Career: Structural Dependence in Graphical-Temporal Data with Applications to Neuroscience and Finance

该项目的研究部分将开发新的统计方法，从一类数据中进行推断，这些数据随时间的测量与几个“实验单元”有关，这些“实验单元”在其结构和/或随机性质上具有复杂的依赖性。这些数据经常出现在各种应用中，如交通流、进化生物学、生长曲线分析、神经成像和金融。这项研究将集中在有一个离散的（通常是小的）单元集的情况下，这些单元的关系是有科学意义的。具体而言，该项目将在三个主要领域开发模型：(i)空间模型，以改进功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）数据的推断；（ii）功能连接模型，使fMRI数据能够提供有关大脑系统组件如何相互作用的信息；（iii）计算金融中风险评估和依赖性分析的新模型。这个项目的教育部分将侧重于向实验心理学家教授统计方法和推理。该项目将设计一门以案例研究和新的教学方法为基础的课程，为这些学生提供这种真实的学习。重点是将统计学应用于从心理学文献中得出的实际科学问题，有效的沟通和写作技巧，以及将计算机整合到各个层次的课程中。该项目将产生以下内容：(i)一套用Java编写的交互式软件模块，用于探索课堂上涉及的关键概念；（ii）一套完整的家庭作业项目和基于心理学文献中的问题的计算机实验室练习；（iii）一套用于开发交互式讲座的工具；（iv）对学生在课堂和后续课程中的表现进行评估。这些产品将被打包，以方便分发和其他教师使用。

The research component of this project will develop new statistical methods for making inferences from a class of data in which measurements over time are associated with several "experimental units" that have a complicated dependence in their structural and/or stochastic properties. Such data arise frequently in diverse applications such as traffic flow, evolutionary biology, growth curve analysis, neuroimaging, and finance. This research will focus on cases where there is a discrete (and often small) set of units whose relationships are scientifically meaningful. Specifically, this project will develop models in three primary areas: (i) spatial models to improve inferences from functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data, (ii) models of functional connectivity that allow fMRI data to provide information about how the components of brain systems interact, and (iii) new models for risk assessment and dependence analysis in computational finance.The educational component of this project will focus on teaching statistical methods and reasoning to experimental psychologists. This project will design a course that builds on case studies and new pedagogical approaches to provide such authentic learning for these students. The emphasis will be on applying statistics in real scientific problems drawn from the psychological literature, effective communication and writing skills, and integrating the computer into the course at all levels. The project will produce the following: (i) A suite of interactive software modules written in Java for exploring the key concepts covered in the class, (ii) A complete set of homework projects and computer laboratory exercises based on issues in the psychological literature, (iii) A set of tools for developing interactive lectures, and (iv) An assessment of student performance both in the class and in downstream courses. These products will be packaged to be easily distributable to and useable by other instructors.