I have a background in statistics, survey methodology, and epidemiology. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2008, and then, graduated in master of Biostatistics from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. My theoretical interests are mainly focused on survey statistics, mixture models, and Bayesian inference. The applied area of my research concerns with disease modeling and statistical problems that arise in the surveillance systems. More particularly, I like to study the transmission dynamics of infections through the community with a view towards early detection and control of epidemics. As my M.Sc. thesis, we addressed a warning threshold to detect unexpected incidence of tuberculosis using a Hidden Markov Model (HMM), in a way that it was both accurate in detection of epidemics and easy to apply on the real incidence data. A summary of my thesis is available here. I have recently started a second master’s degree in Survey Methodology at the University of Michigan.
The focus of my work is on the design and analysis of Complex Sample Survey Data in the diseases surveillance system. I have been working for almost four years as a statistical consultant at Iran Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, providing training on and technical assistance for the National Surveillance of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD). For training activities, I have been involved in both preparation of the executive manual and presenting lectures for two surveys of NCD risk factors and oral health in Iran. During the past years, as the main lecture, facilitator and curriculum developer, I have been invited in some national and sub-national courses/workshops on research methodology, software training, and data analysis. In 2014, I joined the National Health Registries Program at the Deputy for Research and Technology of Ministry of Health to gain new experience especially in cancer outcomes. More recently, I have started a research assistance position at the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, working on methods for calibrating non-probability samples. I have also authored or co-authored several journal articles and you can see more details on this here.