Department of Biostatistics

Congratulations, Ellen Graham, recipient of the 2026 Thomas R. Fleming Excellence in Biostatistics Award! Ellen was presented the award at the department's graduation ceremony: https://www.biostat.washington.edu/news/stories/celebrating-biostatistics-students-class-2026

Congratulations, Ameer Dharamshi, recipient of the 2026 Thomas R. Fleming Excellence in Biostatistics Award, an honor given to a PhD student. Ameer was presented the award at the department's graduation ceremony: https://www.biostat.washington.edu/news/stories/celebrating-biostatistics-students-class-2026

Congrats to Breanna Brown, recipient of the Senior Student Award in the MS Capstone program! https://www.biostat.washington.edu/news/stories/celebrating-biostatistics-students-class-2026

Congratulations Congyu Hang, recipient of the 2026 Senior Student Award in the UW Biostatistics' MS Thesis program! Hang accepted the award at the department's graduation ceremony: https://www.biostat.washington.edu/news/stories/celebrating-biostatistics-students-class-2026

Congratulations to the UW Biostatistics Class of 2026! See highlights from our department graduation held Saturday, June 6! https://www.biostat.washington.edu/news/stories/celebrating-biostatistics-students-class-2026

Congratulations to Gabriela Vasconcelos, recipient of the University of Washington School of Public Health Outstanding Doctoral Student award in Biostatistics! Vasconcelos is a PhD graduate from UW whose research sits at the intersection of statistical innovation and applied genomics. Advised by Dr. Ali Shojaie, she developed methods for spatial transcriptomics with a persistent focus on usability and interpretability, building tools that are not only theoretically grounded but also accessible to a broad scientific audience. She is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, continuing to advance statistical methodology for spatial and single-cell genomics.

“Gabby is an outstanding scholar with a bright future," said Ali Shojaie, interim department chair and professor of biostatistics, and Vasconcelos' advisor.

"She thinks deeply about data analysis with a maturity that is exceptional for people at her stage. She is also a true scholar and an amazing communicator, who genuinely cares about making impactful contributions and demonstrates incredible curiosity about the scientific context of the problems she engages in. Gabby is also very independent, yet collegial and a fantastic collaborator,” said Shojaie.

Read more about her work and achievements: https://www.biostat.washington.edu/news/stories/biostatistics-students-receive-2026-school-public-health-excellence-awards

Congratulations to Yifan Lin, 2026 recipient of the University of Washington School of Public Health Gilbert S. Omenn Award for Academic Excellence!

Lin is a Biostatistics MS thesis student whose innovative research has advanced high-dimensional genomics data. She developed an artificial intelligence (AI) framework to address the impact of unmeasured confounding, one of the toughest problems in observational public health research. By combining generative AI with traditional methods, she developed sensGAN, a framework that improves interpretation of complex genomic data. She has presented her work at multiple conferences, has a published preprint, and is preparing for publication before beginning her PhD program. Beyond research, Yifan was an active leader, co-leading DEI initiatives and contributing to many community-building efforts within the department.

“Yifan's rapid mastery of the entire research workflow from ideation and implementation to the presentation of such complex biomedical questions has been truly inspirational,” said Kevin Lin, assistant professor of biostatistics and Lin’s advisor.

“She embodies the spirit of public health biostatistics, developing bold ideas at the forefront of computational research to address the pressing challenges we face in Alzheimer's research. Additionally, she is equally dedicated to her community, co-leading our department's mental health initiatives. I am honored to have been her advisor. Her journey is a masterclass for future students, proving that a unique, non-traditional perspective is an immense scientific asset.”

Read more about Yifan's work and achievements:
https://www.biostat.washington.edu/news/stories/biostatistics-students-receive-2026-school-public-health-excellence-awards

UW researcher Kevin Lin aims to better understand one of the biggest mysteries in current Alzheimer’s research: the phenomenon of resilience, why roughly 30 percent of people who never show signs of cognitive decline are later found to have high levels of Alzheimer’s pathology in their brains.

Lin, along with his collaborators in UW Medicine, recently received a $75,000 award from the UW Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) for a project examining this mystery through microglial resilience and data integration.

The team’s innovation lies in building an AI-based pipeline to link two completely different data types: the physical 3D shapes (morphology) of immune cells captured via high-resolution microscopy and the genetic blueprints (transcriptomics) of those same cells.

“By linking structure to function, we can finally begin to see the full picture of what makes a brain resilient,” said Lin.

Read more about the work at: https://www.biostat.washington.edu/news/stories/solving-alzheimers-mystery

University of Washington School of Public Health

Early discount rates for our 2026 Summer Institutes have been extended through June 15! Join us for online statistical short courses offered by UW Biostatistics.

Summer Institute in Statistics for Clinical & Epidemiological Research (SISCER), July 7 – July 30. Offering 14 course options including 2 new courses this year:
-Multi-state Models for Time-to-Event Data
-Design and Analysis of Two-Phase Studies

Summer Institute in Statistics for Big Data (SISBID), July 13 – July 31. Offering 5 course options with a new course this year:
-Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Browse courses and register now! https://si.biostat.washington.edu/

A few pics from our end of the quarter ice cream social, Biostat Scoops!