduction to Epidemiology course for summer 2023.
Social Mentor
Maame Duah
MPH student in Biostatistics | NYU School of Global Public Health
I am a second-year rising student in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program, specializing in Biostatistics. Prior to this, I obtained a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Biology with a minor in criminal justice. Currently, I am an active member of the Biostatistical Lab, working under the supervision of Dr. Betensky. My current project focuses on identifying disparities within the Geriatric and Palliative unit at NYU Langone, specifically examining how factors such as age, race, and language impact the quality of care received by patients.
Instagram: @_m.duah