Pei Zhang

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Biostatistics Branch (BB), Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics (DCEG), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), mentored by Dr. Paul S. Albert and Dr. Jianxin Shi.

My research develops statistical and computational methods for longitudinal and correlated data, with applications to genetics, genomics, and cancer epidemiology. I focus on mixed modeling approaches for characterizing genetic effects and heritability in longitudinal phenotypes, with applications to prostate cancer risk stratification and early detection.

My work spans methodological statistics, statistical genetics, machine learning in epidemiology, and nutritional epidemiology. I have published in leading journals including Biostatistics, Annals of Applied Statistics, Advanced Science, and Journal of Nutrition.

I received my Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Maryland, College Park (2025), where I was recognized with the NIH Outstanding Graduate Research award.

Research Interests
  • Longitudinal & correlated data methodology
  • Statistical genetics & genomics (EHR, RWD, PLCO)
  • Machine learning in cancer epidemiology
  • Nutritional epidemiology & metabolomics
Education
Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics, 2025
University of Maryland, College Park

M.S. in Mathematics, 2016
University of Science and Technology of China

B.S. in Mathematics, 2014
Nanjing Normal University
News
Email: pei.zhang@nih.gov
Office: 9609 Medical Center Dr, Room 7E614, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
Your photo here

Replace with <img src="ZHANG_PEI.jpeg">

Research

Research Interests

Longitudinal & correlated data methodology Repeated-measures analysis, biomarker studies, and complex dependent data structures.
Statistical & computational methods in genetics and genomics Electronic health records (EHR), real-world data (RWD), and large-scale population studies (e.g., PLCO Cancer Screening Trial) — prostate cancer risk stratification, early detection, and prediction.
Statistical & machine learning in epidemiology Cancer genetic epidemiology, nutritional epidemiology, and metabolomics.

Publications

* corresponding author  † co-first / equal contribution  ‡ alphabetical order

Methodological / Statistical Papers

1Estimating the heritability of longitudinal rate-of-change: Genetic insights into PSA velocity in prostate cancer-free individuals
Zhang, Pei, X. Wang, Shi, Jianxin*, and Albert, Paul S.*
Biostatistics, 2026 (Accepted)  ·  arXiv preprint
2Mixed modeling approach for characterizing the genetic effects in a longitudinal phenotype
Zhang, Pei, Albert, Paul S.*, and Hong, Hyokyoung G.*
Annals of Applied Statistics, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 2070–2087, 2025  ·  PDF

Collaborative / Applied Papers

1Homoisoflavanone delays colorectal cancer progression via DNA damage-induced mitochondrial apoptosis and parthanatos-like cell death
H. Fan, H. Zhao, Zhang, Pei, P. Yu, Y. Ji, G. Chen, H. Jin, Y. Liu, J. Liu, Z.-S. Chen, Lyu, Aiping*, Liang, Xinmiao*, and Chen, Yang*
Advanced Science, e11406, 2026  ·  PDF
2CCN1 enhances tumor immunosuppression through collagen-mediated chemokine secretion in pancreatic cancer
H. Fan, H. Zhao, L. Gao, Y. Dong, Zhang, Pei, P. Yu, Y. Ji, Z.-S. Chen, X. Liang, and Chen, Yang*
Advanced Science, e2500589, 2025  ·  PDF
3Performance of a food frequency questionnaire for estimating ultraprocessed food intake according to the NOVA classification system in the United States NIH-AARP diet and health study
Loftfield, Erikka†*, Zhang, Pei†, C. P. O'Connell, L. L. Kahle, K. Herrick, L. Abar, N. Khandpur, E. M. Steele, and H. G. Hong
Journal of Nutrition, vol. 155, no. 7, pp. 2376–2384, 2025  ·  PDF
4GPR35 acts a dual role and therapeutic target in inflammation
Wu, Yetian†, Zhang, Pei†, H. Fan, C. Zhang, P. Yu, X. Liang, and Chen, Yang*
Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 14, no. 1254446, 2023  ·  PDF

Preprints / Under Review

1Metabolomic profile score for predicting serum per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) levels: A novel application of machine learning to enhance detection of environmental pollutants
Lim, Jungeun*, Zhang, Pei, J. Rhee, M. C. Playdon, A. J. Cross, R. Stolzenberg-Solomon, V. L. Roger, M. P. Purdue, Albanes, Demetrius*, Hong, Hyokyoung G.*, and Wong, Jason Y. Y.*
Under review at International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2026

Software

Heritability-Velocity — Author & Maintainer
Reproducible framework for joint estimation of static and dynamic heritability in longitudinal phenotypes; scalable AI-REML and REHE algorithms for genome-wide data.
GitHub  ·  arXiv
PLCO — Author & Maintainer
Mixed-effects modeling framework with crossed genetic and individual-specific random effects for PSA trajectories in large-scale prostate cancer screening studies.
GitHub  ·  Paper
AARP — Author & Maintainer
Measurement error models for bias correction in food frequency questionnaire–based dietary intake assessment.
GitHub  ·  Paper

CV  [Download PDF]

Education

2019/09 – 2025/05
Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics, University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) Dissertation: Mixed Modeling Approaches for Characterizing Genetic Effects and Heritability Metrics in Longitudinal Phenotypes (NIH Outstanding Graduate Research) Primary Advisors: Drs. Paul S. Albert (NIH Biostatistics) and Doron Levy (UMD Applied Mathematics) Co-advisors: Drs. Jianxin Shi and Hyokyoung G. Hong (NIH Biostatistics)
2014/09 – 2016/06
M.S. in Mathematics, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) Dissertation: Ekeland Index Theory for Periodic Solutions and Symmetric Periodic Solutions of Convex Hamiltonian Systems Advisor: Dr. Xinan Ma  ·  Co-advisor: Dr. Hui Liu
2010/09 – 2014/06
B.S. in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics (Teacher Education Program), Nanjing Normal University (NNU) Dissertation: Some Problems in Hamiltonian Systems (NNU Outstanding Graduation Thesis) Advisor: Dr. Yujun Dong

Employment

2025/05 – present
Postdoctoral Fellow Biostatistics Branch (BB), DCEG, National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH Mentored by Drs. Paul S. Albert and Jianxin Shi
2021/09 – 2025/05
Predoctoral Fellow BB, DCEG, NCI, NIH Mentored by Drs. Paul S. Albert, Jianxin Shi, and Hyokyoung G. Hong
2019/08 – 2021/08
Teaching AssistantDepartment of Mathematics, UMD
2016/08 – 2017/04
Mathematics TeacherNO.1 Middle School Affiliated to Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
2014/09 – 2016/06
Teaching AssistantDepartment of Mathematics, USTC

Honors & Awards (Selected)

2026
NCI Early K99/R00 Grant Application — Rated as "Competitive, Not Discussed"NSF Travel Support Award  ·  IMS New Researcher Travel Award
2025 & 2026
NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship (twice)
2025
NCI-DCEG Institutional Nominee for NCI Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE) 2026 — top 25% of all applicantsNIH Outstanding Graduate Research
2023 & 2024
Women in Statistics and Data Science Conference Student Travel Award (twice)
2021 – 2024
NIH Predoctoral Fellowship (4 times)  ·  UMD Tuition Award for External Fellowship (4 times)
2019 & 2020
UMD Dean's Fellowship (twice)
2016
USTC Outstanding Graduate
2014
NNU Outstanding Graduate  ·  NNU First Award of Feng Ruer Scholarship  ·  NNU Outstanding Dissertation

Academic Activities (Selected)

Invited Talks / Seminars

2026
International Biometric Conference (IBC), Seoul, South KoreaBiostatistics Branch of NCI-DCEG Works in Progress, Rockville, MD

Contributed Presentations

2026
ASHG Annual Meeting, Montreal  ·  JSM, Boston  ·  11th Workshop on Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Georgia State University
2025
JSM, Nashville  ·  17th Annual NCI-DCEG Fellows' Training Symposium, Rockville, MD
2024
JSM, Portland  ·  AI Day for Federal Statistics, National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC  ·  NIH Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium
2023
WSDS, Seattle  ·  JSM, Toronto

Teaching

Fall 2019
Sampling Theory (STAT440)Grader, UMD
Spring 2020
Introduction to Linear Algebra (MATH240)Teaching Assistant, UMD
Fall 2020 & Spring 2021
Elementary Probability and Statistics (STAT100)Teaching Assistant, UMD
Spring 2015 & 2016
Calculus IITeaching Assistant, USTC

Service

2021 – present
Journal ReviewerBiometrics · Statistics in Medicine · Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics · Frontiers in Oncology · LabMed Discovery
2026
Chief JudgeNIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE) 2027 Competition
2022 – 2023
Vice PresidentWomen in Mathematics, University of Maryland, College Park

Skills

Programming
R · Python · C/C++ · SQL · Jupyter Notebook
Infrastructure
NIH Biowulf HPC · All of Us Research Hub · UK Biobank
Writing
LaTeX · R Markdown · Git

References

Paul S. Albert
Senior Investigator & Director, Biostatistics Branch, DCEG, NCI, NIH
albertp@mail.nih.gov
Jianxin Shi
Senior Investigator, Biostatistics Branch, DCEG, NCI, NIH
jianxin.shi@nih.gov
Doron Levy
Professor & Chair, Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland
dlevy@umd.edu

Links

Links

Academic Profiles

Google Scholar Publications and citations
ORCID Research identifier
GitHub Code repositories
DCEG NIH profile page

Code & Software

GitHubgithub.com/bettyzhangpei
Heritability-VelocityR package — GitHub— Longitudinal heritability estimation
PLCOR package — GitHub— PSA trajectory mixed-effects models
AARPR package — GitHub— Dietary intake measurement error models

Professional & Social

LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/peizhang
Emailpei.zhang@nih.gov

Institutional

NIH / NCINCI-DCEG Faculty Profile
LabBiostatistics Branch, DCEG

Gallery

Photos and memories. View the full gallery at bettyzhangpei.github.io/gallery.