I am an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Auburn University. My research centers on developing high-dimensional statistical methods for large-scale, complex data, with applications in environmental and climate science, microbiome research, and population health.
Before joining Auburn in August 2023, I was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan (2021–2023), working with Dr. Gen Li. I received my PhD in Statistics from the University of Connecticut in 2021, advised by Dr. Kun Chen and Dr. Jun Yan, and my BS in Statistics from Renmin University of China in 2016.
My work connects statistical methodology with scientific applications and open-source software. See my research directions, R packages, and Google Scholar profile.
Email: yzl0317@auburn.edu
PhD in Statistics, 2021
University of Connecticut
BS in Statistics, 2016
Renmin University of China
Developing statistical methods for learning and inference from large-scale, complex data.
Understanding environmental variability and climate change through statistical modeling.
Studying microbial communities through the analysis of high-dimensional compositional data.
Understanding heterogeneity and health outcomes in diverse populations.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Auburn University
August 2023–present
Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan
2021–2023
Department of Statistics, University of Connecticut
Maintained and developed the New England Statistical Society (NESS) website and conference websites, including the NERDS Workshop, 33rd New England Statistics Symposium, and 3rd Stat4Onc Symposium.
| Course | Semesters |
|---|---|
| STAT 7600 — Statistical Theory and Methods I | Fall 2026, Fall 2025 |
| STAT 7610 — Statistical Theory and Methods II | Spring 2026 |
| STAT 6620 — Fundamentals of Statistical Inference II | Spring 2026 |
| STAT 3010 — Statistics for Engineers and Scientists | Spring 2025, Fall 2023 |
| STAT 5600/6600 — Probability and Statistics for Data Science | Fall 2024 |
| STAT 7670 — Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis | Spring 2024 |
I develop open-source R packages for statistical methodology and scientific applications.