Jaihee Choi, who graduated from Rice University in 2024 with a Ph.D. in statistics, has accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position in Marquette University’s Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences.
Choi’s research area is statistical genetics. While at Rice, she worked with advisor Ryan Sun, adjunct assistant professor of statistics at Rice and assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She looks forward to making statistics an exciting subject for her students while continuing to explore her own statistical research.
Choi was part of Rice Engineering’s 2023-24 Future Faculty Fellows (FFF) program, which is designed to help Ph.D. students and postdocs explore the academic career path and compete successfully for tenure-track faculty positions.
The FFF program offers one-on-one consultations and tailored workshops for application preparation and faculty life. Choi attended these workshops to help her navigate the application process and prepare for her first faculty position.
She credits the FFF program for helping her launch her career in academia. “I had no idea what the academic job market was like, and this program helped me understand where I fit in the job market,” said Choi. “All the individual workshops were helpful for the application and interview process and even going into job offer negotiations.”
The FFF program is led by Renata Ramos, teaching professor of bioengineering and senior associate dean for academic affairs in engineering, who coordinated more than one dozen workshops this year on topics such as preparing the job talk, interview tips and managing Q&A. Tracy Volz and Kamisha Escoto from the Activate Engineering Communications Program led many of the workshops and provided individual consultations to help the fellows be competitive in the job market.
Choi encourages Ph.D. students and postdocs to use the FFF program as a resource for starting an academic career. “It is a community of people interested in the same goal, and you have these amazing program leaders like Renata, Tracy, Kamisha who have been invaluable mentors,” said Choi. “I feel very fortunate to have been a part of this program.”
June 7 is the application deadline for the 2024-25 FFF program. All Rice Engineering Ph.D. students and postdocs planning to apply for tenure-track faculty positions this fall are eligible to apply.