The Department of Public Health Sciences (DPHS) welcomes Dr. Justin Van Ee, a statistician whose work uses advanced statistical and computational methods to address complex scientific and public health questions.
Joining us as an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Dr. Van Ee specializes in data integration, Bayesian hierarchical modeling, and computational statistics. His research focuses on developing and optimizing large-scale models for multiple datasets that account for sampling bias and error.
He received his PhD in Statistics from the University of Colorado in 2023 and recently completed Postdoctoral Research Fellowships at the University of Montana and the University of Texas at Austin.
His statistical expertise has contributed to research across a wide range of disciplines. His previous work has been used to estimate the abundance of a federally protected species, understand the genetic underpinnings of phenological traits, predict the spread of an invasive weedy plant, and map the occurrence of brook trout across the eastern United States.
At UH Mānoa, Dr. Van Ee hopes to apply this interdisciplinary experience to some of the most pressing health and environmental challenges facing Hawaiʻi. “My research aligns closely with UH Mānoa’s commitment to addressing pressing challenges facing Hawaiʻi through interdisciplinary, data-driven science,” he said. “Throughout my career, my research has involved close collaboration with applied scientists, state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private stakeholders.”
He sees opportunities to bring together faculty across public health, epidemiology, genetics, and natural resource management to advance One Health research—an approach that recognizes the interconnected health of people, animals, and the environment. He also hopes to strengthen connections with community, government, and industry partners.
At DPHS, he plans to develop novel computational methods for wastewater surveillance and recreational water monitoring in collaboration with colleagues across the department and university. These methods could help identify epidemiological thresholds, improve disease outbreak preparedness, and strengthen water quality monitoring efforts throughout the Hawaiian Islands.
Dr. Van Ee is equally committed to preparing students to respond to emerging public health challenges. He plans to develop courses in machine learning and Bayesian statistics that provide students with state-of-the-art tools for conducting impactful research. Along with building students’ quantitative skills, he hopes to help them become effective communicators and collaborators who can work across disciplines and engage diverse communities.
“John Tukey once said that the best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone’s backyard,” said Dr. Van Ee. “DPHS brings together an incredible diversity of expertise, and I am excited to learn from and collaborate with colleagues across disciplines. I look forward to building new partnerships and applying statistical science to important public health challenges facing Hawaiʻi and beyond.”