7 fields of advanced study place in top 10 among public universities on annual list.
Read the full story on the UCI News site.
The Center for Statistical Consulting’s New Director Envisions a One-Stop Shop for Data Analysis Needs
UCI’s research community gained a new ally with the hiring of a full-time director for the Center for Statistical Consulting. Dr. Joni Ricks-Oddie, who stepped into the new role in February, will also serve as head of the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) unit within the Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS). By managing both the consulting center and BERD unit, Ricks-Oddie plans to streamline processes and improve efficiency so the two groups operate in synch with one another and become a “one-stop shop” for the UCI community and affiliated organizations.
Shahbaba Receives $1.7 Million Neural Data Analysis Grant
Lakeland Times: “Autism numbers spike: The latest call to action” (Stern quoted)
A great point about this was made about a decade ago by Andrew Gelman, a professor in the Department of Statistics and Department of Political Science at Columbia University, and Hal Stern, a professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of California, Irvine, in their wonderfully titled article “The Difference Between ‘Significant’ and ‘Not Significant’ is not itself Statistically Significant.”
In their discussion, Gelman and Stern touch on the growing awareness that “statistical significance is not the same as practical importance,” and “that dichotomization into significant and nonsignificant results encourages the dismissal of observed differences in favor of the usually less interesting null hypothesis of no difference, and that any particular threshold for declaring significance is arbitrary.”
Read the full story at The Lakeland Times.
2018 ICS Projects and Predictions
Professors Kurt Squire, Ramesh Jain and Vladimir Minin provide a sneak peak of what technological innovations are ahead in 2018.
New Faculty Spotlight: Statistics Professor Vladimir Minin is Pleased to Join Growing Community
Vladimir Minin, Professor of Statistics, joined the ICS faculty in July 2017.
Alexandra Peterson Named Outstanding TA in Statistics
The 2017 Outstanding TA Award in Statistics went to Alexandra Peterson, a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Statistics. According to Peterson, being a good TA requires more than just a solid understanding of the course material. TAs should also be able to “provide several different understandable explanations for the students,” she says. Peterson adds that “it is also important to seem approachable so that students feel comfortable asking questions.”
Brandon Berman received Honorable Mention.
New Faculty Spotlight: Statistics Professor Bin Nan Welcomes Collaboration
Bin Nan, Professor of Statistics, joined the ICS faculty in September 2017.
UCI News: “UCI neurobiologists aim to identify biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease” (Dan Gillen mentioned)
With $3.8 million in support from the National Institute on Aging, University of California, Irvine neurobiologists are working to identify the early indicators of dementia in older adults as disease-related brain plaques accumulate but before symptoms can be observed. The researchers are developing sophisticated methods using brain imaging technology to understand the mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease and predict its onset before any outward manifestations. If successful, their work will pave the way for effective preventive treatments that will substantially increase quality of life for patients and reduce the burden on families and the healthcare system.
Read the full story at UCI News.