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
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
Innovations in Bayesian likelihood-free inference. Bayesian inference is a statistical method of choice in applied science. This project will develop innovative tools which permit Bayesian inference in problems considered intractable only a few years ago. These methods will expedite advances in multidisciplinary research across a range of applications. With these foundations, this project will accelerate national research efforts into improving frameworks for projecting trends in water availabil ....Innovations in Bayesian likelihood-free inference. Bayesian inference is a statistical method of choice in applied science. This project will develop innovative tools which permit Bayesian inference in problems considered intractable only a few years ago. These methods will expedite advances in multidisciplinary research across a range of applications. With these foundations, this project will accelerate national research efforts into improving frameworks for projecting trends in water availability and management, the impact of climate extremes, telecommunications engineering, HIV and infectious disease modelling and biostatistics. With many sectors unable to recruit appropriately trained statisticians within Australia, this project will train four PhD students in Bayesian statistics.
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Statistical methods for analysing multi-source microarray data and building gene regulatory networks. I will devise a statistical learning technique that does not force a gene to be assigned to exactly one category. This technique reflects the biological reality that a gene can belong to two or more functional categories. Therefore, the new technique will improve a model's ability to identify regulatory genes in different types of cancer; these regulatory genes can be targeted by new anti-cancer ....Statistical methods for analysing multi-source microarray data and building gene regulatory networks. I will devise a statistical learning technique that does not force a gene to be assigned to exactly one category. This technique reflects the biological reality that a gene can belong to two or more functional categories. Therefore, the new technique will improve a model's ability to identify regulatory genes in different types of cancer; these regulatory genes can be targeted by new anti-cancer drugs resulting in a more effective treatment. I will model gene regulatory networks using microarray data from multiple sources. These networks will be used to identify regulatory cliques - a group of genes that are vital for a cellular function. This will improve our understanding of debilitating conditions such as asthma.Read moreRead less
Modelling mean and dispersion using fixed and random effects. The aims of the project are to develop methods for joint mean and dispersion modelling using fixed and random effects, in the generalized linear models context and for Gaussian longitudinal data. The significance is the more efficient, precise and appropriate analysis of data arising from many areas of application. The expected outcomes are therefore better methods of analysis, software to carry the analyses out, and potentially impor ....Modelling mean and dispersion using fixed and random effects. The aims of the project are to develop methods for joint mean and dispersion modelling using fixed and random effects, in the generalized linear models context and for Gaussian longitudinal data. The significance is the more efficient, precise and appropriate analysis of data arising from many areas of application. The expected outcomes are therefore better methods of analysis, software to carry the analyses out, and potentially important results in applications.Read moreRead less
Bootstrap methods for data with multiple errors. This project will provide new methods for data analysis and quality research training. The results will benefit researchers in statistics and users of statistics who encounter data with multiple errors and who need to make inferences from these data. The many areas from which such data arise (including medicine, genetics, chemistry, education, social surveys etc) mean that Australia and Australian Industry will also ultimately benefit from the r ....Bootstrap methods for data with multiple errors. This project will provide new methods for data analysis and quality research training. The results will benefit researchers in statistics and users of statistics who encounter data with multiple errors and who need to make inferences from these data. The many areas from which such data arise (including medicine, genetics, chemistry, education, social surveys etc) mean that Australia and Australian Industry will also ultimately benefit from the research. The strengthening of international links and the training of highly trained researchers will also benefit the Australian community.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
New methods for small group analysis from sample surveys. National and state averages of statistics on issues such as unemployment, salinity, drought impact, and health often hide large differences between population sub-groups and between small areas. This local variation needs to be understood so that effective policies can be developed and carried out efficiently and their impact monitored. This project will provide, for the first time, robust and efficient methods for providing information o ....New methods for small group analysis from sample surveys. National and state averages of statistics on issues such as unemployment, salinity, drought impact, and health often hide large differences between population sub-groups and between small areas. This local variation needs to be understood so that effective policies can be developed and carried out efficiently and their impact monitored. This project will provide, for the first time, robust and efficient methods for providing information on these variations using data from large-scale national and state surveys. This will lead to significant improvements in the data available for small population groups and small areas, allowing better targeting of policies aimed at addressing local differences.Read moreRead less
Handling Missing Data in Complex Household Surveys. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has an extensive program of household surveys that is a key source of information on the social and economic conditions of the population. They provide statistics and data on a large range of social and economic topics, such as health, education, the labour force, income and expenditure. Analysis of household survey data by a variety of organisations underpins policy development and evaluation and the e ....Handling Missing Data in Complex Household Surveys. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has an extensive program of household surveys that is a key source of information on the social and economic conditions of the population. They provide statistics and data on a large range of social and economic topics, such as health, education, the labour force, income and expenditure. Analysis of household survey data by a variety of organisations underpins policy development and evaluation and the expenditure of billions of dollars. This project will substantially improve the cost-efficiency and reliability of Australian household survey data, by creating new approaches for handling missing data that deal with the realities of typical household surveys.Read moreRead less
Statistical and computational methods using a multiscale approach for protein identification and quantification. Proteins are critically important in the onset and ongoing illness associated with disease. Key proteins may serve as markers to diagnose or predict the course of a disease, or even become the target of pharmaceuticals. Accurate, efficient and robust algorithms are a critical component in protein identification. This research provides novel statistical algorithms for protein identific ....Statistical and computational methods using a multiscale approach for protein identification and quantification. Proteins are critically important in the onset and ongoing illness associated with disease. Key proteins may serve as markers to diagnose or predict the course of a disease, or even become the target of pharmaceuticals. Accurate, efficient and robust algorithms are a critical component in protein identification. This research provides novel statistical algorithms for protein identification using multiscale analysis techniques. Their applications in the bio-medical field will enable Australian and international researchers to identify key proteins more accurately, than current methods, leading to improve health, medical, and biological research outcomes.Read moreRead less