Associate professor of biostatistics Dandan Liu, who was named Outstanding Faculty Mentor by the biostatistics student body in 2022, recently chaired the Applied Biostatistics track at REDCapCon 2025, which convened in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, from September 14 to 17. The annual conference brings together REDCap administrators from around the world to cultivate collaborations, network, and share best practices. The REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) application was created by professor of biostatistics, biomedical informatics, and biomedical engineering Paul Harris and has revolutionized research data management.
This year’s REDCapCon presenters included director of informatics software development Shawn Garbett (“R and Python package for REDCAP API”), lead senior IT project manager Terri Scott (“Longitudinal Design: Beyond Typical”), and senior research data specialist Afan Cornelison (“Improving Quality and Efficiency with REDCap Data Quality Rules”). All three are members of the Vanderbilt Biostatistics Data Coordinating Center (VBDCC), a resource for biomedical research of all types. Some projects handled by the center feature opportunities for student biostatisticians, and the VBDCC’s Design & Analysis Unit includes Vanderbilt Biostatistics alumni Cassandra Hennessy (MS 2020), Cara Lwin (MS 2024), and Jackson Resser (MS 2022).
A seasoned conference organizer, Dr. Liu co-chaired the 2024 ICSA (International Chinese Statistical Association) Applied Statistics Symposium and is president-elect of ACTStat (Association of Clinical and Translational Statisticians). Recent publications with student co-authors include “Circulating Tumor Tissue-Modified-Viral HPV DNA and Correlations With Disease Burden in Oropharyngeal Cancer” with Tianyi Sun (PhD 2025), in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery; “The association between poor sleep health and Alzheimer’s disease structural neuroimaging biomarkers” with Yunyi Sun (previously staff biostatistician; now a PhD student), in Neurology; and “The dynamics of cognitive decline toward Alzheimer’s disease progression: Results from ADSP-PHC’s harmonized cognitive composites” with Kaidi Kang (PhD 2025), in Alzheimer’s and Dementia.