Ma obtained her Ph.D. degree in Biostatistics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in June 2023. Her research focuses on developing statistical and computational methods for high-dimensional biological data from single-cell genomics and spatial transcriptomics studies. More recently, her research has focused on methodologies for differential expression and gene set enrichment analysis, cell type deconvolution, and multi-sample spatial domain detection to understand cellular heterogeneity, tissue structure, and underlying disease etiology. In addition to her methodological research, she also works on genetic risk prediction analysis for multi-ancestry groups in large biobanks such as the UK Biobank and the Michigan Genomics Initiative (MGI).

In her spare time, Ma enjoys working out at the gym, cooking, making desserts, and playing music. She loves cats, but doesn't have one yet.