When Le Wang came to the U.S. for her graduate education after receiving her B.S. in Biological Sciences from Zhejiang University in China, the professors who helped her with a difficult transition made all the difference. “I was experiencing culture shock,” recalls Wang, who recently joined the faculty at Loyola Marymount University as an assistant professor of mathematics at the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering. “But they were all so supportive. That inspired me to go into academia so that I could have the chance to inspire students in the same way.”
As a master’s student at Villanova University, Wang found herself particularly captivated by a course in statistics, and decided to combine that with her interest in the biological sciences. She earned her M.S. in Applied Statistics and Biology, then went on to complete her Ph.D. in Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania. Wang returned to Villanova as an assistant professor of statistics before coming to LMU.
Her research focuses on sampling schemes to increase statistical efficiency and methods to account for the sampling bias in analysis. The method Wang uses, known as two-phase sampling, enables researchers to collect data of expensive biomarkers on a sub-sample within a cohort that will provide the most useful information regarding the biomarkers of interest. “There are very practical issues in these biomedical studies, where you don’t always have the time or the money to, for example, obtain blood samples and measure biomarkers from hundreds of patients,” Wang explains. “This sampling scheme helps to select a subgroup of patients into the second phase and the analytical method takes into account that these patients weren’t randomly selected in data analysis.”
As a biostatistician, Wang also provides statistical consultation on biomedical study designs and analysis, and has collaborated with ecologists on studies pertaining to the impacts of climate change on the sustainability of wetlands. “Research brings new challenges every day, and it’s highly rewarding to be able to solve difficult problems,” she says.
The opportunity to continue her research while simultaneously pursuing her passion for teaching is what appealed to Wang about LMU. “At a lot of universities, professors focus on their research and teaching assistants are the ones interacting with the student, but I love the balance at LMU, where I can be both a teacher and a scholar,” Wang says.
Wang’s husband is also in academia. Two years ago they had a daughter, requiring Wang to make adjustments in how she fulfills two of her favorite hobbies — Zumba and singing. “I used to go to a lot of Zumba classes, but I started watching them on YouTube, holding my daughter while just doing the movements with my feet,” she says, smiling. “And before, I would get together with my friends to sing in Mandarin; now, with my daughter in daycare, I’ve started learning all kinds of different songs in English.”
