2023 New Faces

Faculty

Xiao Wu, PhD in Biostatistics

Assistant Professor of Biostatistics

Dr. Xiao Wu, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, has a PhD in Biostatistics from Harvard University and just completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University before joining us at Columbia in January 2023. Xiao's research focuses on developing statistical and causal inference methods to address methodological needs in climate and health research. The key milestone of his research is to provide scientific evidence and policy solutions to mitigate the adverse impacts of environmental factors in a rapidly changing climate. As a typical example, he has been conducting methodologic research on causal inference that ranges from propensity score approaches for continuous exposures to synthetic control methods for spatio-temporal data in the applications of air pollution and climate extreme events, such as wildfires, heatwaves, and tropical cyclones. Xiao’s research areas will be highly relevant to Mailman’s Climate and Health program and activities in Columbia’s new Climate School.

Tian Gu, PhD

Assistant Professor of Biostatistics

Email: tg2880@cumc.columbia.edu

Dr. Tian Gu joins us as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University following her Ph.D. studies at the University of Michigan. Her research interests currently include robust & efficient data integration in precision health research, methods for use in biobank data, electronic health records, and disparity research – including several topics around leveraging multi-source data to improve risk prediction for complex human diseases in underrepresented populations. The methods and software she developed have supported studies in infectious disease epidemiology, pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers.

Xin Ma, PhD

Assistant Professor (at CUIMC)

Email: xm2141@cumc.columbia.edu

Dr. Xin Ma recently joined us as an Assistant Professor (at CUIMC) with joint affiliation at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Florida State University following her PhD studies at Emory University. Her current research interests include statistical and deep learning methods of prediction and feature selection for high dimensional and complex-structured data such as imaging and functional objects. Potential application areas include genetics, gene network, cancer imaging and spatial omics. As part of her appointment, Xin is working collaboratively and supportively with the HICCC Cancer Biostatistics Shared Resource which is directed by Dr. Jianhua Hu. She is also establishing partnerships in various fields including breast cancer epidemiology and pediatric brain imaging.

Research Scientists

Arce Domingo-Relloso, PhD

Associate Research Scientist

Email: ad3531@cumc.columbia.edu

I am an Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Biostatistics at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health working with Drs. Linda Valeri and Jeff Goldsmith. I am also a close collaborator of the Environmental Health Sciences department, in which I have worked since 2018 in Dr. Ana Navas-Acien’s lab. I received my doctorate in Biostatistics at the Spanish National Center for Epidemiology, under supervision of Drs. Maria Tellez-Plaza and Jose Bermudez. My research interests focus on environmental biostatistics, omics data analysis, and causal inference. I am now working on developing statistical methods to conduct mediation analysis with longitudinal mediators and time-to-event outcomes in presence of competing risks. I also work in topics related to variable selection methods for omics data analysis (with a special focus on epigenetics), and methods for environmental mixtures analysis.

Fan Wang, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Email: fw2400@cumc.columbia.edu

I currently serve as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biostatistics at Columbia University, working with Iuliana Ionita-Laza. I received my doctorate in statistical science from the University of Toronto in 2023, under the supervision of Professors Lisa Strug and Lei Sun. Throughout my doctoral studies, I worked on developing theoretical and computational models to integrate omics data such as GWAS and eQTL from several biospecimens. My primary research thrust revolves around crafting innovative techniques to tackle intricate computational challenges inherent in deciphering the genetic foundations of human diseases. Presently, my focus lies in advancing statistical methods for quantile inference, incorporating mixed models to pinpoint genetic associations within large scale datasets. Beyond the realm of academia, I find joy in playing the piano, singing, and dancing. It is with great honor and enthusiasm that I contribute to the vibrant academic community at the Columbia University Department of Biostatistics.

Admin

Paul McCullough

Director of Academic Programs

Email: pm2692@cumc.columbia.edu

Paul McCullough joined the Biostatistics Department as the new Director of Academic Programs in March 2023. Paul brings a wealth of experience that are highly essential for the position. He was well known to the department and school, having worked in MSPH's Office of Enrollment Management for several years previously as well as being an MPH alumnus. The position of the Director of Academic Programs oversees and manages the multi-faceted and complex aspects of all our educational programs and will be leading our educational staff to work with department leadership, staff, and all of our students - including those in our summer educational programs.

Carolina Mellado

Director for Personnel Operations

Email: cm2556@cumc.columbia.edu

Carolina is currently the Department’s Director for Personnel Operations. In this role, she is responsible for the human resource initiatives, activities, and functions within our department, including faculty affairs. Carolina strives to provide a comprehensive and seamless onboarding experience for new hires, aides in recruitment, coordinates our office space, and everything in between.

She holds a BS and MPA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and has over 10 years of experience collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to drive innovative solutions for seamless healthcare operations. Carolina’s previous role was with Montefiore Medical Center/ Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she managed the onboarding and faculty affairs process for the Department of OBGYN. She has previously held similar roles at both Weill Cornell Medical College and CUIMC.