General Exam - Keshav Motwani
Committee: Ali Shojaie (co-chair), Eardi Lila (co-chair), Daniela Witten, Mehmet Kurt (GSR)
Presentation: Learning Latent Structure from Dependent Data
Abstract: In genetic studies and longitudinal data, the dependence structure between observations is often known. Relatives share genetic effects according to their kinship and observations over time are noisy measurements of the same trajectory. This dissertation develops methods that leverage these known dependencies to learn latent structure that cannot be observed directly. In the first project, we develop an estimator of the covariance matrix of the latent genetic components of many traits that is computationally feasible where likelihood methods are not, and use it to perform linear regression on latent genetic components of the traits of interest. In the second project, we directly learn the conditional expectation of a subject's latent trajectory given its sparse, noisy observations without assuming a model for the trajectories or the noise. In the…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Hans Rosling Center for Population Health (HRC). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/96824990262. Campus room: HRC 370. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Friday, November 6, 2026, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
UW Biostatistics Master of Science Thesis Information Session
This Biostatistics MS Thesis information session will be held via Zoom and led by our admissions manager. The session will review the MS Thesis degree program's focus, format, curriculum, research opportunities, hands-on work experience, post-degree job outlook, admissions requirements, application process, and more. Time will also be set aside to answer any questions you may have. Please RSVP to receive the information session link.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Online. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, November 12, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit www.biostat.washington.edu. Biostatistics Seminar: Gian-Gabriel Garcia, Assistant Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Washington
Speaker: Gian-Gabriel Garcia, PhD, Assistant Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Washington
Title and abstract coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Hans Rosling Center for Population Health (HRC). Campus room: HRC 135. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, November 12, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
UW Biostatistics Master of Science Capstone Information Session
This Biostatistics MS Capstone program information session will be held via Zoom and led by our admissions manager. The session will review the program's focus, format, curriculum, research opportunities, hands-on work experience, post-degree job outlook, admissions requirements, application process, and more. Time will also be set aside to answer any questions you may have. Please RSVP to receive the information session link.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Online. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, November 19, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit www.biostat.washington.edu. Biostatistics Seminar: When Does Synthetic Data Augmentation Help in Imbalanced Learning?
Speaker: Anru Zhang, PhD, Professor & Vice Chair for Research of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics; Associate Professor of Computer Science, Statistical Science and in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University
Presentation: When Does Synthetic Data Augmentation Help in Imbalanced Learning?
Abstract: Synthetic data are increasingly used to address data scarcity and imbalance in modern learning problems, especially when important outcomes are rare. In classification tasks with severe class imbalance, a common strategy is to generate synthetic minority samples and use them to augment the training set. Although effective in practice, the statistical benefits of this approach remain poorly understood: synthetic data augmentation may reduce the effects of imbalance, but it may also introduce bias if the generated samples do not accurately reflect the target distribution.
In this talk, I will present a statistical answer to the question in the title. Specifically, I will describe a…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Hans Rosling Center for Population Health (HRC). Campus room: HRC 135. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, November 19, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Biostatistics Fall Gathering
UW Biostatistics students, staff, and faculty are invited to the 2026 Fall Gathering! Please RSVP by Thursday, November 12.
Department will provide: Herb roasted turkey (gluten free), vegetable curry (vegan, gluten free), mashed potatoes (vegetarian, gluten free), mushroom gravy, and macaroni & cheese (vegetarian).
Optional: Bring a dessert or side dish to share
RSVP: Please RSVP by Thursday, November 12
Featuring: Department Trivia Game! 🧠🎉
What to expect: Brain cells assemble! Rounds of questions ranging from “Wait, I actually know this!” to “Why do I know this?” to “I have never heard of this in my life.” Topics include pop culture, science, history, food, geography, and a few office-themed curveballs that may expose your faculty talents. Who can play? Everyone! No trivia experience required. Whether you’re a walking encyclopedia or you rely on lucky guesses and vibes, there’s a seat at the table for you. Organizers will pull together teams at the event. Come for the questions, stay…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Hans Rosling Center for Population Health (HRC). Campus room: HRC 3rd Floor Kitchen. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Special Events. Target Audience: Event is open to current UW Biostatistics students, staff, and faculty.
Friday, November 20, 2026, 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM.
Final Exam - Katie Paulson
Presentation: Survival models for estimating child mortality rates using national-level data
Abstract: In the last century, there has been substantial progress in reducing preventable child mortality globally. However, large inequalities remain both between and within countries. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include targets of fewer than 25 under-five deaths and 12 neonatal deaths per 1000 live births, in every country, by 2030. To track progress towards these SDG targets, the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study leverage statistical models and available data to estimate child mortality rates. For countries without high-quality vital registration, data come primarily from household surveys and censuses. Currently, UN IGME and GBD both use separate modeling processes to estimate neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality rates. They also use separate modeling processes to make estimates at the national…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Hans Rosling Center for Population Health (HRC). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/91099894628. Campus room: HRC 370. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Monday, November 23, 2026, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
Biostatistics Seminar: Razieh Nabi, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University
Speaker: Razieh Nabi, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University
Title, and abstract coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Hans Rosling Center for Population Health (HRC). Campus room: HRC 135. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, December 3, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Biostatistics Seminar
Speaker, title, and abstract coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Hans Rosling Center for Population Health (HRC). Campus room: HRC 135. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, December 10, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.