Finite Mixture Models

Chirayath M. Suchindran, Professor, Department of Biostatistics, UNC-Chapel Hill

Chirayath M. Suchindran is a professor and director of graduate admissions in the Department of Biostatistics at the Gillings School. He is a mathematical demographer and serves as the leading biostatistician in the statistical services core of the Carolina Population Research Center (CPC). His primary research interest is in developing methodology for demographic analysis. He is also engaged in collaborative research with population researchers. His primary role in this collaborative research effort is to identify state-of-the art methodology for addressing substantive issues.

He has published extensively on the theory and applications of multistate life tables. His research also focuses on the incorporation of survey design in estimating complex statistical models. The published works include adjusting for unequal selection probability in multilevel models, analysis of interval censored complex survey data in the context of time to obesity (published in The Journal of the American Medical Association), female-male disparity in obesity prevalence (published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition), intergenerational profile of socioeconomic (dis)advantage and obesity during the transition to adulthood (published in Demography), and discordance in national estimates hypertension in young adults (published in Epidemiology). His recent publications also include a methodological paper on analysis of spatial temporal data and on statistical measures to determine the importance biomarkers in determining health outcomes. As a biostatistician trained in statistical demography Dr. Suchindran makes significant contributions to the training of population researchers. He was the program director of an NIH-funded population training program (T32 –HD 07237) “Research Training in Population statistics” from 1972 -2008. For his significant contributions to the field of demography, Dr. Suchindran was elected a fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1995.