ANALYTICS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor
- Adjunct Professor in the Data Science
Abhijit Dasgupta is an Adjunct Professor in the Data Science and Analytics program at Georgetown University. He has co-led the development of the Advanced Data Visualization (DSAN 5200, formerly ANLY 503) class and co-teaches the Big Data and Cloud Computing (DSAN 6000, formerly ANLY 502) class. In Fall 2024, he will be teaching Biological and Biomedical Data Science (DSAN 6150). He has been on the faculty since 2020.
Most of Abhijit's career has been allied with understanding the etiology, risk factors, biomarkers and treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases, and using data science to do it. This often means looking at high-dimensional data and extracting meaningful insights from it, aligned with good study design and biological and clinical domain knowledge. Living at the intersection of computational biology, statistics, and ML/AI. Ironic for someone who learned statistics to avoid biology!
Abhijit received his PhD in Biostatistics from the highly-ranked University of Washington in Seattle, and continued postdoctoral training at the National Cancer Institute, where he worked on biostatistical and bioinformatics analyses in cancer research. Abhijit has broad expertise in statistics and machine learning methods, data analytics, data visualization, operations research, clinical trials and signal processing. In his daily work, he emphasizes sound statistical practice, modern computer-driven analyses, in silico experimentation and simulation for understanding and validation, good coding practice and good communication.
Abhijit is an expert and evangelist in using R and Python for data science, having over 25 years experience in R and 15 years in Python. Abhijit co-founded Statistical Programming DC and served on the board of Data Community DC, an organization that promotes Data Science and Analytics practitioners in the Washington DC Metro area. Abhijit has worked as a data scientist for academia, government and industry, currently developing ML and Bayesian analytic methods, designing studies and analytic plans for biomarker discovery, and promoting better ways of working to support Oncology R&D at AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg, Maryland, as well as providing training and community leadership among R users in the AstraZeneca and pharmaceutical communities.
In addition to his academic and industry work, Abhijit has long served as a member of Data Safety Monitoring Boards for the National Institute of Mental Health, and serves as a reviewer on NIH grant review committees for SBIR and Early Stage Investigator programs.
Outside of his professional life, Abhijit is a 4th degree black belt in aikido (30 years experience) and enjoys time with his family and golden retriever Jingle.
Job Titles:
- Outreach and Engagement Manager
Ashley Stowe is the Outreach and Engagement Manager for the Data Science & Analytics Program at Georgetown University. Ms. Stowe supports the Data Science and Analytics program by managing all student and alumni events and maintaining our alumni network, as well as developing and managing all program communications channels, the program website, and outreach efforts. She holds a B.A. in Theater from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where directing plays helped her develop a knack for managing people and events. Before joining the DSAN team at Georgetown, she worked for several performing arts non-profits, most recently with Blumenthal Performing Arts in Charlotte, NC.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor
- Adjunct Professor in the Data Science and Analytics Program at Georgetown University
Ben Houghton is an Adjunct Professor in the Data Science and Analytics program at Georgetown University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from West Virginia University and Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics from Georgetown University. Ben has professional experience in the Bioinformatics and Energy industries, with various roles in engineering, data science and management. He has interests in reinforcement learning (currently co-teaches DSAN's Reinforcement Learning course with Dr. Hickman), computer vision, deep learning, and financial time series modeling.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Program Director
- Associate Teaching Professor and Director of Data Science and Analytics Program
Dr. Purna Gamage is Program Director, Associate Teaching Professor of Data Science and Analytics Master's program at Georgetown University. Dr. Purna also serves as a member of the Graduate Executive Committee ("Grad ExCo"), Executive Council and Executive Board of the Honor Council at Georgetown University. Having previously worked at Texas Tech University and Wake Forest University, she brings a wealth of experience to her role. Dr. Purna received her PhD in Mathematics majoring in Statistics in 2018 and Master's Degree in Statistics from Texas Tech University for her research in Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling, Spatial and Temporal Data Analysis, and Ecological Statistics. Dr. Purna's research is centered on leveraging Machine Learning models, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Deep Learning, LLMTime, Transformer based Models and Time Series analysis in various domains. Her current work involves exploring the comparative effectiveness of Traditional Time Series Modeling and Deep Learning Models on Stock Market dynamics; a comprehensive comparison of Time-LLMs and Traditional Financial Time Series Modeling to assess predictive power. Other areas of her research include predicting disease risk levels related to heavy metal exposure in the US and integrating Text Analysis with Time Series Modeling using Multivariate Bayesian Structural Time Series for a holistic approach to forecasting Stock Markets using News and Congressional Bills Data. Dr. Purna collaborates on data-driven projects(in civil Engineering), enhancing Flexible Pavement Performance Prediction through a comprehensive study on Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient. Additionally, she mentored capstone students on a multifaceted analysis of Equitable Fines and Fees and their impact on returning citizens in Washington, D.C and optimizing Flower Farming for Waste Reduction and Profit Maximization with the Lima Lab.
Furthermore, she actively engages in curriculum development and student services, overseeing program administration and faculty management. Dr. Purna has devoted her time to advancing the program and enhancing the student experience. She is dedicated to student advising and mentoring, fostering industry collaboration, and facilitating partnerships with universities in the DMV area. She actively collaborates with Georgetown University Graduate School's Interdisciplinary programs and ensures quality assurance in educational initiatives. Moreover, she drives the integration of cutting-edge technologies into the curriculum, leads new initiatives, and advocates for professional development and beyond.
Job Titles:
- Director of Student Services for the Data Science & Analytics Program
Heather Connor is the Director of Student Services for the Data Science & Analytics Program at Georgetown University. Ms. Connor serves as the primary contact for prospective students, current students, and alumni. With a focus on student services, she manages the Student Ambassador Program, Student Mentorship Program, and DSAN Professional Development Center, as well as overseeing the fellowship and assistantship programs, student recruitment, and admissions. She holds an interdisciplinary Master's degree in Humanities from the University of Chicago, where she began her career in graduate student services. Prior to joining Georgetown, she worked in graduate program administration at the University of Southern California and the University of Texas at Arlington.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor - GSAS Data
Job Titles:
- Assistant Teaching Professor
James Hickman is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Data Science and Analytics program at Georgetown University. He received his Ph.D. in Computational-Physics from George Mason University (GMU) in 2017, an M.S. in Engineering-Physics from GMU in 2014, and a double-major in Physics and Applied Mathematics from Shippensburg University in 2011. His graduate work focused on applying classical atomistic simulations to various material science and condensed matter physics problems. In 2018, he was awarded an NRC postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Dr. Hickman's post-doctoral research focused on improving inter-atomic bonding models for both metallic and covalent systems. This was done by combining the transferability of physically derived approaches with the flexibility of artificial neural networks. These perturbative hybrid models achieve near quantum accuracy in their training region while exhibiting physical extrapolation outside the training domain. Dr. Hickman continues at NIST as a guest researcher, where he focuses on problems at the intersection of machine learning and material science.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Teaching Professor
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor
- Adjunct Professor in Georgetown 's Data Science
- R Programmer
- Technical Specialist at Microsoft
Marck Vaisman has been an Adjunct Professor in Georgetown's Data Science and Analytics program since 2017. He led the development of Big Data and Cloud Computing (DSAN6000, formerly ANLY502) and Advanced Data Visualization (DSAN5200, formerly ANLY503.)
Marck is a Technical Specialist at Microsoft and helps customers use Azure for Data Science, Advanced Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence workloads.
Marck is an experienced R programmer and advocate. He founded Data Community DC, which promotes Data Science and Analytics practitioners in the Washington DC Metro area. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University and an MBA from Vanderbilt University.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor - GSAS Data Science and
Job Titles:
- Counselor for the DSAN
- DSAN Admissions Counselor
Sofia is the admissions counselor for the DSAN program. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA double major in Psychology and Communications.