Christine Peterson, associate professor in the Department of Statistics at Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, was recently announced as the president-elect of the Houston Area Chapter of the American Statistical Association (ASA), the primary professional society for statisticians in the United States and the world’s largest community of statisticians. Peterson will serve in this role through June 2026, after which she will assume the role of chapter president through June 2027. As president, she will serve as the chapter’s chief officer, overseeing programming and initiatives, acting as its spokesperson, and ensuring alignment with the national ASA's mission. She has been a member of the American Statistical Association since 2010 and currently also serves as an officer in the ASA Section on Bayesian Statistical Science.
Peterson joined Rice on Jan. 1, 2026. Prior to that, she was a faculty member in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for almost 10 years. She earned her Ph.D. in statistics from Rice University in 2013 under the guidance of Marina Vanucci, Noah Harding Professor of Statistics, and completed postdoctoral training in biomedical data science at Stanford University. Having mentored seven graduate students and 4 postdoctoral fellows, and currently leading a lab with eight members, she has a strong track record of mentoring students and trainees.
“I am excited about the opportunity to lead the Houston Area Chapter of ASA (HACASA) and explore ways to expand its activities and visibility,” Peterson said. “HACASA offers a vital platform for networking, learning, and professional growth opportunities for statisticians in the Houston area. As a student at Rice, I attended many HACASA meetings and formed valuable connections with local statisticians, some of whom are now my colleagues. I look forward to continuing our chapter’s successful activities, including the short courses and the excellent annual student symposium, and plan to seek new avenues to engage with industry and provide additional professional networking events for statisticians in all career stages, including students who are just entering the field.”
Peterson develops statistical methods to analyze complex high-dimensional biological data, including genomics, imaging, and microbiome data. These datasets are computationally intensive, difficult to visualize, and often yield unreliable results when analyzed using traditional statistical models. Peterson develops multivariate statistical methods and models such as network inference, variable selection, Bayesian modeling, and false discovery rate control to extract reliable insights.
Her research helps address questions such as how a person’s gut microbiome influences cancer risk and response to therapy, how to characterize risk of adverse drug reactions across clinical trials, and how to integrate genomics data to advance precision medicine.
“We are thrilled to welcome Professor Peterson to Rice Statistics and to celebrate her leadership role with HACASA,” said Huixia Judy Wang, professor and chair of Rice's statistics department and William Marsh Rice Trustee Professor in Data Science. “We are excited about the opportunities ahead to strengthen collaborations with statisticians and biostatisticians across the Houston area through Christine’s leadership, particularly as we connect our newly established ASA student chapter at Rice with HACASA to build an even stronger, more vibrant community.”