DENNIS K. PEARL

Phylogenetics: I am interested in statistical issues arising from the dependency structure of phylogenetic trees that seek to describe the evolutionary history of a group of organisms. Recent work has used a Bayesian framework and coalescent theory to model how molecular data from multiple genes can be explained by a common evolutionary history of the underlying species. I have worked with collaborators Liang Liu and Scott Edwards from Harvard University in developing the Bayesian Estimation of Species Trees (BEST) software package.

Education: I am the director of the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE), a national organization that provides resources and professional development opportunities to teachers of statistics and researchers in statistics education. I also direct the INitiative for QUantitative Education Research Infrastructure (INQUERI) that seeks to provide a computational infrastructure for STEM educational research. Finally, as a Redesign Scholar of the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) I am active in national efforts to use technology in ways that improve student learning and reduce costs in large undergraduate courses.

Biomedical Research: I have been involved in many collaborative projects with biomedical scientists, including studies of the diagnoses and prognoses of brain tumors, and of the use of foods in the chemoprevention of cancers in the digestive track.