Who We Are
Applied Statistics and Data Science (ASDa) is the research support and general statistical consulting group of the Department of Statistics at the University of British Columbia.
By applying best practices and capitalizing on our working relationships with leading data science researchers, our professional statistical consultants and scientific programmers can help you with all of your data analytics needs. For example, ASDa can:
- collaborate on study design and determine appropriate analytic methodology for grant proposals and project planning;
- manage, clean and wrangle data to a form that is ready for analysis;
- provide analytics through data visualization, exploration, modelling and interpretation;
- develop user friendly, interactive software tools;
- boost capacity and fill specific gaps in client’s skill sets;
- provide training through flexible, hands-on workshops on software and methodology.
Our History
Statistical Consulting and Research Lab (SCARL) was created shortly after the Department of Statistics was created in 1983. The vision was a research support unit for the Department of Statistics, to include computing, programming, data analysis, and statistical modeling. Over the years, demand from outside the department developed and it was accommodated on a user fee basis.
Starting in 2014, we began work on the new vision for the lab, in response to the emergence of data science and within it data analytics, with big data and high dimensional data analysis as fundamental features. Out of the consulation with the department researchers, our partners, and other stakeholders, SCARL was redeveloped as ASDa. The new name more accurately reflects our expertise, and the new vision for the group expands its horizon to be the leader in practical data science at UBC and the region.
Our Team
Carolyn Taylor
Carolyn currently is the Managing Consultant for ASDa and has served as a statistical consultant in the Department of Statistics since completing her MSc degree in Statistics at SFU in 1998. She works with Statistics professors, Industry research partners and Government agencies on problem formulation, study design, data management, method development, analysis and implementation. She continues to support investigators and students on the second of two 5-year industry collaborative research and development grants.
Biljana Jonoska Stojkova
Biljana is a Senior Statistical Consultant with ASDa, participating in collaborative research, providing statistical consulting services and tailored education on statistical concepts and analytics tools on and off campus, as well as participating in collaborative research. She completed her PhD in Statistics at SFU in 2017, where she focused on developing Bayesian algorithms and methods for multi-modal posterior spaces, which were applied to differential equation models, mixture Gaussian models, epidemiological and ecological models. In the previous roles she has gained experience with probabilistic models to determine different patterns of user behavior from chat messages, with development of relational databases and with machine learning algorithms such as supervised and unsupervised learning. In her consulting role Biljana continues to strengthen her skills in problem formulation, study design, grant proposal development, analysis and implementation, and continued education of non-statisticians on and off the UBC campus, giving webinars, workshops and courses on statistical concepts and methodology to various departments, research groups and at teaching hospitals.
Nikolas Krstic
Nikolas Krstic is a PhD graduate student at the Department of Statistics and a part-time Statistical Consultant with ASDa. While pursuing his previous degrees, he worked as a statistical analyst at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), authoring several published papers on a wide range of environmental health topics. Over the past couple of years, he has worked with numerous clients on projects from a variety of different disciplines. During his studies, research and consulting work, he has developed a strong background in regression analysis, spatial statistics and statistical learning.
John Petkau
John is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Statistics and Senior Scientific Advisor to ASDa. His primary research interests are in the development, evaluation and application of statistical methodology for the design, monitoring and analysis of clinical studies. He has also been involved in many observational epidemiological studies, some based on administrative databases. He collaborates in a variety of subject-areas, but primarily with multiple sclerosis and MRI research groups. For more information, see https://www.stat.ubc.ca/users/john-petkau