Dear Colleagues and Friends, 

I am delighted to announce that Cory Zigler, Professor of Biostatistics, has been named Director of Graduate Studies in Biostatistics, effective July 1, 2025.  Cory will succeed Professor Zhijin (Jean) Wu, who completes a remarkable 13-year tenure of leadership.  In his new role, Cory will be director of our Ph.D. program, and in collaboration with program directors in our residential master’s program, online master’s programs, and undergraduate statistics concentration, will ensure effective coordination of the department’s teaching and training activities.

Cory joined the Brown faculty in 2024; he has previously been a faculty member in Statistics and Data Science at University of Texas at Austin, and in Biostatistics at Harvard University.  He is widely recognized for his research on statistical and computational methods for large scale modeling and causal inference related to climate and health.  His research makes use of information from multiple sources, such as atmospheric data and epidemiologic surveillance, and he has published extensively on methods to combine these data to draw connections between air pollution and human health.  Cory has over a decade of teaching and mentoring experience spread across three institutions and spanning multiple areas of biostatistics and data science. Cory has taught and mentored statistics and data science students at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels, and has extensive mentoring experience with trainees in public health.  Cory’s broad experience and expertise in statistical research and training are ideally suited to his new position, and we are truly fortunate to have him serving in this critical role for our department.

This is also a time to celebrate and appreciate the remarkable contributions of our outgoing program director, Jean Wu.  During Jean's tenure, 33 students received their Ph.D. in biostatistics, with another 24 currently enrolled in the program. Our graduates have gone on to highly successful careers in academia, government, and industry, several have been recognized with prestigious awards and fellowships for their outstanding research achievements. Under Jean's leadership, our Ph.D. program - and indeed all of our graduate programs - have developed a well-earned reputation for academic excellence and having a strong sense of community.  Jean is a role model for both students and faculty, and we are deeply grateful for her influential and lasting contributions to graduate education in biostatistics.

Please join me in appreciating Jean for her service and leadership, and in welcoming Cory as our new Director of Graduate Studies.

Sincerely, 

Joseph Hogan, Sc.D.