Biostatistics Seminar: Statistics in the Age of AI: Theory, Methods, and Data
Speaker: Didong Li, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Title: Statistics in the Age of AI: Theory, Methods, and Data
Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has surged in popularity, creating both opportunities and challenges for statistics. In this talk, I will present three recent directions from my lab that reflect our efforts to engage with the age of AI. First, I will discuss theoretical results for decoder-based generative models, providing statistical foundations that connect latent dimension, approximation error, and model complexity. Second, I will discuss a method to use embeddings from large language models to enhance high-dimensional hypothesis testing, a widely used statistical tool in scientific domains, motivated by problems in cancer genomics where traditional methods are underpowered. I will also discuss extensions to genetic studies, where we curated annotations for 8.9 billion genetic variants from the human genome, and obtained…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Virtual Seminar. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, January 15, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Telling Your Story Through Interviews
How can you stand out during an interview to get a job or internship offer? We’ll cover ways to formulate answers to common questions, practice most effectively, and handle nerves. Come prepared to participate!
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Hans Rosling Center for Population Health (HRC). Campus room: HRC 370. Accessibility Contact: Maggie Tarnawa. Event Types: Workshops. Target Audience: Biostatistics Students.
Friday, January 16, 2026, 2:30 PM – 3:20 PM.
Biostatistics Seminar: Yu Shen, PhD, Oestmann Family Foundation Chair for Cancer Research, Division of Discovery Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Speaker: Yu Shen, PhD, Oestmann Family Foundation Chair for Cancer Research, Division of Discovery Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Presentation title and abstract coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Virtual Seminar. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, January 22, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Biostatistics Seminar: TBD
Speaker and presentation information coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, January 29, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Biostatistics Seminar: Inference on Local Variable Importance Measures for Heterogeneous Treatment Effects
Speaker: Pawel Morzywolek, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen
Title: Inference on Local Variable Importance Measures for Heterogeneous Treatment Effects
Abstract: We provide an inferential framework to assess variable importance for heterogeneous treatment effects. This assessment is especially useful in high-risk domains such as medicine, where decision makers hesitate to rely on black-box treatment recommendation algorithms. The variable importance measures we consider are local in that they may differ across individuals, while the inference is global in that it tests whether a given variable is important for any individual. Our approach builds on recent developments in semiparametric theory for function-valued parameters, and is valid even when statistical machine learning algorithms are employed to quantify treatment effect heterogeneity. We demonstrate the applicability of our method to infectious disease prevention strategies.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Virtual Seminar. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Biostatistics Seminar: Lucy Lu Wang, PhD, Assistant Professor, Information School, University of Washington
Speaker: Lucy Lu Wang, PhD, Assistant Professor, Information School, University of Washington
Presentation title and abstract coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Architecture Hall (ARC). Campus room: ARC G070. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Winter Career Panel - Academia Focus
Biostats program alumni working in academia will share their career journeys, impressions from their time in the program, and tips about hiring at their organizations.
Panelists: Anna Plantinga, Associate Professor at Williams College (PhD grad) , Charles Wolock, Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, University of Rochester , Manisha Desai, Kim and Ping Li Professor, Associate Dean of Research, Section Chief of Biostatistics, Director of the Quantitative Sciences Unit at Stanford (PhD grad) , Taylor Okonek, Assistant Professor of Statistics at Macalester College (PhD grad).
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: N/A, Zoom link will be sent to registered attendees. Accessibility Contact: Maggie Tarnawa. Event Types: Information Sessions. Target Audience: School of Public Health and Statistics/Data Science-focused graduate students.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
Zoom.
UW Biostatistics & Fred Hutch Prentice Lecture: Michael LeBlanc, PhD, Professor of Biostatistics, University of Washington; Professor Biostatistics Program, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Speaker: Michael LeBlanc, PhD, Professor of Biostatistics, University of Washington; Professor Biostatistics Program, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Presentation title and abstract coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: William H. Foege Genome Sciences (GNOM). Campus room: GNOM S060. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, February 19, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Biostatistics Seminar: Chang Su, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University
Speaker: Chang Su, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University
Presentation title and abstract coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Virtual Seminar. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, February 26, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Biostatistics Seminar: Leying Guan, PhD, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Yale University
Speaker: Leying Guan, PhD, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Yale University
Presentation title and abstract coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Virtual Seminar. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, March 5, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Biostatistics Seminar: Li Hsu, PhD, Professor, Biostatistics Program, Fred Hutch Cancer Center; Affiliate Professor of Biostatistics, University of Washington
Speaker: Li Hsu, PhD, Professor, Biostatistics Program, Fred Hutch Cancer Center; Affiliate Professor of Biostatistics, University of Washington
Presentation title and abstract coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Architecture Hall (ARC). Campus room: ARC G070. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, March 12, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Biostatistics Seminar: Boxiang Liu, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore
Speaker: Boxiang Liu, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore
Presentation title and abstract coming soon.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus room: Virtual Seminar. Accessibility Contact: Deb Nelson, nelsod6@uw.edu, 206-685-9323. Event Types: Academics.
Thursday, March 19, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.