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UVA's Ph.D. Research Showcase Reflects Data Science's Reach
The University of Virginia School of Data Science recently hosted the annual Ph.D. in Data Science Research Showcase, where 45 doctoral students showcased the wide-ranging applications of their work.
From personalized healthcare and brain science to advances in artificial intelligence, computational physics, climate systems, and labor-market research, the projects underscored the School’s mission to teach and practice responsible data science for the common good.
“This showcase is an opportunity not only for our students to practice presenting their research, but also for the broader data science community to see the incredible work being done across the School,” said Tom Stewart, program director of the Ph.D. in Data Science program and assistant dean for academic affairs.
Students practiced their communication skills in brief oral presentations to a crowd of faculty and students, highlighting how they are pushing the boundaries of data science across multiple domains.
Ph.D. candidate Eric Onyame was struck by the level of research represented at the showcase. “What stood out most was the breadth and scientific depth of research being pursued by my fellow Ph.D. students across computer vision, natural language processing, statistics, AI policy and governance, mechanistic interpretability, deep learning, and applications in health, finance, and education,” he said.
The afternoon poster session gave attendees an opportunity to engage directly with students, ask questions, and explore research in greater depth.
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Projects included advancing personalized healthcare and medical imaging, modeling climate and environmental systems, analyzing brain and biological data, improving scientific computing and engineering design, and exploring the role of AI in education, the workforce, and responsible decision-making.
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The breadth of research reflected how the program is preparing the next generation of scholars to apply data science for the greater good, whether by improving health outcomes, promoting fairness and accountability, protecting the environment, or advancing technology that benefits society.
“The showcase was a strong reflection of the quality of work being done at UVA,” Onyame said. “It made me even more appreciative of being part of the School of Data Science research community.”
The showcase concluded with an award ceremony, where students, faculty, and staff were honored for their dedication to research, education, mentorship, and service.
Associate Professor Jonathan Kropko was asked to share a few words after receiving the Outstanding Teacher Award. He reflected on how amazing it felt to join the School and be surrounded by so many new ideas. “Events like this really drive that home. You are the ones who generate the new ideas, and that’s inspiring,” Kropko said. “It inspires me and everyone else here to do our best.”
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Showcase Awards
Outstanding Oral Presentation
- Wenhao Zhang (Advisor: Sheng Li)
- VP Nagraj (Advisor: Neal Magee)
- Cynthia Leng (Advisor: Tom Hartvigsen)
Outstanding Poster Presentation
- Gia Smith (Advisors: Jess Reia and Peter Beling)
Outstanding Teaching Award
- Jonathan Kropko, associate professor of data science
Outstanding Mentoring Award
- Chirag Agarwal, assistant professor of data science
Outstanding Service and Leadership Award
- Vicky Stow, assistant director of graduate academic operations and student support
Additional Honors
- University-wide Teaching Award: Class of 1985 Fellowship for Creative Teaching - Navya Annapareddy
- Capital Summer Spotlight Intern: Pinqiao Wang
- NeurIPS 2025 Top Review: Lehan Yang
- Boren Fellowship: Navya Annapareddy
- iPrime fellowship: Chuankai Xu
Teaching Fellowships
Community Data Fellowships
Travel Award Recipients
Conference Award Recipients
- Zoë Gray, AI4Physics in Seoul, South Korea
- Eric Onyame, ACL 2026 in San Diego
- Kaleigh O’Hara, American College of Sports Medicine in Salt Lake City
- Joy Qiu, ACM SIGKDD Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining in Jeju, South Korea
- Isaac Levy, Organization for Human Brain Mapping 2026 in Bordeaux, France
- Elizabeth Miller, AIM-AHEAD and NCATS Health Data Science Training Program, ENAR 2026 Spring Meeting Poster; WiML at NeurIPS 2025
