Gang Zheng

Gang Zheng, a professor at The George Washington University, passed away on January 9.

Gang earned his bachelor’s in applied mathematics in 1987 from Fudan University in Shanghai. After serving as a teaching assistant at the Shanghai 2nd Polytechnic University, he emigrated to the United States in 1994 and earned a master’s degree in mathematics at Michigan Technological University in 1996. He earned his PhD in statistics from The George Washington University in 2000 and immediately joined the Office of Biostatistics Research at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, where he remained until his death.

Gang was a prolific and versatile statistician. His input into the Division of Lung Diseases studies was repeatedly appreciated. He also worked with DIR investigators in lung diseases and with Betsy Nabel’s genetics group. In 2010, Gang initiated and led a symposium called “Clinical Trials: Past, Present, and Future” that was broadly attended by both buy ativan ups statisticians and other clinical trialists. In addition, Gang was an intellectually ambitious researcher in statistical methodology, publishing more than 100 papers in the areas of genetics, life testing, order statistics, and ranked sampling and categorical data. He served as an associate editor of the journal Statistics and Its Interface and edited several journal issues, one in honor of his thesis advisor.

He was the first author of a 400-page book, Analysis of Genetic Association Studies, which was published in 2012. Gang was a generous and nurturing colleague who mentored new members of the Office of Biostatistics Research in both statistical research and collaborations. He directed or codirected six PhD students, most at The George Washington University. He also mentored summer students and a post-baccalaureate fellow who went on to do his PhD at Harvard.

Gang’s efficiency, creativity, and generosity were truly inspiring. He will be sorely missed.