FIRST Data Intelligence Lab
Fair, Interpretable, Responsible, Scalable, Trustworthy
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Welcome to FIRST Data Intelligence 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 learning, 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 State University
Dr. Myungjin Kim
Kyungpook National University
Dr. Yueying Wang
Amazon
Dr. Zhiling Gu
Yale University
Kunal Das
Montana State University
Yang Long
George Mason University
Yuchun Wang
George Mason University
Wanying Zhu
George Mason University
Current Doctoral Students
Current Doctoral Students
Yuchun Wang
Ph.D. student, 2021-Present, George Mason University
Dissertation Title: "Scalable Statistical Learning on Complex Domains Distributed Methods and Software"
Completed Doctoral Students
Completed Doctoral Students
Wanying Zhu
Ph.D. student, 2022-2026, George Mason University
Dissertation Title: "Advanced Statistical Methods For Complex Imaging Genetics and Streaming Data Analysis"
First Job: Data Science Analyst 1, MCG Department of Artificial Intelligence and Health, Augusta University
Yang Long
Ph.D. student, 2021-2026, George Mason University (Co-advised with Prof. David Kepplinger)
Dissertation Title: "Trustworthy AI Through Robust Functional Data Analysis and Statistical Inference for Imaging Data"
Honorable Mention, Best Student Paper Competition, 2026 ICSA Applied Statistics Symposium
2nd Place at StatConnect@AI 2026 Student Poster Competition, 2026
Washington Statistical Society Outstanding Graduate Student Award, 2025
Runner-up of Student Paper Competition, 2025 Statistical Methods in Imaging Conference, 2025
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Yale University, 2026--
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
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Montana State University, 2025--
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"
Runner-up of Student Paper Competition, 2023 Statistical Methods in Imaging Conference, 2023
First Job: Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Yale University, 2024--
Current Position: Tenure Track Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina, Fall 2026--
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, Department of Statistics, Iowa State University
1st Place (out of 150 teams) in Data Mining Cup, 2019
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: Associate Professor, Kyungpook National University, South Korea, 2026--
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"
IMS Hannan Graduate Student Travel Award, 2019
Runner-up of ASA statistics in Imaging Section Student Paper Competition, 2019
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. (co-major), 2014-2019, Iowa State University (Co-advised with Prof. Steven Hou)
Dissertation Title: "Studies on Semiparametric Spatial Regression Models"
Bancroft Award, 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"
First Job: Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Kansas State University, 2019--
Current Position: Tenured Associate Professor, Kansas State University, Fall 2026--
Ph.D., 2014-2018, Iowa State University
Dissertation Title: "Non/Semi-parametric Learning from Data with Complex Features"
IMS New Researcher Travel Award, 2019
ASA GA Chapter Best Student Poster Award, 2017
2nd Place (out of 120 teams) in Data Mining Cup, 2016
First Job: Postdoctoral fellow at the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI)
Current Position: Tenured Associate Professor, Clemson University, Fall 2026--
Ph.D. (co-major), 2014-2018, Iowa State University (Co-advised with Prof. Anuj Sharma)
Dissertation Title: "Three Essays on Crash Frequency Analysis"
Graduate College Research Excellence Award, Iowa State University, 2018
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, SAS Analytics Shootout, 2014
Student Innovative & Interdisciplinary Research Grant, University of Georgia, 2014
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, Department of Statistics, University of Georgia, 2012
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
Ruishan Lin, Statistics, George Mason (Current)
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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