The department of statistics at Florida State University recently announced that Robert J. Tibshirani, professor in the department of biomedical data science and department of statistics at Stanford University, is the 2025 Myles Hollander Distinguished Lecturer.
Tibshirani will present “Univariate-Guided Sparse Regression” at 3:30 p.m. on October 17 at FSU’s Tallahassee campus. The live talk will also be accessible via Zoom. Get more information and register for the virtual talk.
In this talk, Tibshirani will introduce “UniLasso,” a novel statistical method for sparse regression. This two-stage approach preserves the signs of the univariate coefficients and leverages their magnitude. Both these properties are attractive for stability and interpretation of the model. Tibshirani will demonstrate that UniLasso outperforms Lasso in various settings, particularly in terms of sparsity and model interpretability. Extensions to generalized linear models and Cox regression will also be discussed.
Tibshirani earned a BS in statistics and computer science from the University of Waterloo, an MS in statistics from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in statistics from Stanford University. He has maintained appointments in statistics and the biomedical sciences throughout his career, beginning with his first faculty appointment at the University of Toronto in 1985 in the department of statistics and department of preventive medicine and biostatistics. He moved to Stanford University in 1998 and, in addition to his professorship in the department of statistics and biomedical data science department, was professor in the departments of public health sciences and health research and policy.
Tibshirani’s research contributions provide novel, effective methods that have shaped modern statistical theory and practice. He introduced the Lasso (1996), which is fundamental in high-dimensional statistics. He is a co-author of five books, including Generalized Additive Models, An Introduction to the Bootstrap, and The Elements of Statistical Learning. Recent awards include the COPSS Distinguished Achievement Award and Lectureship, WNAR Outstanding Impact Award, American Statistical Association Leo Breiman Award, and Institute of Mathematical Statistics Founders Statistics Prize. He is an elected Fellow of the ASA, ISI, Royal Society of Canada, and Royal Society. He is also an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Myles Hollander Distinguished Lectureship was established by Robert O. Lawton, distinguished professor and statistics professor emeritus at Florida State University, in appreciation of the university, its statistics department, and the statistics profession. The annual lectureship recognizes an internationally renowned leader and pioneering researcher in statistics who has made a sustained impact on the field, and the lectures feature topics spanning the breadth of statistics.
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