Biostatistics Mentors

   I use claims data to evaluate real world questions to improve member outcomes and business performance.

Epidemiologist and Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) consultant with extensive experience in generating real-world evidence (RWE) across oncology, rheumatology, dermatology, respiratory disorders, and rare diseases using advanced statistical methods applied to claims, electronic health record (EHR), registries, and patient-reported data.

Dr. Tang brings over 27 years’ experience in medicine, public health, and health economics & outcomes research (HEOR).

 Currently, he is a founder and managing director of TZ Health providing leadership and consulting service to life science organizations. Previously, he served as an AVP of HEOR at Agenus, responsible for HEOR strategies globally. He established HEOR function to support the product launches and reimbursement globally.

Before joining Agenus, Dr. Tang was the Executive Director/Head of HEOR at BeiGene (BeOne), where he established the HEOR function and supported product launches in more than 70 countries and successfully secured reimbursements in more than 30 countries. He also served as a Sr. Director of Global HEOR at Teva Pharmaceutical. Senior Director of Health Outcomes Research at Pfizer Emerging Markets, Director of HEOR in JNJ and GSK.

He was also an adjuvant professor of China Fudan University and faculty of Zhejiang University Medical School. Meanwhile, Dr. Tang was the 2016-2018 Chair of the HTA (Industry) Committee, Asia Consortium of the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), and a current member of Asia Consortium Executive Committee. Also, he served as a Sr. Fellow at Thomas Jefferson University, School of Population Health.

Dr. Tang’s training includes an MD in Preventive Medicine, a PhD in Health Services Research, and an MPH in Health Planning and International Health.

He has published more than 40 manuscripts in peer review journals, 100+ abstracts, speeches, and presentations in major scientific congresses. He is knowledgeable in the development of Health Technology Assessment around the world. In addition, he served at the Scientific Committees of International Health Economics Association (iHEA/ASHE), Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM), and a Peer Reviewer of America Journal of Managed Care, Cancer Research Journal, and Health Economics Review.

Cortney provides consultation and analysis of health care data to support decision making in the pharmaceutical industry. With extensive experience in health economics, outcomes research, and epidemiology research, Cortney has worked across government, pharma, and independent consulting. After completing an MS in Biostatistics at Michigan Public Health in 1999, Cortney spent several years in government and pharma before establishing a long-term career working independently.

I am an epidemiologist who specializes in analytic methods and research design. While I have subject matter expertise in injury topics - such as transportation safety, firearm violence, and overdose - I am more interested in the appropriate methods by which we can get to the best analysis of whatever we are studying. My career has been quite a journey with unexpected twists including working on the federal opioid litigation as a statistical consultant, receiving Secret Clearance to study occupational health at the FBI Academy, and being insulted by the NRA in a newspaper for a study that I led.

Elise Covert is a clinical trials biostatistician with IQVIA who is passionate about leveraging data insights to inform a healthier world. She consults with small pharmaceuticals and biotech companies to help design and execute statistical analyses for their clinical trials. Elise has worked on clinical trials from Phase I-III in various indications including oncology, dermatology, and neurology. Elise graduated with her M.S. Biostatistics from Michigan Public Health in 2022 and has been in her current role with IQVIA for over 3 years. She works remotely from Madison, WI and enjoys pottery, reading, hiking, and watching sports.

Elissa Brown is a data science executive with over a decade of experience leading high-impact data science and analytics teams in the consumer and tech space. At Nike, she directs global efforts in market intelligence, personalization, and macroeconomic forecasting. Her work has supported product strategy, fraud detection, and revenue growth, with a focus on building predictive models and AI tools used across the company. She is known for turning complex science and analytics into clear, actionable business decisions that drive measurable results. Before joining Nike, Elissa held data science roles at Nordstrom and conducted cancer research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She's passionate about mentoring early-career professionals, especially those navigating the transition from academic training to applied industry work.

I have been a statistician in the Department of Anesthesiology at Michigan Medicine for nearly 15 years.  I work with investigators to design studies, manage and analyze data, and write manuscripts.  I graduated from Albion College (BA, biology and music) in 2008 and the University of Michigan (MS, biostatistics) in 2010.

Guanghao graduated from UM Biostatistics PhD program in 2025, and joined Novo Nordisk as a senior manager in real world data science. He focuses on implementing epidemiological research in the field of cardiovascular and renal diseases.

With over 17 years of healthcare experience, I am a Stars Analytics Leader and Subject Matter Expert. My mission is to drive positive change by identifying opportunities, introducing best practices, and implementing process improvements by leveraging data analytics and insights.

I am also dedicated to developing the next generation of healthcare leaders through hiring and mentoring talent.

Jenna Kiryakos is a clinical infection preventionist at Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital. She’s been an infection preventionist since August 2024 working at both Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital. She is responsible for working with healthcare providers and staff on reducing the spread of infections in the healthcare setting by monitoring infection rates, identifying trends, and investigating any outbreaks. Prior to working in infection prevention, Jenna was a research and data analyst at Michigan Medicine working on the CDC’s Kidney Disease Surveillance System where she got to work on many different projects pertaining to kidney disease in the United States. This role allowed her to write abstracts/manuscripts, present at conferences, and collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of physicians, scientists, and epidemiologists.

She attended the University of Michigan from 2020 to 2022 and holds a Master of Public Health in Hospital and Molecular Epidemiology with a certificate in Public Health Genetics. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences from Oakland University

Dr. Woo holds an MHSA from the School of Public Health at Michigan, and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Cincinnati. She has been on faculty at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center for over 20 years, where she directs a research program focused on lifecourse epidemiology and the role of childhood growth and cardiovascular risk factors on adult cardiovascular disease. She is dedicated to the development of the next generation of scientists and healthcare leaders, and has mentored over 40 people ranging from undergraduate students to junior faculty members. She participated as an SPH Student-to-Alumni mentor last year, and is looking forward to working with someone again this year. Go BLUE!

  Jingwei Wu is an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Temple University. He obtained his Ph.D. in biostatistics from Indiana University, hold his master’s degree in biostatistics from University of Michigan, and bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Beijing University of Technology. Before joining Temple, he served as primary biostatistician and statistical consultant at Indiana University School of Medicine. His research areas include single index model, longitudinal model, and clinical trial methodologies. Dr. Wu is currently funded by multiple grants from NIH, NCI, CDC, ADA, DOD, and VA HSR&D. Dr. Wu has authored and co-authored more than 140 articles widely in journals such as Statistical Methods in Medical Research, Journal of Applied Statistics, Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics, Statistical Modeling, JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, Achieve of Internal Medicine, and Cancer. He is serving as statistical advisory panel and editorial board in BJPsy, Obesity Science & Practice and Endocrine Practice.

  Biostatistician at Children's Mercy Research Institute working on image analysis of cancer spatial protein data. Interested in developing novel methods for seamless oncology trials. Enthusiast of cancer research and biostatistics.

Hi, I’m Rachel! I have been a data analyst at Michigan Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry for two years, working on projects related to the inappropriate prescribing of medications to dementia patients. I earned my bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Georgia State University in 2021, and my master’s degree in biostatistics from the University of Michigan in 2023. As an undergraduate student, I worked as a research assistant, where I published two first-author papers and analyzed data for projects related to child psychology. During my master's program, I worked as a graduate student instructor (GSI) in the School of Public Health, teaching students R programming and statistics. In 2022, I interned with the U.S. Census Bureau, where I cleaned and quality checked data and gave data-driven recommendations for survey design.

I graduated from the University of Michigan with a PhD in Biostatistics in 2024. I was advised by Prof. Kelley Kidwell, and my research focused on Bayesian statistics and clinical trial design. After graduation, I worked at the FDA for nine months before deciding to move to industry following the recent layoffs in federal agencies. Before coming to the U.S., I spent four years in Dublin and three years in Singapore.

I am a Research Fellow at the Digital Medicine Lab. I earned my Ph.D. in Biostatistics and Health Data Science from Duke-NUS Medical School in March 2025, and my B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in April 2021.

My research centers on federated and transfer learning for scalable AI in digital health and on developing innovative solutions for broader machine learning challenges. We welcome collaboration—if you’re interested in my work, our lab’s research, or internship opportunities, please feel free to reach out.

Spent my career as a biostatistician working in clinical research at the University of Michigan and in health care improvement at Humana and The Joint Commission. At the University of Michigan I obtained my MHP and PhD degrees in biostatistics. Have authored and coauthored 90+ publications in various clinical research and health care journals.

   I am a biostatistician in the pharmaceutical industry, specializing in oncology, neuroscience, and rare diseases, with a career dedicated to advancing innovative therapies through early-stage clinical development. Currently, I serve as Head of Oncology Biostatistics at Eisai Inc., driving statistical strategy for experimental cancer therapies.

   Previously, I led the gene therapy biostatistics program at Sarepta Therapeutics for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, building on my earlier impact at Eli Lilly, where I contributed to Emgality’s global approvals and advanced statistical innovation in oncology.

   My expertise spans clinical trial design, survival analysis, and cross-functional collaboration, with a consistent focus on translating data into decisions that bring meaningful treatments to patients.

Tun Liu is a Registered Representative and Financial Consultant with Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc., where he has provided personalized investment advice and financial planning services since 2014. He also serves as a Senior Associate with World Financial Group, helping clients navigate insurance and wealth management solutions.

Prior to his work in financial services, Tun built a career in biostatistics, holding contract and senior roles at PPD, Insulet Corporation, and Millennium Pharmaceuticals/Takeda Oncology. In these positions, he led statistical analyses for clinical trials, developed study protocols and statistical analysis plans, and contributed to clinical development planning.

With expertise spanning both finance and biostatistics, Tun brings a unique combination of analytical rigor and strategic guidance to support clients and students alike.

Urvi Mujumdar recently pivoted her career to higher education as a Learning Facilitator at Boston University (BU) School of Public Health online Master of Public Health (MPH) program. She is also beginning the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program at BU this fall. 

She brings a multidisciplinary background in academic research, consulting, and the pharmaceutical industry, with experience in epidemiology and health outcomes research. Her academic and professional interests include health equity, addressing racial and gender disparities, population health, minority women’s health, maternal and child care, and applying real-world public health concepts to enhance teaching and learning. 

She holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology, and a Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology and Cognitive Science, both from the University of Michigan. 

Victoria is a computational epidemiologist and research associate in the College of Family Medicine at MSU where she focuses on exploring novel statistical methods for better understanding root causes of health inequities. Her work primarily looks at how role of place and forces behind placemaking impact population health outcomes.

Hi, I’m Vince! I’m currently a statistician at the University of Michigan. I graduated from the SPH in Biostats back in 2010 with a MS. Rather than continuing my education I decided to start looking for work. The UM degree was a real plus in looking for a job, especially in Ann Arbor. I did feel that after a year of working that I could have gone back for a PhD, but that sounded like a long ways off! So now I am still at the U of M in the College of Pharmacy and Michigan Medicine's Pharmacy Department. I really enjoy being the sole statistician in the group. I thought that would be almost insurmountable, but it has challenged me to really learn the profession in all of its diversity!

   I’m a newly graduated Biostatistics master’s currently working at a health economics and outcome research specialized consulting company. I may provide suggestions if the student is interested in the consulting track after graduation, or anything related to school life such as selecting courses and looking for research opportunities. Though I’m fresh to the real world job setting, I’m willing to discuss my experience so far and my thoughts closely with current students, and hopefully to support students from the perspective just one step further comparing to them.