Our People

Leadership

Debbie Cheng, ScD, Executive Director

Headshot of Debbie Cheng

  

 

Dr. Cheng serves as Executive Director of the Center for Health Data Science, Professor of Biostatistics, and Assistant Dean of Data Science at the Boston University School of Public Health. She also serves as Director of Strategy and Partnerships for Boston University’s university-wide AI Developmental Accelerator (AIDA). Her research focuses on applied statistics and clinical trial design and analysis, with particular emphasis on the intersection of substance use and HIV. She leads interdisciplinary initiatives that integrate data science with public health and clinical research to advance evidence-based solutions.

 

Ching-Ti Liu, PhD, Associate Director

  

 

Dr. Liu serves as Associate Director of the Center for Health Data Science. His research focuses on developing and applying statistical and computational methods for high-dimensional data, including genetic, multi-omics, and biomedical datasets. He has collaborated on studies of complex diseases, particularly cardiovascular conditions and related risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, and musculoskeletal disorders, through his longstanding involvement with the Framingham Heart Study.

Kevin James Lane, PhD, MA, Associate Director

  

 

 

Dr. Lane serves as an Associate Director of the Center for Health Data Science. His research focuses on air pollution, built environment, urbanization and impacts of climate change on health in local, national and international settings. Dr. Lane also works on a number of projects related to climate health data management as the Chief Data Officer at the BUSPH Center for Climate and Health.

Advisory Board

Faculty Affiliates

The Center for Health Data Science includes faculty affiliates from across Boston University including the School of Public Health, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Goldman School of Dental Medicine, College of Arts and Science, College of Engineering, and the Hariri Institute for Computing. CHDS affiliated faculty have a wide range of expertise in data science including machine learning, artificial intelligence, data visualization techniques, deep learning, and reproducible research.

Industry Affiliates

The Center for Health Data Science has partners from industry who are actively working in health data science. Industry affiliates enhance our program by sharing scientific questions and challenges they are confronting in industry and providing new opportunities for collaboration with our community. In addition, our industry affiliates may serve as mentors to students, providing training opportunities through mentored projects and internships.

List of Industry Affiliates