Meet Shan Wang: MSDS’s new statistics professor!
A big welcome to Professor Shan, who will be teaching Linear Regression and Time Series this fall. Continue reading to learn more about her background and what advice she has for MSDS students.
Why did you choose the academic path and why statistics?
Being a professor has been my dream career since I was a senior in high school. I was really into science and thought working in academia would be the “purest” way to pursue a career in science. I chose my favorite subject, mathematics, to be my major in college. After my undergraduate studies, I didn’t change my dream of being a professor but pure mathematics seemed a little challenging as a whole career. So I grabbed something more applied and interesting (to me), statistics.
What drew you to join the faculty at USF?
I have a great passion for education and was amazed by the construction of MSDS at USF. I do believe that the way the program is designed can greatly benefit students. I love the opportunities the program is providing to students, as well as the faculty, so it is my honor to be a part of this program.
Can you tell us about your experience applying statistics to cancer research?
In the past few years, I got the chance to work with researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the University of Illinois at Chicago Cancer Center through an NIH grant: the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative (ChicagoCHEC). Not only did I gain more experience in modeling cancer data using predictive models, but I also gained experience in planning and evaluating big medical grants through survey and evaluation methods. I have also been working with doctors from Beijing on risk factors in different medical conditions. Currently, I am working on a manuscript, “Survival Analysis and Prognostic Factors of Primary Intramedullary Spinal Cord Astrocytoma Based on the 2016 Revised World Health Organization Classification of the Central Nervous System Tumors”, with Dr. Wei Shi from the Department of Neurosurgery at Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital’s School of Clinical Medicine.
What do you like to do on the weekends?
I enjoy hanging out with friends (surprisingly I know many people in the Bay Area even though I just moved here this summer). I love hiking, trying out restaurants, and sometimes just staying in to read or do some watercolor painting.
Any advice to our fellow classmates?
No matter what courses you are taking, always remember the goal of why you came to the program. Graduating this program is not the end goal, but pursuing a successful career in data science is. Try to enjoy the experience, learn as much as you can, and get to know these classmates who may end up being your best friends or future colleagues. Become a data scientist with great skills, but more importantly, become a great person.
