Chief, Biostatistics & Computational Biology Branch and Principal Investigator
Deputy Chief, Biostatistics & Computational Biology Branch and Principal Investigator
Research Summary The Biostatistics and Computational Biology Branch carries out basic and applied research dealing with statistical issues of relevance to environmental health. The branch's members develop new methodologies and apply existing techniques in novel ways to address environmental health problems. Members of the branch also advise institute scientists on computational, study design, database and statistical issues via both long-term and short-term collaboration in research projects throughout NIEHS. The branch also offers training at regular intervals.
Research in the Biostatistics and Computational Biology Branch focuses on several areas:
Design and analysis of laboratory animal toxicology/carcinogenicity experiments and development of improved statistical methods Application and development of methodology for epidemiological and clinical human studies Application and development of new bioinformatics techniques for harvesting information from high-dimensional genomic, gene expression and proteomic data Development of new design and analysis approaches in statistical genetics Development of broadly applicable statistical approaches
Biostatistics & Computational Biology Branch Software
See
Software to access the data or computer instructions developed by members of the NIEHS Biostatistics & Computational Biology Branch.
Recent Publications
Hasan M, Umbach D, Shi M, Gu C, Yeung D, Talukder A, Fan Z, Li L. Seasonal variation in sleep apnea and other sleep parameters from diagnostic polysomnography data, 2003-2024.
Communications health .
2026;1(1):15.
[
AbstractHasan M, Umbach D, Shi M, Gu C, Yeung D, Talukder A, Fan Z, Li L. Seasonal variation in sleep apnea and other sleep parameters from diagnostic polysomnography data, 2003-2024. Communications health. 2026
]
Lewis J, MacNell N, Buller I, Larson G, Fargo D, Schmitt C, Kirschner L, Reif D, Akhtari F, Justice C, House J, Messier K, Hall J, Motsinger-Reif A. Corrigendum to "Revisiting the modifiable areal unit problem in the era of exposome-wide association studies: Assessing the performance of the CDC/ATSDR social vulnerability index at privacy-protecting spatial scales" [Environ. Res. (2026) 124912].
Environmental research .
2026 Sep 15;306(Pt 2):125174.
[
AbstractLewis J, MacNell N, Buller I, Larson G, Fargo D, Schmitt C, Kirschner L, Reif D, Akhtari F, Justice C, House J, Messier K, Hall J, Motsinger-Reif A. Corrigendum to "Revisiting the modifiable areal unit problem in the era of exposome-wide association studies: Assessing the performance of the CDC/ATSDR social vulnerability index at privacy-protecting spatial scales" [Environ. Res. (2026) 124912]. Environmental research. 2026 Sep 15
]
Chen Y, Akhtari F, Fargo D, Scmitt C, Nguyen V, Zhang K, Loo E, Gao P, Jiang C, Yuan T, Tsui M, Tse L, Chow A, Ho K, Motsinger-Reif A, Chung M. Geospatial-based neighborhood hazards and asthma in adults: Interaction with social vulnerability.
Journal of hazardous materials .
2026 Jul 22;515:143083.
[
AbstractChen Y, Akhtari F, Fargo D, Scmitt C, Nguyen V, Zhang K, Loo E, Gao P, Jiang C, Yuan T, Tsui M, Tse L, Chow A, Ho K, Motsinger-Reif A, Chung M. Geospatial-based neighborhood hazards and asthma in adults: Interaction with social vulnerability. Journal of hazardous materials. 2026 Jul 22
]
Levi H, Wang Q, Bolla M, Dennis J, Andrulis I, Antonenkova N, Au C, Augustinsson A, Beane Freeman L, Behrens S, Bermisheva M, Bodelon C, Bogdanova N, Bojesen S, Brenner H, Brock I, Brüning T, Byers H, Camp N, Castelao J, Choi J, Chung W, NBCS Collaborators, Colonna S, Couch F, Czene K, Daly M, Devilee P, Dörk T, Eliassen A, Eriksson M, Evans D, Fasching P, Faw K, Gago-Dominguez M, García-Closas M, Haiman C, Hamann U, Hartman M, Ho V, Ho P, Hooning M, Hoppe R, Howell S, ABCTB Investigators, SGBCC Investigators, Ito H, Iwasaki M, Jakubowska A, Jernström H, Joseph V, Kaaks R, Kang D, Khusnutdinova E, Kiprijanovska S, Koutros S, Kristensen V, Kurian A, Kwong A, Lambrechts D, Larson N, Marchand L, Li S, Li J, Lophatananon A, Mannermaa A, Matsuo K, Maxwell W, Muir K, Nevelsteen I, Obi N, O'Brien K, Offit K, Ottewell P, Patel A, Peterlongo P, Plaseska-Karanfilska D, Prajzendanc K, Radice P, Ramachandran D, Rashid M, Romero A, Saloustros E, Sandler D, Schöttker B, Simard J, Southey M, Stone J, Sugier P, Taylor J, Teras L, Truong T, Weinberg C, Yadav S, Yamaji T, Zheng W, Dunning A, Mavaddat N, Easton D, Michailidou K, Elkon R, Shamir R. PRANA: A Deep Learning Method for Adapting Polygenic Risk Scores to Diverse Ethnic Groups.
medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences .
2026 Jul 15 [Epub ahead of print].
[
AbstractLevi H, Wang Q, Bolla M, Dennis J, Andrulis I, Antonenkova N, Au C, Augustinsson A, Beane Freeman L, Behrens S, Bermisheva M, Bodelon C, Bogdanova N, Bojesen S, Brenner H, Brock I, Brüning T, Byers H, Camp N, Castelao J, Choi J, Chung W, NBCS Collaborators, Colonna S, Couch F, Czene K, Daly M, Devilee P, Dörk T, Eliassen A, Eriksson M, Evans D, Fasching P, Faw K, Gago-Dominguez M, García-Closas M, Haiman C, Hamann U, Hartman M, Ho V, Ho P, Hooning M, Hoppe R, Howell S, ABCTB Investigators, SGBCC Investigators, Ito H, Iwasaki M, Jakubowska A, Jernström H, Joseph V, Kaaks R, Kang D, Khusnutdinova E, Kiprijanovska S, Koutros S, Kristensen V, Kurian A, Kwong A, Lambrechts D, Larson N, Marchand L, Li S, Li J, Lophatananon A, Mannermaa A, Matsuo K, Maxwell W, Muir K, Nevelsteen I, Obi N, O'Brien K, Offit K, Ottewell P, Patel A, Peterlongo P, Plaseska-Karanfilska D, Prajzendanc K, Radice P, Ramachandran D, Rashid M, Romero A, Saloustros E, Sandler D, Schöttker B, Simard J, Southey M, Stone J, Sugier P, Taylor J, Teras L, Truong T, Weinberg C, Yadav S, Yamaji T, Zheng W, Dunning A, Mavaddat N, Easton D, Michailidou K, Elkon R, Shamir R. PRANA: A Deep Learning Method for Adapting Polygenic Risk Scores to Diverse Ethnic Groups. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences. 2026 Jul 15
]
Ahn K, House J, Burkholder A, Tran T, Breeyear J, Justice C, Durney J, Jones A, Reyes P, Bailey M, Davis M, Vicenti A, Karnes J, Hollenbach J, Fargo D, Ginsburg G, Woychik R, Denny J, Motsinger-Reif A. Shared trans-ancestry architecture of HLA-mediated disease risk in the All of Us Research Program.
Research square .
2026 Jul 14 [Epub ahead of print].
[
AbstractAhn K, House J, Burkholder A, Tran T, Breeyear J, Justice C, Durney J, Jones A, Reyes P, Bailey M, Davis M, Vicenti A, Karnes J, Hollenbach J, Fargo D, Ginsburg G, Woychik R, Denny J, Motsinger-Reif A. Shared trans-ancestry architecture of HLA-mediated disease risk in the All of Us Research Program. Research square. 2026 Jul 14
]
Principal Investigators Applied Statistics
Deputy Chief, Biostatistics & Computational Biology Branch and Principal Investigator
Bioinformatics
Integrative Bioinformatics Support
Director, Integrative Bioinformatics Support Group
Statistical Methods and Applications in Epidemiology
Publications
Recent Publications
Hasan M, Umbach D, Shi M, Gu C, Yeung D, Talukder A, Fan Z, Li L. Seasonal variation in sleep apnea and other sleep parameters from diagnostic polysomnography data, 2003-2024.
Communications health .
2026;1(1):15.
[
AbstractHasan M, Umbach D, Shi M, Gu C, Yeung D, Talukder A, Fan Z, Li L. Seasonal variation in sleep apnea and other sleep parameters from diagnostic polysomnography data, 2003-2024. Communications health. 2026
]
Kwack K, Sohn J, Zhang L, Li L, Mullaney R, Arao Y, Blackshear P, Kirkwood K. Gut microbiota transmits osteoimmune dysregulation and exacerbates trabecular bone loss in tristetraprolin-deficient mice.
Journal of bone and mineral metabolism .
2026 Aug 17 [Epub ahead of print].
[
AbstractKwack K, Sohn J, Zhang L, Li L, Mullaney R, Arao Y, Blackshear P, Kirkwood K. Gut microbiota transmits osteoimmune dysregulation and exacerbates trabecular bone loss in tristetraprolin-deficient mice. Journal of bone and mineral metabolism. 2026 Aug 17
]
Zhang W, Wang Y, Chen C, Liu Q, Li J, Li C, Wang J, Fang J, Shi X. [Acute impact of combined exposure to cold spell and heavy pollution on circulatory disease mortality in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and surrounding areas].
Zhonghua yu fang yi xue za zhi [Chinese journal of preventive medicine] .
2026 Aug 06;60(8):1265-1275.
[
AbstractZhang W, Wang Y, Chen C, Liu Q, Li J, Li C, Wang J, Fang J, Shi X. [Acute impact of combined exposure to cold spell and heavy pollution on circulatory disease mortality in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and surrounding areas]. Zhonghua yu fang yi xue za zhi [Chinese journal of preventive medicine]. 2026 Aug 06
]
Hao M, Fu Y, Lin Y, Wang Y, Li L, Fu D, Yao B, Fu J, Zhou Z, Su J, Zhao P. AKAP12 is upregulated by base deletion at positions 61-78 in exon 3, leading to suppressed proliferation and metastasis of benzo[a]pyrene-transformed HBE cells.
Biochemical and biophysical research communications .
2026 Aug 03;832:154389.
[
AbstractHao M, Fu Y, Lin Y, Wang Y, Li L, Fu D, Yao B, Fu J, Zhou Z, Su J, Zhao P. AKAP12 is upregulated by base deletion at positions 61-78 in exon 3, leading to suppressed proliferation and metastasis of benzo[a]pyrene-transformed HBE cells. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. 2026 Aug 03
]
Chen Y, Akhtari F, Fargo D, Scmitt C, Nguyen V, Zhang K, Loo E, Gao P, Jiang C, Yuan T, Tsui M, Tse L, Chow A, Ho K, Motsinger-Reif A, Chung M. Geospatial-based neighborhood hazards and asthma in adults: Interaction with social vulnerability.
Journal of hazardous materials .
2026 Jul 22;515:143083.
[
AbstractChen Y, Akhtari F, Fargo D, Scmitt C, Nguyen V, Zhang K, Loo E, Gao P, Jiang C, Yuan T, Tsui M, Tse L, Chow A, Ho K, Motsinger-Reif A, Chung M. Geospatial-based neighborhood hazards and asthma in adults: Interaction with social vulnerability. Journal of hazardous materials. 2026 Jul 22
]
More Recent Publications from PubMed
