Left: Hike in Arizona; Middle: Neuron reflection in the eye (photo by the incredible Alyssa LeFaro); Right: Fun at the beach in Australia.
Tanya P. Garcia, Ph.D.
Director of the MIND Lab, Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics, UNC-Chapel Hill
As a child--born in Lima, Peru and raised in San Jose, California--I loved fitting together jigsaw puzzles for hours. Years later, at university, my love for puzzles took new shape in the form of solving statistical problems. Once, as an undergraduate student, a professor challenged me to model the infection rate of a disease among a population. On my short drive home from Irvine to Costa Mesa, California, I began iterating through different solutions in my head. I was so fixated on solving the problem, I became oblivious to the road signs and only two hours later realized I had driven to Los Angeles! At that moment, I knew I wanted a career in statistics.
I pursued graduate statistics training at Texas A&M University, where I discovered a genuine excitement for accurately modeling the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s. As a faculty member, I combined that excitement for modeling with my interest in career coaching to train the next generation of (bio)statisticians to confidently develop and test models for clinical use. How I mentor this next generation is not only motivated by 500+ hours of leadership training, but also by my experiences as one of the few Hispanic, female biostatisticians. I teach my lab members to embrace a growth mindset and tackle obstacles without judgment or fear. My desire for every lab member to achieve success and fulfillment drives my every leadership decision. These decisions have led to earning multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and my trainees nominating me for the 2022 Carolina Women’s Leadership Council Faculty Mentoring Award and the 2024 Landis Mentoring Award for Outstanding Mentorship from the National Institutes of Health--two awards I received and consider as my most prestigious accomplishments. Outside of UNC, I lead initiatives for national statistics organizations that foster the success of underrepresented and early career (bio)statisticians.
Awards
- Landis Mentoring Award for Outstanding Mentorship Recipient, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health (2024)
Annual award for five faculty members excelling in mentorship and training in neuroscience research.
- Elected Fellow, American Statistical Association (2024)
Annual award for the top 0.33% of American Statistical Association members, honoring outstanding contributions to statistical science.
- Gertrude M. Cox Award Recipient, Washington Statistical Society and Research Triangle Institute (2024)
Annual award for one early to mid-career statistician who has made significant contributions to applied statistics.
- Provost Distinguished Leader, UNC-Chapel Hill (2023-2025)
Two-year program for five outstanding mid-career and senior faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill, offering professional development to prepare them for leadership roles by exploring higher education processes, issues, and challenges at the executive level.
- Visiting Scholar, International Visitor Program, The University of Sydney Mathematical Research Institute, Sydney, Australia (2024)
Competitive funding for statisticians and mathematicians to engage in meaningful discussions, exchange ideas, and build lasting connections with researchers in Australia.
- Lead Workshop Organizer, "Bridging statistical strategies for censored covariates," Banff International Research Station, Banff, Alberta, Canada (2024)
Competitive funding to host a 40-person workshop on emerging areas in statistics and mathematics.
- Featured in Carolina Scientific at UNC-Chapel Hill (2023)
A research magazine by UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduates highlighting important and interesting science news and topics.
- Delta Omega Honorary Society Member, UNC-Chapel Hill (2023)
Annual award recognizing academic excellence, commitment to public health principles, and outstanding service in public health.
- Featured in UNC Research Endeavors (2023)
An online magazine showcasing research and creative work at UNC-Chapel Hill.
- Tyson Academic Leader, UNC-Chapel Hill (2023-2024)
One-year program for eight fellows to develop leadership skills, clarify career goals, and build a leadership network on campus and beyond.
- Carolina Women's Leadership Council Faculty Mentoring Award Recipient (2022)
Annual award for three outstanding faculty members who excel in guiding, mentoring, and teaching.
- Honorarium Speaker, Girls Talk Math Workshop (2021)
Opportunity to inspire rising 9th-12th grade girls and non-binary students to pursue careers in mathematics and statistics.
- Featured in AMSTAT News Hispanic Heritage Month (2020)
The American Statistical Association's membership magazine.
- Sigma Xi Member, Texas A&M Chapter (2020)
One of the oldest and largest international honor societies in science and engineering.
- Inaugural Speaker, Bioinformatics Research & Application Symposium, Texas A&M University (2019)
Symposium for exchanging research talks and poster presentations among statisticians, bioinformaticians, and mathematicians.
- Plenary Speaker, 39th International Symposium on Forecasting (2019)
Annual international forecasting conference offering the chance to engage with leading forecasting researchers and practitioners worldwide.
- Fellow, Mentoring Institute for Neuroscience Diversity Scholars (MINDS) (2017-2018)
Competitive program promoting the advancement of diverse junior faculty in the neurosciences.
- Travel Award Recipient, Southeastern Conference (SEC) Grant Program, Texas A&M University (2016-2017)
Awarded but then unable to be used due to collaborator moving to a non-Southeastern Conference university.
- Travel Award Recipient, 14th Meeting of New Researchers in Statistics and Probability (2012)
All-expenses-paid travel award to attend a workshop fostering interaction and networking among early-career researchers in statistics and probability.
- Plenary Speaker, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Symposium, Texas A&M University System (2012)
Symposium featuring research talks and professional development for predoctoral students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
- Travel Award Recipient, Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science National Conference (2012)
A four-day, all-expenses-paid workshop covering multidisciplinary and multicultural fields in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
- Travel Award Recipient, Roadmap for a Succesful Academic Career Workshop (2012)
A fully-funded, two-and-a-half-day workshop for postdoctoral and early-career scholars dedicated to pursuing academic careers and advancing diversity in higher education.
- Gertrude M. Cox Scholarship Recipient, American Statistical Association Caucus for Women in Statistics (2011)
Annual award for two female predoctoral statisticians recognizing outstanding research, service, and leadership.
- Phi Kappa Phi Member, Texas A&M Chapter (2011)
Annual award for the top 10% of seniors and graduate students.
- Honorable Mention, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship
Honorable mention for a three-year predoctoral fellowship.
- Travel Award Recipient, Emerging Researchers National Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (2011)
A three-day, all-expenses-paid workshop for graduate and postdoctoral researchers.
- William S. Connor Award Recipient, Texas A%26M University (2010)
Annual award for the most outstanding student, as determined by faculty, among those passing the preliminary exams.
- Travel Award Recipient, Building Future Faculty, North Carolina State University (2010)
A two-and-a-half-day, all-expenses-paid workshop for doctoral and postdoctoral scholars interested in academic careers and committed to promoting diversity in higher education.
- Travel Award Recipient, Negotiating the Ideal Faculty Position, Rice University (2010)
A two-and-a-half-day, all-expenses-paid workshop empowering women and minority faculty to pursue academic careers in STEM.
- Teaching Assistant of the Year in the Sciences Award Recipient, University of Western Ontario (2006)
Annual award recognizing innovative teaching by Western's top teaching assistants.
- Summa Cum Laude Graduate, School of Physical Sciences, University of California, Irvine (2003)
Annual award for the top 1% student in their class.
- Mathematics Departmental Service/Undergraduate Service Award Recipient, University of California, Irvine (2003)
Annual award for an outstanding graduating mathematics student with extraordinary research or departmental service.
- Outstanding Senior in Mathematics Award Recipient, University of California, Irvine(2003)
Annual award for a top graduating mathematics student demonstrating exceptional academic merit.
- Phi Beta Kappa Member, Univeristy of California, Irvine (2003)
Annual award for the top 5% of graduating seniors.
- Ronald E. McNair Scholar, University of California, Irvine (2002-2003)
A competitive program that prepares students for graduate education in any discipline through research, mentoring, and scholarly activities.
- Leadership Scholarship Award Recipient, University of California, Irvine (2000-2002)
Annual award for undergraduates aspiring to be practical leaders in their field.
- The National Dean's List (2000-2002)
Bi-annual award for undergraduate students with outstanding semester GPAs.
- National Society of Collegiate Scholars Member (2001)
Annual award for high-achieving first- and second-year college students.
- National Hispanic Scholar Finalist (2000)
Annual award recognizing outstanding Latino or Hispanic students based on GPA, AP scores, and PSAT results.