Faculty member profile featured in the autumn 2024 issue of the department’s equity, diversity, and inclusion newsletter.
Tell us about yourself including your nationality, ethnicity, and culture.
I've always struggled with these questions since I consider myself just "American." In terms of ethnicity, my parents are from Taiwan, and I was born in the US. I have lived my entire life in the US, and due to my poor Chinese and overall lack of interest in traveling, I'm oblivious to most Chinese/Taiwanese culture. (I can't read or write in Chinese, and I've been told that my speaking/listening abilities are roughly at a first-grade level.) However, I really adore Chinese food. I have a love-hate relationship with Chinese food because 1) a lot of Chinese cooking isn't conducive to the electric stove I have, 2) you can't find many ingredients exclusive to Chinese cuisine in a QFC/Whole Foods/TJ's, and I can't be bothered to drive far to get those ingredients, and 3) since I can't read, I can't order many dishes at a Chinese restaurant. (Most Chinese dishes have the most generic-sounding English translations, so reading the English name doesn't tell you anything about what dish it is.) But those grievances aside, I always enjoy eating at Chinese restaurants when I'm with people who can order for me :)
How did you come to be associated with the Department of Biostatistics?
I grew up in a Statistics department for my PhD and postdoc (and arguably undergrad, if you count "Operations Research and Financial Engineering" as partially a Statistics department). However, in 2023, when I was on the job market, I fell in love with Biostats. Perhaps it was the thrill of mystery (since I knew what to expect from a Statistics dept)?
But for sure, most of my memorable discussions during my interview process came from Biostat departments. Cell biology is endlessly fascinating and unexpected. There are so many curious mysteries. (Why do specific cells in the heart have two nuclei? How can we de-program cells back into stem cells? What happens to cells in the brain when they die [maybe from natural causes], and how does your body replenish these lost cells?) I would get so wonderfully lost just learning science.
These conversations really helped me form a stronger impression of why I love studying statistics for cell biology. There are so many whacky things that it takes a strong sense of math and computation to figure out how to make the data make sense. Ultimately, I leaned into this excitement when choosing to come to this Biostat department. Also, I have many friends already here in Seattle (working in tech), and Seattle itself is a tourist destination, so many other friends will visit me. All in all, I feel fortunate that all the stars lined up in my favor.
Fun fact: I did a walking tour with Ali and Tom when I was interviewing. On this random day at the end of January, I got a day with perfect blue sky and a view of Mt. Rainier from Red Square. I didn't realize how rare this was at the time [since I've lived on the East Coast my entire life], but now, thinking back to January 2023, I must've had some spiritual luck that day.
Tell us something we’d be surprised to know about? Hidden talent? Superpower?
I wouldn't claim to have an exciting superpower. I'm quite a homebody, so I live a tame life and enjoy mundane things. I'm pretty sure I exhausted all my superpowers on research-related tasks.
The only thing that might resemble a "hidden talent" is my not-so-hidden, not-really-a-talent, apparently-very-distinctive-and-loud laugh. During my PhD, my friends told me it was always quite obvious whenever I was in the building, even if I was on the opposite side. (I don't know if I'll ever find out how exaggerative these allegations are.) I never minded when people told me how unreasonably loud my laugh was. I've always hated the pin-drop silence of libraries, and I fear lifeless, large, empty spaces. I would rather be in areas with chatter, laughter, and activity.
What motivates you?
To allow my mentees to experience the wonderful and endlessly curious world of research, along with all its ups-and-downs, and for them to end up loving this whacky roller coaster that we call "research." This roller-coaster analogy is quite apt. No one in their right mind would think, "Gee, that looks fun," the first time they ever see a roller coaster. And it's probably impossible for a roller-coaster enthusiast to explain the rationale behind the excitement to someone who has never seen a roller coaster before. The latter person probably thinks the former person is entirely out of their mind. And maybe we are out of our minds when we do research for a career – why would anyone enjoy working on things that (usually) are probably not going to work? I think the expected baseline of yet another random idea failing makes success feel incredibly special. "The thrill of the hunt." In this roller-coaster analogy, I want to give my mentees the experience of slowly climbing aboard a modest roller coaster, assure them that it's going to be fine despite its undeniably chaotic nature, see them conquer their fear, and then show them even more wild roller coasters later on.
Who/what has inspired you the most and why?
Kathryn Roeder (one of my PhD advisors) and Nancy Zhang (my postdoc advisor). I owe both of them too much to be where I am now. It's mind blowing to think that I've known Kathryn for 10 years, and we're still in reasonably good contact (although we're no longer working on any project together) – that's 1/3rd of my current life. I often wonder if Kathryn could've predicted my future when I first started interacting with her (when I was 21 and very clueless) since I was an enthusiastic and chaotic mess back then. I've learned so much from both of them. We would have long meetings (clarification: "chats") even when I didn't have much research progress. I learned from them not just about doing the literal week-to-week research tasks but also about the intangible things – what made them love the topics they ended up picking, how they view their roles (at all resolutions – as a teacher, an advisor, a member of a department, as a researcher in a community), how to manage uncertainty (of research, of people, of life). Kathryn and Nancy hugely and positively influenced my current perspective and mindset about research.
What three words would you use to describe yourself?
Back when I was a PhD or postdoc, I would have a list of attributes of myself that were important for new people I met to know me by. It was, in order of decreasing importance, "statistics," "cooking," and "zumba." And honestly, this list is still pretty accurate. I might swap "Zumba" with "pole dancing" since I've been dabbling with it for a couple of months (and it's way more challenging than I ever could've thought beforehand), but I suspect I'll return to Zumba in due time.