The Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (DBEI) is pleased to announce that Yong Chen, PhD, Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, has been elected as a 2026 Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS).
Election as an IMS Fellow is among the highest honors in the statistical sciences, recognizing individuals whose research, leadership, and service have made significant and lasting contributions to the fields of statistics and probability. Fellows are selected through a highly competitive process and represent a small proportion of the organization’s membership.
Dr. Chen is internationally recognized for his pioneering work at the intersection of biostatistics, biomedical informatics, and translational sciences. His research has advanced methods for integrating diverse health data sources, protecting patient privacy in collaborative research, and developing innovative statistical approaches to address complex challenges in biomedical and public health research. In addition to his methodological contributions, Dr. Chen is widely respected for translating statistical innovations into real-world healthcare applications and for his commitment to mentoring the next generation of researchers.
At Penn, Dr. Chen serves as Founding Director of the Center for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence (CHASE) and the Penn Computing, Inference, and Learning Lab (PennCIL), where he leads multidisciplinary efforts to develop data-driven solutions for improving health outcomes and advancing medical discovery.
Founded in 1935, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics is an international scholarly society dedicated to the advancement of statistics, probability, and related disciplines. The organization includes thousands of members worldwide, with Fellow status reserved for those who have demonstrated exceptional achievement and impact in the profession.
Dr. Chen and the other members of the 2026 class of IMS Fellows will be formally recognized at the IMS Annual Meeting in Salzburg, Austria.
Please join DBEI in congratulating Dr. Chen on this outstanding achievement and well-deserved honor.