YSPH Researcher to Give Prestigious Neyman Lecture

Heping Zhang, the Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Biostatistics at the Yale School of Public Health, has been selected to give the prestigious 2022 Neyman Memorial Lecture by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) – one of the highest honors in statistical societies. Zhang will give his lecture at the IMS annual meeting in London next June.

Given every three years, the Neyman Lecture highlights innovative work at the intersection of statistical theory and scientific research. The honor carries with it a hefty bit of prestige: Named after groundbreaking Polish statistician Jerzy Neyman, a founder of modern statistical inference, the lecture has been given by just over a dozen of the top researchers in the field. The IMS, a leading statistical society, also invited Zhang to contribute an article related to his upcoming lecture to its publications.

Zhang, Ph.D., has distinguished himself through pioneering work in a variety of fields, including epidemiology, statistical genetics, child and women’s health and substance use. He has published more than 300 publications that have helped to inform public health practice through innovative developments and applications of statistical methods. He and his students are actively investigating how genetics affects complex human conditions, including neurological development and COVID-19 related mortality.

Additionally, Zhang’s work as the director of the Collaborative Center for Statistics in Science has led to breakthroughs in evaluating the effectiveness of infertility treatments, including ovulation stimulation, dietary regiments and technologies related to in vitro fertilization.

“This is an extraordinary honor,” said Zhang, a fellow of the IMS. “It is a recognition of excellence beyond myself. It is for my students, for my research team, for my colleagues at Yale and collaborators everywhere, and for all of us who dedicate their careers in advancing statistical sciences for a better world.”