Susmita Datta, Ph.D., a professor and a preeminent hire in the Department of Biostatistics in the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, was invited to present at the 2025 International Indian Statistical Association conference as a special invited speaker.
Special invited speakers are recognized as eminent statisticians who are leaders in their fields. These speakers were invited to give 45-minute talks at this year’s conference, held June 12-15 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Datta presented “Unraveling Disease Mysteries: Statistical Models Reveal Cellular Conversations using Spatial Transcriptomics Data.” Her talk described the development of a novel generalized linear regression model known as Bayesian Tweedie Modeling of Communications, or BATCOM. This model is designed to help scientists understand biochemical signaling that takes place in and between cells located near diseased tissue.
“BATCOM provides a more accurate representation of how cells interact within their microenvironments, significantly improving upon traditional methods that often overlook the spatial aspect of cellular communications,” Datta said. “Our research enhances our understanding of disease mechanisms, paving the way for new discoveries and therapeutic strategies in biomedical research.”
Datta’s computing laboratory is involved in methodological and software development in clustering and classification techniques, statistical issues in population biology, systems biology, survival analysis, multi-state models and big data analytics. She is the author of more than 140 peer-reviewed articles and her work has been continuously funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. She is a fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute (ISI).