New Developments for Bayesian statistical models and computational methods. Bayesian methods of statistical analysis provide a flexible theory for addressing inference in the presence of uncertainty. Consequently Bayesian methods have enabled scientific discovery in areas characterised as complex systems where new developments in modelling and computational methods have been crucial. Significant barriers to further success involve challenges in formulating and validating models, dealing with l ....New Developments for Bayesian statistical models and computational methods. Bayesian methods of statistical analysis provide a flexible theory for addressing inference in the presence of uncertainty. Consequently Bayesian methods have enabled scientific discovery in areas characterised as complex systems where new developments in modelling and computational methods have been crucial. Significant barriers to further success involve challenges in formulating and validating models, dealing with large data sets, and developing efficient computational methods. The principal aim of this project is to develop new Bayesian modelling and computational methodology which address these challenges with broad application.Read moreRead less
International Networks in Applied Bayesian Statistics: improving Australia''s knowledge through intelligent data analysis and modelling. National benefits of this project are fourfold: (i) new international networks between Australia, Southern Africa, France and USA in the priority area of mathematical sciences; (ii) state-of-the-art Bayesian statistical methods for integrating and analyzing non-standard data and diverse information sources, including expert opinion, in order to solve complex pr ....International Networks in Applied Bayesian Statistics: improving Australia''s knowledge through intelligent data analysis and modelling. National benefits of this project are fourfold: (i) new international networks between Australia, Southern Africa, France and USA in the priority area of mathematical sciences; (ii) state-of-the-art Bayesian statistical methods for integrating and analyzing non-standard data and diverse information sources, including expert opinion, in order to solve complex problems in environment, industry, health, defence; (iii) direct contribution to solution of global environmental problems, specifically water quality, threatened species and environmental risk; (iv) superior training of the next generation of the global community of researchers in applied statistics.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL150100150
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,413,112.00
Summary
Bayesian learning for decision making in the big data era. Bayesian learning for decision making in the big data era: This fellowship project aims to develop new techniques in evidence-based learning and decision-making in the big data era. Big data has arrived, and with it a huge global demand for statistical knowledge and skills to analyse these data for improved learning and decision-making. This project will seek to address this need by creating a step-change in knowledge in Bayesian statist ....Bayesian learning for decision making in the big data era. Bayesian learning for decision making in the big data era: This fellowship project aims to develop new techniques in evidence-based learning and decision-making in the big data era. Big data has arrived, and with it a huge global demand for statistical knowledge and skills to analyse these data for improved learning and decision-making. This project will seek to address this need by creating a step-change in knowledge in Bayesian statistics and translating this knowledge to real-world challenges in industry, environment and health. The new big data statistical analysts trained through the project could also create much needed capacity at national and international levels.Read moreRead less
Scalable and Robust Bayesian Inference for Implicit Statistical Models. This project aims to develop the next generation of efficient methods for fitting complex simulation-based statistical models to data. Practitioners and scientists are interested in such implicit models to enable discoveries, produce accurate predictions and inform decisions under uncertainty. However, the associated computational cost has restricted researchers to implicit models that must have a small number of parameters ....Scalable and Robust Bayesian Inference for Implicit Statistical Models. This project aims to develop the next generation of efficient methods for fitting complex simulation-based statistical models to data. Practitioners and scientists are interested in such implicit models to enable discoveries, produce accurate predictions and inform decisions under uncertainty. However, the associated computational cost has restricted researchers to implicit models that must have a small number of parameters and be well specified, impeding scientific progress. This project will develop new computational methods and algorithms for implicit models that scale to high dimensions and are robust to misspecification. Benefits will arise from the more routine use of implicit models in epidemiology, biology, ecology and other fields.Read moreRead less
Advances in Sequential Monte Carlo Methods for Complex Bayesian Models. This project aims to develop efficient statistical algorithms for parameter estimation of complex stochastic models that currently cannot be handled. Parameter estimation is an essential component of mathematical modelling for answering scientific questions and revealing new insights. Current parameter estimation methods can be inefficient and require too much user intervention. This project will develop novel Bayesian alg ....Advances in Sequential Monte Carlo Methods for Complex Bayesian Models. This project aims to develop efficient statistical algorithms for parameter estimation of complex stochastic models that currently cannot be handled. Parameter estimation is an essential component of mathematical modelling for answering scientific questions and revealing new insights. Current parameter estimation methods can be inefficient and require too much user intervention. This project will develop novel Bayesian algorithms that are optimally automated and efficient by exploiting ever-improving parallel computing devices. The new methods will allow practitioners to process realistic models, enabling new scientific discoveries in a wide range of disciplines such as biology, ecology, agriculture, hydrology and finance.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
Novel statistical analysis for traffic modelling. This collaborative research with Queensland Main Roads aims to develop and apply novel statistical modelling techniques which improve on the current statistical methods used for transport modelling. The research outcomes will provide a high level of accuracy in terms of predictions for trips leading to better use of expensive survey data. Predictions will be incorporated into transport models. Such model will be used for improving decisions i ....Novel statistical analysis for traffic modelling. This collaborative research with Queensland Main Roads aims to develop and apply novel statistical modelling techniques which improve on the current statistical methods used for transport modelling. The research outcomes will provide a high level of accuracy in terms of predictions for trips leading to better use of expensive survey data. Predictions will be incorporated into transport models. Such model will be used for improving decisions involving multi billion dollar transport infrastructure investment and applied to South East Queensland. The methods can be extended to transport models for other large conurbations in Australia. Outcomes include improved transport systems with economic benefits for business and the community. Read moreRead less
Attrition in longitudinal studies: advancing and evaluating statistical methods. Longitudinal studies are a vital tool for monitoring the health and well-being of Australians. They are uniquely placed to examine changes in diseases over time and prospectively collect data on exposure and disease onset. There have been many successful longitudinal studies in Australia that have lead to significant breakthroughs in evidence-based health (e.g. the Nambour Skin Cancer Prevention Trial). Unfortunatel ....Attrition in longitudinal studies: advancing and evaluating statistical methods. Longitudinal studies are a vital tool for monitoring the health and well-being of Australians. They are uniquely placed to examine changes in diseases over time and prospectively collect data on exposure and disease onset. There have been many successful longitudinal studies in Australia that have lead to significant breakthroughs in evidence-based health (e.g. the Nambour Skin Cancer Prevention Trial). Unfortunately all longitudinal studies suffer from attrition, or loss of participants, which leads to questions concerning their validity and generalisability. This project will investigate the causes of attrition, and the effect attrition has on longitudinal studies, in order to improve their design and analysis.Read moreRead less
Innovating optimal experimental design through Bayesian statistics. This project will advance optimal experimental design with the development and implementation of novel Bayesian computational algorithms. This will lead to conducting more informative, timely and cost-effective experiments described by complex systems. Outcomes will advance scientific understanding in areas such as pharmacology and ecology.
Classification methods for providing personalised and class decisions. This project provides a novel approach to the clustering of multivariate samples on entities in a class that automatically matches the sample clusters across the entities, allowing for inter-sample variation between the samples in a class. The project aims to develop a widely applicable, mixture-model-based framework for the simultaneous clustering of multivariate samples with inter-sample variation in a class and for the mat ....Classification methods for providing personalised and class decisions. This project provides a novel approach to the clustering of multivariate samples on entities in a class that automatically matches the sample clusters across the entities, allowing for inter-sample variation between the samples in a class. The project aims to develop a widely applicable, mixture-model-based framework for the simultaneous clustering of multivariate samples with inter-sample variation in a class and for the matching of the clusters across the entities in the class. The project will use a statistical approach to automatically match the clusters, since the overall mixture model provides a template for the class. It will provide a basis for discriminating between different classes in addition to the identification of atypical data points within a sample and of anomalous samples within a class. Key applications include biological image analysis and the analysis of data in flow cytometry which is one of the fundamental research tools for the life scientist.Read moreRead less