As a researcher with the School of Data Science, Behnaz combines her love of statistics with the data science tool kit to unravel different mysteries.

Behnaz Moradijamei is a Research Associate with the School of Data Science.

Originally, Behnaz attended the Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran, Iran where she completed her bachelor's and master's degree in industrial engineering.

After graduating with her master’s degree, Behnaz worked for a couple years. She briefly worked as a Data Analyst specialist until she and her husband, Heman, moved to Kansas where she continued her education.

Behnaz graduated from Kansas State University in 2019, earning a Ph.D. in statistics. Upon graduation, she moved to Virginia to begin working with the School of Data Science at the University of Virginia in the Fall of 2019.

“Love it [data science] first. Find your passion.”

“My initial appointment was for me to explore the research interest at UVA," Behnaz said.

To begin exploring, she joined the Papin Lab, a subset of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. “I [would spend] the mornings reading the literature and getting familiar with the field.” She would then spend the rest of her day exploring the techniques and data sets required for the role, a favorite part of her job.

Once she was more familiar with UVA, Behnaz later joined the Social and Data Analytics (SDAD) team, based out of the Biocomplexity Institute.

In addition to her research work, Behnaz has helped develop the curriculum for the newly-introduced minor in data science.

Data science intersects with many different fields, and for Behnaz, her favorite intersection is with statistics. “I’m coming from a stat background, so I try to help as much as I can contribute,” she said. Behnaz continued by explaining how statistics “gives you a vision, a profound knowledge of your data.”

Statistics was a major entry point into the field of data science for Behnaz's career because she had a profound affection for statistics. Her advice to anyone looking getting into data science is simple: “Love it first. Find your passion.”

Profile by Connor Masterson

Behnaz​ Moradijamei

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