Novel methodology advancing applied Bayesian statistics and applications. Bayesian statistical inference has become the dominant statistical method in significant areas of application. The project aims to develop and apply novel Bayesian computational algorithms. Outcomes will advance scientific understanding in significant multi-disciplinary areas such as infectious diseases, neurological disease and human behaviour.
Spatio-Temporal Statistics and its Application to Remote Sensing. By their very nature, environmental processes involve strong spatial and temporal variability. Inferring cause-effect relationships requires the incorporation of spatial and temporal dependence in the statistical models. The aims of this project are to develop mass-balanced hierarchical spatio-temporal statistical models, new loss functions that are relevant to multivariate processes, and optimal estimators obtained from the hiera ....Spatio-Temporal Statistics and its Application to Remote Sensing. By their very nature, environmental processes involve strong spatial and temporal variability. Inferring cause-effect relationships requires the incorporation of spatial and temporal dependence in the statistical models. The aims of this project are to develop mass-balanced hierarchical spatio-temporal statistical models, new loss functions that are relevant to multivariate processes, and optimal estimators obtained from the hierarchical model's predictive distribution. These methodologies are intended to be applied to the estimation of near-surface fluxes of atmospheric carbon dioxide, using massive remote sensing datasets from satellites and other data sources.Read moreRead less
Trans-dimensional and Approximate Bayesian Computation. Many applied scientists in Australia, particularly those in the biological, medical and environmental sciences are now interested in incorporating Bayesian statistical methodologies into their research.
The development of more generic and efficient Bayesian statistical methods will not only benefit applied statisticians but also the more occasional users of statistics in other disciplinary areas. The success of this project will enhance Au ....Trans-dimensional and Approximate Bayesian Computation. Many applied scientists in Australia, particularly those in the biological, medical and environmental sciences are now interested in incorporating Bayesian statistical methodologies into their research.
The development of more generic and efficient Bayesian statistical methods will not only benefit applied statisticians but also the more occasional users of statistics in other disciplinary areas. The success of this project will enhance Australia's reputation as a strong contributor to the development of Bayesian methodologies. Two PhD students will also be provided training in computational Bayesian statistics.Read moreRead less
Robust inferences for analysis of longitudinal data. This project will develop novel statistical tools. Outcomes of this project will enable more reliable data analysis and more cost effective designs in environmental and biological studies.
Choice experiments to improve predictive power for policy makers. In the current economic climate, Australian governments will benefit from superior choice experiments which will lead to improved prediction of the potential public benefit of proposed policy changes. The choice experiments developed here will have a substantial effect on the development of strategies for the promotion and maintenance of a strong health care system as well as being relevant to the maintenance of a sustainable envi ....Choice experiments to improve predictive power for policy makers. In the current economic climate, Australian governments will benefit from superior choice experiments which will lead to improved prediction of the potential public benefit of proposed policy changes. The choice experiments developed here will have a substantial effect on the development of strategies for the promotion and maintenance of a strong health care system as well as being relevant to the maintenance of a sustainable environment, both designated National Research Priority areas. The innovative research proposed will tap into and build strong links with international research networks, advancing Australia's research reputation and providing a rich environment for the training of research graduates.Read moreRead less
Doing Bayesian Statistics Better: an Inter-Disciplinary Perspective for Improving Models, Priors, Design and Applications. Through improving methods for data analysis and design, this project increases the capability of individuals, communities and governments to make correct decisions based on data, leading to immeasurable human, social and financial benefits. It will also directly enhance Australia's international research reputation, promote inter-disciplinary links, promote research by wome ....Doing Bayesian Statistics Better: an Inter-Disciplinary Perspective for Improving Models, Priors, Design and Applications. Through improving methods for data analysis and design, this project increases the capability of individuals, communities and governments to make correct decisions based on data, leading to immeasurable human, social and financial benefits. It will also directly enhance Australia's international research reputation, promote inter-disciplinary links, promote research by women in a non-traditional area, keep intellectual property within Australia, train quality undergraduates and postgraduates, and contribute to public good through its focus on applications in key national priorities: health, environment and genetics. Read moreRead less
New Bayesian methodology for understanding complex systems using hidden Markov models and expert opinion, environmental, robotics and genomics applications. This project aims to merge four areas of intense international interest in describing complex systems: hidden Markov models and mixtures, semi-parametric and nonparametric approaches, true combination of expert opinion with data, and new Bayesian computational methods based on perfect sampling and particle sampling. The project will signific ....New Bayesian methodology for understanding complex systems using hidden Markov models and expert opinion, environmental, robotics and genomics applications. This project aims to merge four areas of intense international interest in describing complex systems: hidden Markov models and mixtures, semi-parametric and nonparametric approaches, true combination of expert opinion with data, and new Bayesian computational methods based on perfect sampling and particle sampling. The project will significantly contribute to statistical methodology and its ability to inform about real-world problems. A strong focus on applications to genomics, robotics and environmental modelling will bring immediate research and monetary benefit for industry. Expected outcomes include enhanced cross-disciplinary and international linkages, publications, industry-funded projects and highly trained graduates.Read moreRead less
New Directions in Bayesian Statistics: formulation, computation and application to exemplar challenges. Bayesian statistics is a fundamental statistical and machine learning approach for density estimation, data analysis and inference. However, there remain open questions regarding the formulation of the model, the likelihood and priors, and efficient computation. This project proposes new approaches that address these issues, and applies them to two exemplar challenges: the impact of climate ch ....New Directions in Bayesian Statistics: formulation, computation and application to exemplar challenges. Bayesian statistics is a fundamental statistical and machine learning approach for density estimation, data analysis and inference. However, there remain open questions regarding the formulation of the model, the likelihood and priors, and efficient computation. This project proposes new approaches that address these issues, and applies them to two exemplar challenges: the impact of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef and better understanding neurological diseases related aging, in particular Parkinson's Disease. Read moreRead less
Complex data, model selection and bootstrap inference. The project will provide new statistical methods and associated software for the analysis and modelling of complex data, as well as quality research training. This project will benefit researchers in statistics and users of statistics who encounter the complex data considered in this project and who need to model and make inferences from these data. Since these kinds of data arise in many areas (such as medicine, genetics, chemistry etc), ....Complex data, model selection and bootstrap inference. The project will provide new statistical methods and associated software for the analysis and modelling of complex data, as well as quality research training. This project will benefit researchers in statistics and users of statistics who encounter the complex data considered in this project and who need to model and make inferences from these data. Since these kinds of data arise in many areas (such as medicine, genetics, chemistry etc), Australia and Australian industry will ultimately benefit from the proposed research. The strengthening of international link and the training of highly trained research scientists in an area of national importance will also benefit Australia.Read moreRead less
New approaches to predictive modelling of high-dimensional count data to study climate impacts on ecological communities. This project will lay methodological foundations for future studies of potential impacts of climate change on ecological communities. A flexible new toolset of predictive modelling approaches will be developed, capable of handling all common data types, which fit easy-to-interpret models, and which are more powerful than currently used methods.