Current Students

Varvara Rousseau is a PhD student in Biostatistics at Indiana University, Indianapolis. She earned her BA in Global Public Health with a concentration in Sociology from New York University (’22) and an MS in Epidemiology from Columbia University ('24). Her research interests include applying quantitative methods and machine learning to understand infectious diseases and health disparities. She has a strong background in statistical modeling and data science, with her past research focusing on COVID-19 genomic surveillance, oncology clinical trials, and environmental health mobility tracking.

Nathaniel Maxey is a PhD student in Biostatistics at Indiana University Indianapolis and a master-level statistician (MS Biostatistics, May 2025, New York University). His work focuses on statistical modeling, health equity, and the use of quantitative methods to evaluate public health policies. He has experience in machine learning, electronic health records, and natural language processing, with a commitment to using data science to inform policy and reduce disparities. 

Plamena P. Powla is a PhD student in Biostatistics at Indiana University Indianapolis. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Rochester (‘21) and an M.S. degree in Biostatistics with a concentration in Statistical Bioinformatics from Northwestern University (’22). Her work uses statistical modeling to better understand clinical decision making and improve health outcomes, with a focus on promoting equity in health research.

Taliyah Griffin is a PhD student in Biostatistics at Indiana University Indianapolis. She earned a BS degree in Mathematics from Howard University, with a minor in Computer Science. She has worked on research projects related to obesity, diabetes, and dementia. Her current work includes infectious disease research and health disparities.