FIRST Data Learning Lab
Functional, Imaging, Repeated-measure, SpatioTemporal (FIRST)
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Welcome to FIRST Data Learning Lab!
Lab Support and Sponsors
Lab Support and Sponsors
Our lab is supported by NIH and NSF funding and is highly productive in cutting-edge research at the intersection of statistics, data science, ML/AI, computing, and biomedical science. Current projects focus on:
Statistical imaging data analysis (e.g., brain imaging, biomedical imaging)
Big data modeling, distributed learning, and federated learning
Synthetic data evaluation and uncertainty quantification
Generative AI and digital twin modeling
Trustworthy AI-related methodologies
Lab News & Recruitment
Lab News & Recruitment
We are looking for a PhD student with a strong interest in statistical ML/AI methodologies, and scalable computing for “big” complex data. This position offers an excellent opportunity to:
Gain hands-on research experience
Contribute to collaborative publications
Work closely with a dynamic and supportive team
Build expertise in emerging areas of statistical ML/AI and data science
Contact Information
Contact Information
Email: lwang41@gmu.edu Phone (O): (703) 993-9116
Office: 1721 Nguyen Engineering Building, George Mason University
Mailing Address: 4400 University Drive, MS 4A7, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
Group Pictures
Group Pictures
Members
Members
Dr. Lily Wang
George Mason University
Dr. Guannan Wang
William & Mary
Dr. Xinyi Li
Clemson University
Dr. Shan Yu
University of Virginia
Dr. Jingru Mu
Kansas University
Dr. Myungjin Kim
Kyungpook National University
Dr. Yueying Wang
Amazon
Dr. Zhiling Gu
Iowa State University
Kunal Das
Iowa State University
Yang Long
George Mason University
Yuchun Wang
George Mason University
Wanying Zhu
George Mason University
Current Doctoral Students
Current Doctoral Students
Wanying Zhu
Ph.D. student, 2022-Present, George Mason University
Yuchun Wang
Ph.D. student, 2021-Present, George Mason University
Yang Long
Ph.D. student, 2021-Present, George Mason University (Co-advised with Prof. David Kepplinger)
Washington Statistical Society Outstanding Graduate Student Award, 2025
Runner-up of Student Paper Competition, 2025 Statistical Methods in Imaging Conference, 2025
Kunal Das
Ph.D. student, 2019-2025, Iowa State University (Co-advised with Prof. Zhengyuan Zhu)
Dissertation Title: "Advances in data-driven learning of spatial processes"
Best Student Poster Award, Conference on “Theory and Foundations of Statistics in the Era of Big Data", 2024
Student and Early-Career Travel Award for JSM, American Statistical Association, 2023
Best Narrative Statistics Award, International Cherry Blossom Prediction Competition, 2023
Completed Doctoral Students
Completed Doctoral Students
Zhiling Gu
Ph.D. student, 2019-2024, Iowa State University (Co-advised with Prof. Dan Nettleton)
Dissertation Title: "Nonparametric learning for complex data: applications in environmental data modeling, surface-based data analysis, and neuroimaging studies"
Award: Runner-up of Student Paper Competition, 2023 Statistical Methods in Imaging Conference, 2023
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Yale University, 2024--
Yueying Wang
Ph.D. student, 2016-2021, Iowa State University (Co-advised with Prof. Zhengyuan Zhu)
Dissertation Title: "Next-generation functional data analysis for imaging and spatial data"
Kempthorne Award in Statistics, Department of Statistics, Iowa State University
1st Place (out of 150 teams) in 2019 Data Mining Cup
First Job: Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Columbia University, 2021--2022
Current Position: Applied Scientist, Amazon
Myungjin Kim
Ph.D. student, 2015-2021, Iowa State University
Dissertation Title: "Generalized, quantile and constrained nonparametric regression for spatial data"
First Job: Carl Kawaja and Wendy Holcombe Assistant Professor of Data Science, Brown University, 2021--2022
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Kyungpook National University, South Korea, 2022--
Ph.D., 2015-2020, Iowa State University (Co-advised with Prof. Dan Nettleton)
Dissertation Title: "Model Estimation, Identification and Inference for Next-generation Functional Data and Spatial Data"
2019 IMS Hannan Graduate Student Travel Award
Runner-up of 2019 ASA statistics in Imaging section student paper competition
Current Position: Tenure Track Assistant Professor, University of Virginia, 2020--
Rodrigo Plazola-Ortiz
Ph.D., 2015-2020, Iowa State University (Co-advised with Prof. Yehua Li)
Dissertation Title: "Interaction Forward Selection in Ultra-high-dimensional Functional Linear Models"
Current Position: Biostatistician, Boehringer Ingelheim, 2020--
Jue Wang
Ph.D., 2014-2019, Iowa State University (Co-advised with Prof. Steven Hou)
Dissertation Title: "Studies on Semiparametric Spatial Regression Models"
Awards: Bancroft award in Statistics, Department of Statistics, Iowa State University
Current Position: Data Scientist, JP Morgan Chase, 2019--
Ph.D., 2015-2019, Iowa State University
Dissertation Title: "Spatially Varying Coefficient Models: Theory and Methods"
Current Position: Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Kansas State University, 2019--
Ph.D., 2014-2018, Iowa State University
Dissertation Title: "Non/Semi-parametric Learning from Data with Complex Features"
2019 IMS New Researcher Travel Award
2017 ASA GA Chapter Best Student Poster Award
2nd Place (out of 120 teams) in 2016 Data Mining Cup
Current Position: Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Clemson University, 2020--
Ph.D. (co-major), 2014-2018, Iowa State University (Co-advised with Prof. Anuj Sharma)
Dissertation Title: "Three Essays on Crash Frequency Analysis"
2018 Spring Graduate College Research Excellence Award, Iowa State University
Current Position: Professor of Engineering, Hunan University, 2021--
Ph.D., 2010-2015, The University of Georgia (Co-advised with Prof. Jaxk Reeves)
Dissertation Title: "High/Ultra-High Dimensional Single-Index Models"
Best Senior Graduate Student (2014-2015), Department of Statistics, University of Georgia
1st place, 2014 SAS Analytics Shootout
Student Innovative & Interdisciplinary Research Grant (2014), University of Georgia
Current Position: Tenured Associate Professor, William & Mary, 2015--
Cong Feng
Ph.D., 2008-2012, The University of Georgia (Co-advised with Prof. Lynne Seymour)
Dissertation Title: "Nonparametric Analysis of Complex Time Series"
Best Senior Graduate Student (2012), Department of Statistics, University of Georgia
Current Position: Research Scientist, Meta
M.S. Students
M.S. Students
Yue Zhang, M.S., 2019, Iowa State University
Shan Yu, M.S., 2018, Iowa State University
Siyan Hu, M.S., 2011, University of Georgia
Ph.D. Committee Member
Ph.D. Committee Member
Jin Hyung Lee, Statistics, George Mason (Current)
Zhengyi Huang, Statistics, George Mason (Current)
Haoyan Hu, Statistics, Iowa State, 2022
Hyeongseon Jeon, Statistics, Iowa State, 2022
Brandon Klinedinst, Neuroscience, Iowa State, 2022
Jiayi Luo, Statistics, Iowa State, 2022
Sepideh Mosaferi, Statistics, Iowa State,2022
Jiaming Qiu, Statistics, Iowa State, 2022
Run Wang, Statistics, Iowa State, 2022
Hyemin Yeon, Statistics, Iowa State, 2022
Qianqian Shan, Statistics, Iowa State, 2020
Zhenzhong Wang, Statistics, Iowa State, 2020
Xinyue Chang, Statistics, Iowa State, 2020
Fan Dai, Statistics, Iowa State, 2020
Pranamesh Chakraborty, CCE, Iowa State, 2019
Danhyang Lee, Statistics, Iowa State, 2019
Haozhe Zhang, Statistics, Iowa State, 2019
Ran Bi, Statistics, Iowa State, 2018
Seho Park, Statistics, Iowa State, 2018
Daniel Ries, Statistics, Iowa State, 2018
Kimberly Vanous, Genetics, Iowa State, 2018
Zhonglei Wang, Statistics, Iowa State, 2018
Brenna Curley, Statistics, Iowa State, 2017
Natalia Da Silva, Statistics, Iowa State, 2017
Didem Sari, IMSE, Iowa State, 2017
Basulto-Elias Guillermo, Statistics, Iowa State, 2016
Bokan Chen, IMSE, Iowa State, 2016
Zhixia Ma, Economics, Iowa State, 2016
Yuhang Xu, Statistics, Iowa State, 2016
Wei Zhang, Statistics, Iowa State, 2016
Leilei Zhang, IMSE, Iowa State, 2015
Debin Qiu, Statistics, U. of Georgia, 2015
Wenhui Sheng, Statistics, U. of Georgia, 2015
Wenbo Wu, Statistics, U. of Georgia, 2014
Sandra Addo, Statistics, U. of Georgia, 2014
Haileab Tesfe Hilafu, Statistics, U. of Georgia, 2014
Xinyu Liu, Statistics, U. of Georgia, 2013
Jin Tang, Statistics, U. of Georgia, 2013
Yuan Xue, Statistics, U. of Georgia, 2013
Kun Xu, Statistics, U. of Georgia, 2012
Amy Vaughan, Statistics, U. of Georgia, 2009
M.S. Committee Member
M.S. Committee Member
Joshua Berlinski, Statistics, ISU, 2021
Fan Dai, Statistics, ISU, 2020
Qinglong Tian, Statistics, ISU, 2018
Dinesh Poddaturi, Statistics, ISU, 2018
Xiaofei Zhang, Statistics, ISU, 2018
Xiangzhen Li, Statistics, ISU, 2017
Wei Hu, Statistics, ISU, 2017
Sisi Hu, Journalism, ISU, 2016
Rosy Oh, Statistics, ISU, 2016
Undergraduate Advising
Undergraduate Advising
I have served as an advisor for more than 20 undergraduate students at Iowa State University.
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