Principal Investigator

Dr. Zee joined the biostatistics faculty at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Research Institute in 2020. She completed graduate training at the University of Pennsylvania and previously worked as a Research Scientist at Arbor Research Collaborative for Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Zee is a co-principal investigator on an NIH/NIDDK-funded study on computational pathology for proteinuric glomerulopathies, which uses computational approaches to identify new imaging markers of clinical outcomes. She is also principal investigator of a NIH/NIDDK-funded P50 project to develop marginal structural models for recurrent event outcomes to estimate causal effects of time-varying treatments. She has experience with data coordinating centers, including serving in her current role as a co-investigator for the Data Analysis and Coordinating Center for the Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network (NEPTUNE). Dr. Zee is a Planning Committee Member of the ENAR Fostering Diversity in Biostatistics Workshop, Co-Chair of the NEPTUNE/CureGN Career Enhancement Program, and Editorial Board Member of the journal Glomerular Diseases.

Biostatistician Research Analyst

Jane Liu joined Dr. Zee’s lab and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Research Institute in 2022, providing analytic support to research projects in Dr. Zee’s lab. Prior to this, she worked as a research analyst at Arbor Research Collaborative for Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Ms. Liu has coauthored on over 10 manuscripts, including several as lead author and most as lead analyst, published in peer-reviewed journals, and has contributed to abstracts presented at national and international scientific meetings. She has experience with a variety of analysis methods such as survival analysis, longitudinal analysis, machine learning, and simulations. Ms. Liu received her Bachelor of Medicine from Central South University in China in 2012, and Master in Public Health from Washington University in St. Louis in 2014. 

Biostatistician Research Analyst

Tran Bourgeois joined Dr. Zee’s lab and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Research Institute in 2024, providing analytic support to research projects in Dr. Zee’s lab. Prior to this, she worked as a biostatistician at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Corevitas. Ms. Bourgeois has experience with a variety of analysis methods such as survival analysis and longitudinal analysis and pediatric datasets including PHIS. Ms. Bourgeois received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Master's of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from The Ohio State University. 

PhD Biostatistics Student

Jeremy Rubin is a fifth-year Biostatistics PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, working under the guidance of Dr. Zee. He also completed his MS in Biostatistics with Dr. Zee on identifying functional forms of continuous covariates for the prediction of patient-centered outcomes. Jeremy's dissertation work focuses on using machine learning to identify pathomic biomarkers of glomerular disease biomarkers. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and he was awarded the Penn Center for Teaching and Learning Graduate Fellowship for Teaching Excellence for the 2022-2023 academic year. When Jeremy is not thinking about kidney biopsy scans, you can find him exploring coffee shops and restaurants around Philly. Additionally, he performs stand-up comedy at open mic nights in Philly, and is an avid badminton player. If you are interested in incorporating puns into your research presentations, Jeremy is happy to provide a consult! 

MS Biostatistics Student

Shalini Ramachandra (she/her) is a second-year Biostatistics PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the Zee Lab for her Biostatistics MS thesis work to understand variability in creatinine generation among patients with glomerular disease. Her dissertation work focuses on causal inference methods for recurrent event models, under the guidance of Dr. Douglas Schaubel and Dr. Eric Tchetgen Tchetgen. Previously, Shalini obtained her Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Statistics and Bachelor of Science in Public Health at American University in Washington, DC. During this time, she was involved in two mathematics/statistics Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) programs, an NIH internship at the NHLBI’s Office of Biostatistics Research, and an on-campus Nutritional Neuroscience lab as their student statistician.

MS Biostatistics Student

Meghan Gerety is a rising second-year Biostatistics PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the Zee lab to work on her MS in Biostatistics thesis, which will focus on using observational data to make causal inferences about the effect of different membranous nephropathy treatments on long-term patient outcomes. The project aims to employ target trial emulation methods and will investigate the use of these methods in the presence of a small sample size. Before coming to Penn, Meghan graduated from the University of Virginia, where she also conducted research in maternal and child health and analyzed single-cell RNA sequencing data for a biology lab. She has additionally worked with NIEHS and MaineHealth Institute for Research. Outside of biostatistics research, Meghan’s interests include running and improving her amateur cooking skills! 

Undergraduate Student Intern

Dominique Belezi is a senior public health major at Langston University. She is Vice President of the Langston University Public Health Student Association and a Langston University Public Health Ambassador. She was also an Oklahoma State Department of Health Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) fellow as part of the National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities grant. Dominique is interested in health education and health promotion programs, particularly in developing innovative strategies to engage with diverse communities. She joined the Zee Lab in 2024 as a summer undergraduate student intern to work on research in pregnancy and delivery outcomes among patients with chronic kidney disease.

Undergraduate Student Intern

Allison Chen is a second-year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Data Theory at the University of California, Los Angeles. Allison is interested in using data analytics to decipher and understand the intricacies of health and the healthcare industry. She has joined the Zee Lab to do so and learn more about the intersection of statistical applications and biological science. She has also previously participated in Dr. Kevin Bickart’s Lab at UCLA to understand the role of technology in the subjects of brain health and neuroscience. Outside the lab, you can find Allison assistant coaching at UCLA’s Taekwondo Club and finding the best matcha spot!