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Next-Generation Statistics: From Theory to Practice in a Data-Rich Era

An international joint symposium
featuring leading statisticians
from Vanderbilt Biostatistics, Academia Sinica, National Cheng Kung University, and National Tsing Hua University

Saturday, August 2, 2025 ♦ 8:30 am – 12:30 pm Central Time

Carmichael College, Vanderbilt University
2321 West End Avenue
Nashville, TN  37203

Free and open to the public

Help us prepare by letting us know you plan to attend.

8:30–8:40 am Opening Remarks

Yu Shyr, Vanderbilt University Hsin-Chou Yang, Academia Sinica

8:40–9:45 am Session 1: Statistical Genetics/Microbiome/Bioinformatics

 8:40–8:55 am From air to cells: The genomic impact of environmental carcinogens Hsuan-Yu Chen, Academia Sinica
 8:55–9:10 am Leveraging new genomic LLMs for studying under-annotated microbial genes Siyuan Ma, Vanderbilt University
 9:10–9:25 am A pleiotropy-free model for Mendelian randomization with mediation: An application to heavy metals, DNA methylation, and lung function An-Shun Tai, National Cheng Kung University
 9:25–9:45 am Panel discussion Qingxia “Cindy” Chen, Vanderbilt University (moderator)
Chih-Yuan Hsu, Vanderbilt University
Chung-I Li, National Cheng Kung University
Quanhu “Tiger” Sheng, Vanderbilt University
Ran Tao, Vanderbilt University
Hsin-Chou Yang, Academia Sinica
Shilin Zhao, Vanderbilt University

9:45–9:55 am Break

9:55–11:15 am Session 2: Bioinformatics and Longitudinal Data

  9:55–10:10 am Microenvironment-aware spatial modeling for accurate inference of cell identity Qi Liu, Vanderbilt University
 10:10–10:25 am An efficient approach for identifying important biomarkers Frederick Kin Hing Phoa, Academia Sinica
 10:25–10:40 am Ordinal regression models for the analysis of continuous longitudinal response data subject to detection limits Bryan Shepherd, Vanderbilt University
 10:40–10:55 am Semi-parametric confidence bands for the receiver operating characteristic curve based on unions of transformed elliptical regions   Andrew Spieker, Vanderbilt University
 10:55–11:15 am Panel discussion Yu Shyr, Vanderbilt University (moderator)
Qingxia “Cindy” Chen, Vanderbilt University
Leena Choi, Vanderbilt University
Hsin-Chen Huang, Academia Sinica
Chung-Han Lee, National Cheng Kung University
Kuo-Jung Lee, National Cheng Kung University

11:15–11:25 am Break

11:25 am–12:30 pm Session 3: Imaging Data

  11:25–11:40 am Improving reliability of neuroimaging studies Simon Vandekar, Vanderbilt University
 11:40–11:55 am A statistical method for cryo-electron microscopy data analysis I-Ping Tu, Academia Sinica
 11:55 am–12:10 pm Enhanced whole-brain connectivity estimation using GPU-accelerated Gaussian process in autism research Hakmook Kang, Vanderbilt University
 12:10–12:30 pm Panel discussion Simon Vandekar, Vanderbilt University (moderator)
Chun-houh Chen, Academia Sinica
Ray-Bing Chen, National Tsing Hua University
Jinyuan Liu, Vanderbilt University
Yu Shyr, Vanderbilt University

Details are being finalized and subject to change.