Dr. Jyotishka Datta

I am an assistant professor of statistics at Virginia Tech. Prior to this, I was an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville from 2016 to2020.

My research interest spans Bayesian methodology and theory for structured high-dimensional data. I have contributed to the area of multiple testing, shrinkage estimation, sparse signal recovery, nonparametric Bayes, bioinformatics, and default Bayes. Recent applications include next-gen sequencing studies, auditory neuroscience, ecology and crime forecasting.

•  Google Scholar Profile: http://bit.ly/1OTdd9h
•  Github: https://github.com/dattahub

Professional Preparation

1. Postdoctoral Fellow. Department of Statistical Science, Duke University and SAMSI (Program: Beyond Bioinformatics.). Mentors: Prof. David B. Dunson (Statistics), and Prof. Sandeep S. Dave (Medicine).
2. Ph.D. in Statistics, Purdue University. Advisors: Prof. Jayanta K. Ghosh and Prof. Michael Yu Zhu. Thesis title: “Some Theoretical and Methodological Aspects of Multiple Testing, Model Selection and Related Areas” (available here). (August, 2009-May, 2014)
3. B.Stat and M.Stat: Indian Statistical Institute (2003-2008).

Funding (External)

1. NSF-DMS Statistics-2015460. Nilabja Guha (PI), Jyotishka Datta (Co-PI). Title: New Directions in Bayesian Change-Point Analysis. $139,984. (Period: 08/01/2020-07/31/2023).
2. NSF-DMS Statistics-1853458. Giovanni Petris (PI), Avishek Chakraborty (Co-PI), Jyotishka Datta (Co-PI), Title: University of Arkansas Spring Lecture Series in the Mathematical Sciences 2019 and 2020, $9,956.00, Period: 04/01/2019-03/31/2020.
3. Funding: Grant Drawve, Shaun A. Thomas, and Jyotishka Datta. January 2019. Title: Child Maltreatment Pilot Project in Little Rock, Arkansas. Predict, Align, Prevent. ($27,000; Funded; Originating funding source: Arkansas Children’s Trust Fund).

Awards, Honors, Internal Funding

1. Dayanand Naik Award from the Virginia Chapter of American Statistical Association. From the website: “The Dayanand Naik award recognizes an individual (who works, or resides in Virginia, during the time of the award) for outstanding research contributions and service to the Commonwealth of Virginia in statistics and related fields.“
2. Robert and Sandra Connor Endowed Faculty Fellowship from the University of Arkansas, 2018-19.
3. Collaborative Research Grant from the Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Enhancement, University of Arkansas. (2016, 2017, 2018). Link.
4. Travel grant for attending IISA conference at Corvallis, Oregon, August 19-21, 2016.
5. Travel grant for attending SRCOS Summer Research Conference 2016 , June 5-8, 2016. Bentonville, Arkansas.
6. Honorable Mention Award for Best Theoretical Poster at the O’Bayes 2013 Meeting: The Tenth International Workshop on Objective Bayesian Statistics, December 15-19, Durham, Raleigh, USA. Link (p. 8)
7. Travel grant for attending the O’Bayes 2013 Meeting: The Tenth International Workshop on Objective Bayesian Statistics, December 15-19, Durham, Raleigh, USA.
8. William J. Studden Publication Award for an outstanding publication in a mathematical statistics journal, 2013, Department of Statistics, Purdue University.

News:

1. My collaborator Nilabja Guha (UMass) and I have received a three-years $139,984 grant from the National Science Foundation (DMS-Statistics) to study Bayesian methodology and applications for change-points. (Link).
2. Special Invited Session in Joint Statistical Meeting, Denver, Colorado.
3. Special Invited Session in Joint Statistical Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
4. Plenary Session in 10th International Calcutta Triennial Symposium, December 27-30, 2018, Kolkata, India.
5. Invited Session in Young Statisticians’ Meet: Data Science in Action: January 4-5, 2019, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India.
6. Invited talk at the 2017 IISA International Conference on Statistics at Hyderabad, India on Dec 27-30, 2017.
7. Invited talk at the CM Statistics 2017 conference at London, UK on Dec 16-18, 2017.
8. A project that I worked on while at Duke was recently featured on Eurekalert, the science newsletter from AAAS. Link: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/dumc-rig100517.php

Miscellany

1. SAMSI Postdoctoral Profile by Jamie Nunnelly.
2. Mathematical Genealogy Project
3. SAMSI Beyond Bioinformatics Program
4. SAMSI undergraduate modelling workshop led by SAMSI postdocs (also check out the SAMSI blog at samsiatrtp.wordpress.com)

---

Here are some useful links

1. Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI)
2. Department of Statistical Science, Duke University .
3. Department of Statistics, Purdue University.
4. Statistical Consulting Services, Purdue University .
5. Indian Statistical Institute.