Simon Vandekar
@vandyatvandy.bsky.social
Biostatistician with neuroimaging data. Loves dogs, mushrooms, data.
Out-of-sample machine learning prediction accuracy underestimates the true maximum achievable predictive accuracy (MAPA) for brain phenotype associations. @mntj21.bsky.social used double ML to improve estimates for ML accuracy. w/ @edwardhkennedy.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
December 1, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Out-of-sample machine learning prediction accuracy underestimates the true maximum achievable predictive accuracy (MAPA) for brain phenotype associations. @mntj21.bsky.social used double ML to improve estimates for ML accuracy. w/ @edwardhkennedy.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
Hello all of you #ABCD and #HBCD data users!
Did you know we recently deployed the NBDC Sandbox?
Jupyter, R-Studio, or open your own linux environment.
Compute in place, No Download. A 'SAFE' Cluster environment.
Go check it out!
nbdc.lassoinformatics.com/sandbox
Did you know we recently deployed the NBDC Sandbox?
Jupyter, R-Studio, or open your own linux environment.
Compute in place, No Download. A 'SAFE' Cluster environment.
Go check it out!
nbdc.lassoinformatics.com/sandbox
Sandbox
Lasso is designed to streamline secure access, querying, and responsible use of the ABCD and HBCD datasets.
nbdc.lassoinformatics.com
November 30, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Hello all of you #ABCD and #HBCD data users!
Did you know we recently deployed the NBDC Sandbox?
Jupyter, R-Studio, or open your own linux environment.
Compute in place, No Download. A 'SAFE' Cluster environment.
Go check it out!
nbdc.lassoinformatics.com/sandbox
Did you know we recently deployed the NBDC Sandbox?
Jupyter, R-Studio, or open your own linux environment.
Compute in place, No Download. A 'SAFE' Cluster environment.
Go check it out!
nbdc.lassoinformatics.com/sandbox
A US Citizen was pulled out of her car by ICE after they ran into her making a U-turn after kidnapping someone else. She is a paralegal and was going to work. Humans should not be treated this way by their government.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
youtu.be/0euW_3vqKZw?...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
youtu.be/0euW_3vqKZw?...
chicago, IL oct 10, 2025
YouTube video by Fernando Figueroa
youtu.be
November 8, 2025 at 2:42 PM
A US Citizen was pulled out of her car by ICE after they ran into her making a U-turn after kidnapping someone else. She is a paralegal and was going to work. Humans should not be treated this way by their government.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
youtu.be/0euW_3vqKZw?...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
youtu.be/0euW_3vqKZw?...
Do you want to report effect sizes for any brain-behavior association? Do you want to include spatial confidence intervals for effect sizes? This paper, by Xinyu Zhang has the methods and software you need!
with
@aarona-b.bsky.social @neilwoodward.bsky.social and others :)
with
@aarona-b.bsky.social @neilwoodward.bsky.social and others :)
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Xinyu Zhang, Simon Vandekar, et al:
Semiparametric confidence sets for cross-sectional and longitudinal neuroimaging
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
Semiparametric confidence sets for cross-sectional and longitudinal neuroimaging
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
November 6, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Do you want to report effect sizes for any brain-behavior association? Do you want to include spatial confidence intervals for effect sizes? This paper, by Xinyu Zhang has the methods and software you need!
with
@aarona-b.bsky.social @neilwoodward.bsky.social and others :)
with
@aarona-b.bsky.social @neilwoodward.bsky.social and others :)
@kaidikang.bsky.social , why do you look so much tallker than me in this photo?
Congratulations @vandyatvandy.bsky.social (right, with 2025 graduate @kaidikang.bsky.social) on being named Outstanding Faculty Mentor by the Vanderbilt Biostatistics student body! www.vanderbilt.edu/biostatistic...
November 6, 2025 at 9:14 PM
@kaidikang.bsky.social , why do you look so much tallker than me in this photo?
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
Interested in obtaining an MS or PhD degree in biostatistics? Vanderbilt is hosting a virtual info session with director of recruitment Simon Vandekar (@vandyatvandy.bsky.social) on Thursday 10/9, 6pm Central. vanderbilt.zoom.us/meeting/regi... (Pictured: MS students Seth Young and Zongyue Teng)
September 22, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Interested in obtaining an MS or PhD degree in biostatistics? Vanderbilt is hosting a virtual info session with director of recruitment Simon Vandekar (@vandyatvandy.bsky.social) on Thursday 10/9, 6pm Central. vanderbilt.zoom.us/meeting/regi... (Pictured: MS students Seth Young and Zongyue Teng)
If you're a boardgame nerd, check out my brother's game on Kickstarter! It's awesome!
Order in Chaos: The Strategic Game of Kingdom Razing on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/jer...
Order in Chaos: The Strategic Game of Kingdom Razing on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/jer...
Order in Chaos: The Strategic Game of Kingdom Razing
Build your kingdom. Destroy your enemies. A competitive 2-4 player game of castle-building and conflict.
www.kickstarter.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:32 PM
If you're a boardgame nerd, check out my brother's game on Kickstarter! It's awesome!
Order in Chaos: The Strategic Game of Kingdom Razing on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/jer...
Order in Chaos: The Strategic Game of Kingdom Razing on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/jer...
"Asked for comment, the State Department said it would be introducing the department’s foreign assistance successor to USAID, to be called America First, this week."
It's hard to think of a dumber name for a foreign assistance program.
apnews.com/article/obam...
It's hard to think of a dumber name for a foreign assistance program.
apnews.com/article/obam...
Bush, Obama — and singer Bono — fault Trump's gutting of USAID on agency's last day
Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush have delivered rare open criticism of the Trump administration in an emotional video farewell with staffers of the U.S.
apnews.com
July 2, 2025 at 12:08 AM
"Asked for comment, the State Department said it would be introducing the department’s foreign assistance successor to USAID, to be called America First, this week."
It's hard to think of a dumber name for a foreign assistance program.
apnews.com/article/obam...
It's hard to think of a dumber name for a foreign assistance program.
apnews.com/article/obam...
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
1. Our new @JAMAPsych publication shows that provoking symptoms before administering TMS for OCD and nicotine dependence may enhance clinical response. Read more here & tweetorial below: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
June 9, 2025 at 12:45 PM
1. Our new @JAMAPsych publication shows that provoking symptoms before administering TMS for OCD and nicotine dependence may enhance clinical response. Read more here & tweetorial below: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
Co-authors include intern Ishaan Gadiyar, @kaidikang.bsky.social (PhD biostat 2025 @vanderbilt.edu) @vandyatvandy.bsky.social & @heatherwardmd.bsky.social VUMC News feature: news.vumc.org/2025/06/06/n... #MentalHealth
New study highlights potential boost to brain stimulation therapy through targeted symptom provocation
A study explores deliberately triggering symptoms immediately before administering rTMS enhances treatment outcomes.
news.vumc.org
June 7, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Co-authors include intern Ishaan Gadiyar, @kaidikang.bsky.social (PhD biostat 2025 @vanderbilt.edu) @vandyatvandy.bsky.social & @heatherwardmd.bsky.social VUMC News feature: news.vumc.org/2025/06/06/n... #MentalHealth
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
June 15, 2025 at 5:55 AM
So grateful to Metro Police for keeping folks safe at the North Kings protest!
www.wkrn.com/news/local-n...
www.wkrn.com/news/local-n...
Gun pulled during ‘No Kings’ protest in Nashville
Authorities have arrested and charged a man who allegedly brandished a handgun during the ‘No Kings’ protest in Nashville.
www.wkrn.com
June 15, 2025 at 1:28 PM
So grateful to Metro Police for keeping folks safe at the North Kings protest!
www.wkrn.com/news/local-n...
www.wkrn.com/news/local-n...
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
I’ve taken the Senate floor and will speak for as long as I’m physically able to lift the voices of Americans who are being harmed and not being heard in this moment of crisis. Watch here:
Live: Speaking on Trump, Musk, and America’s Moral Moment on the Senate Floor | Senator Cory Booker
YouTube video by Senator Cory Booker
youtube.com
March 31, 2025 at 11:00 PM
I’ve taken the Senate floor and will speak for as long as I’m physically able to lift the voices of Americans who are being harmed and not being heard in this moment of crisis. Watch here:
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
Cory Booker has held the Senate floor for 17 hours and 21 minutes.
The record of 24 hours and 18 minutes is held by segregationist Strom Thurmond, who spent that time protesting the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
I am pretty sure Booker would not mind changing that history.
The record of 24 hours and 18 minutes is held by segregationist Strom Thurmond, who spent that time protesting the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
I am pretty sure Booker would not mind changing that history.
April 1, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Cory Booker has held the Senate floor for 17 hours and 21 minutes.
The record of 24 hours and 18 minutes is held by segregationist Strom Thurmond, who spent that time protesting the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
I am pretty sure Booker would not mind changing that history.
The record of 24 hours and 18 minutes is held by segregationist Strom Thurmond, who spent that time protesting the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
I am pretty sure Booker would not mind changing that history.
Cory Booker is a true patriot
Oh my God, I just had a full night’s sleep and Cory Booker is still going…
www.youtube.com/live/rCUK2Vb...
www.youtube.com/live/rCUK2Vb...
LIVE: Cory Booker speaks on the Senate floor
YouTube video by Associated Press
www.youtube.com
April 1, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Cory Booker is a true patriot
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
Some 1,900 leading researchers accused the Trump administration in an open letter on Monday of conducting a “wholesale assault on U.S. science” that could set back research by decades and that threatens the health and safety of Americans.
Trump Administration Has Begun a War on Science, Researchers Say
Nearly 2,000 scientists urged that Congress restore funding to federal agencies decimated by recent cuts.
www.nytimes.com
March 31, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Some 1,900 leading researchers accused the Trump administration in an open letter on Monday of conducting a “wholesale assault on U.S. science” that could set back research by decades and that threatens the health and safety of Americans.
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
Check out the RESI package for effect sizes! Details and examples in our new JSS paper 👇
Easily add effect sizes and confidence intervals with the RESI R package. Now official with a publication in JSS.
doi.org/10.18637/jss...
Check out the website (statimagcoll.github.io/RESI/) to report bugs or request model types.
@mntj21.bsky.social - first author, with @kaidikang.bsky.social
doi.org/10.18637/jss...
Check out the website (statimagcoll.github.io/RESI/) to report bugs or request model types.
@mntj21.bsky.social - first author, with @kaidikang.bsky.social
RESI: An R Package for Robust Effect Sizes by Megan Jones, Kaidi Kang, Simon Vandekar
<p>Effect size indices are useful parameters that quantify the strength of association and are unaffected by sample size. There are many available effect size parameters and estimators, but it is diff...
doi.org
April 1, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Check out the RESI package for effect sizes! Details and examples in our new JSS paper 👇
Easily add effect sizes and confidence intervals with the RESI R package. Now official with a publication in JSS.
doi.org/10.18637/jss...
Check out the website (statimagcoll.github.io/RESI/) to report bugs or request model types.
@mntj21.bsky.social - first author, with @kaidikang.bsky.social
doi.org/10.18637/jss...
Check out the website (statimagcoll.github.io/RESI/) to report bugs or request model types.
@mntj21.bsky.social - first author, with @kaidikang.bsky.social
RESI: An R Package for Robust Effect Sizes by Megan Jones, Kaidi Kang, Simon Vandekar
<p>Effect size indices are useful parameters that quantify the strength of association and are unaffected by sample size. There are many available effect size parameters and estimators, but it is diff...
doi.org
April 1, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Easily add effect sizes and confidence intervals with the RESI R package. Now official with a publication in JSS.
doi.org/10.18637/jss...
Check out the website (statimagcoll.github.io/RESI/) to report bugs or request model types.
@mntj21.bsky.social - first author, with @kaidikang.bsky.social
doi.org/10.18637/jss...
Check out the website (statimagcoll.github.io/RESI/) to report bugs or request model types.
@mntj21.bsky.social - first author, with @kaidikang.bsky.social
@kaidikang.bsky.social defense is fast approaching 😃
PhD candidate @vanderbilt.edu Kaidi Kang @kaidikang.bsky.social (MS biostatistics @columbiauniversity.bsky.social) defends his dissertation on Monday 3/10 at 1 pm. Advisor: @vandyatvandy.bsky.social. The event is hybrid and all are invited. www.vanderbilt.edu/biostatistic... #NeuroSky #MedSky #BWAS
Kaidi Kang dissertation defense – March 10
PhD candidate Kaidi Kang will present his dissertation on Monday, March 10, at 1 p.m. Central Time. His advisor is Simon Vandekar. All are invited and encouraged to attend. The defense will be conduct...
www.vanderbilt.edu
February 24, 2025 at 10:53 PM
@kaidikang.bsky.social defense is fast approaching 😃
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
Usefully sober fact sheet on Ukraine. Please share with those who need it.
understandingwar.org/backgrounder...
understandingwar.org/backgrounder...
Institute for the Study of War
Russian forces currently occupy around 20 percent of Ukraine, leaving the remaining 80 percent of the country under Ukraine's sovereign control. At the current rate of advance, it would take Russian f...
understandingwar.org
February 22, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Usefully sober fact sheet on Ukraine. Please share with those who need it.
understandingwar.org/backgrounder...
understandingwar.org/backgrounder...
Reposted by Simon Vandekar
Almost all grant-review meetings remain suspended at the US National Institutes of Health, preventing the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research from spending much of its US$47 billion annual budget.
https://go.nature.com/418B5Pm
https://go.nature.com/418B5Pm
Revealed: NIH research grants still frozen despite lawsuits challenging Trump order
Nature - The Trump administration is exploiting a loophole to keep a funding freeze in place, leaving researchers in limbo.
go.nature.com
February 23, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Almost all grant-review meetings remain suspended at the US National Institutes of Health, preventing the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research from spending much of its US$47 billion annual budget.
https://go.nature.com/418B5Pm
https://go.nature.com/418B5Pm
The incompetence of the trump administration is moving too fast for our legal system to keep up...
Many exceptional and essential people fired due to being in probationary period at NIH.
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Many exceptional and essential people fired due to being in probationary period at NIH.
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
February 19, 2025 at 11:29 PM
The incompetence of the trump administration is moving too fast for our legal system to keep up...
Many exceptional and essential people fired due to being in probationary period at NIH.
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Many exceptional and essential people fired due to being in probationary period at NIH.
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Many institutions are being overly proactive in shuttering DEI programs beyond the requirements of Exec Orders related to DEI.
These actions are costly and detrimental to progress in reducing health disparities that are known to exist by statistical evidence.
vanderbilthustler.com/2025/02/17/l...
These actions are costly and detrimental to progress in reducing health disparities that are known to exist by statistical evidence.
vanderbilthustler.com/2025/02/17/l...
February 17, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Many institutions are being overly proactive in shuttering DEI programs beyond the requirements of Exec Orders related to DEI.
These actions are costly and detrimental to progress in reducing health disparities that are known to exist by statistical evidence.
vanderbilthustler.com/2025/02/17/l...
These actions are costly and detrimental to progress in reducing health disparities that are known to exist by statistical evidence.
vanderbilthustler.com/2025/02/17/l...