Yale School of Public Health Professor Shuangge (Steven) Ma, PhD, has been appointed chair of the Department of Biostatistics, effective July 1, 2023.
A respected scholar and teacher with a proven track record of success in both academic and administrative roles, Ma has been serving as interim chair of the Department of Biostatistics since July 2021. In this role, he has led the biostatistics department in maintaining and further improving the quality of methodological and collaborative research as well as teaching and mentoring.
As a renowned researcher, Ma has made foundational contributions to cancer biostatistics, high-dimensional statistics, survival analysis, and other fields. He has also led and supported the development of several cutting-edge biomedical studies on cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and mental disorders.
As chair, Ma will be responsible for the overall leadership and management of the Department of Biostatistics. He will work with faculty, staff, and students to set strategic goals, develop, and implement curriculum, and attract and retain top-tier talent. He will also play a major role within school leadership as YSPH moves to full independence this year, helping to guide both departmental and school priorities and structure.
“I am confident that Professor Ma will be an outstanding chair, and I look forward to working with him to advance the Department of Biostatistics, the field of biostatistics and public health data science, and our school of public health,” Dean Megan L. Ranney said in announcing Ma’s appointment Wednesday.
Ma received his PhD in statistics from the University of Wisconsin in 2004. Prior to arriving at Yale, he was a Senior Fellow in the Collaborative Health Studies Coordinating Center (CHSCC) and Department of Biostatistics at the University of Washington. Ma has served on the YSPH faculty for 17 years.