CO Christopher Odoom

Curriculum vitae · Updated July 2026

Christopher
Odoom

Statistics PhD Candidate

Statistics PhD candidate with 3+ years of experience building statistical and machine-learning workflows for high-dimensional, complex, and real-world data. Strong background in Python, R, SQL, predictive modeling, complex survey analysis, and deep learning, with peer-reviewed publications and experience leading projects from data processing and model development to interpretation, reporting, and stakeholder communication.

Experience

Incoming Primary Instructor · STAT 111

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Sep—Dec 2026
  • Designing the full introductory statistics curriculum, including lectures, activities, assignments, review sessions, and assessments.
  • Teaching two weekly classes and managing grading, office hours, student feedback, and course communication.

Research Assistant

ADALab · University of California San Diego

Apr—Sep 2026
  • Porting CHAP posture-classification inference from Python to R, including the CNN and bidirectional LSTM architecture.
  • Validating Python–R prediction equivalence on NHANES accelerometer data and contributing technical guidance to prediction-only workflows.

Project Manager

Center for Data Science & Artificial Intelligence · UMass Amherst

Jun—Aug 2025
  • Designed rate- and duration-normalized GPU efficiency metrics and built a Python pipeline across 665,000 job logs.
  • Led a team of four, automated stakeholder reporting, and coordinated priorities with research-computing partners.

Researcher, Statistical Consultant & R Tutor

Department of Mathematics & Statistics · UMass Amherst

2022—2026
  • Researched nonparametric derivative estimation with penalized B-splines, including asymptotics and improved estimator development.
  • Supported study design, modeling, reproducible workflows, written recommendations, and R instruction.

Selected projects

NHANES Sedentary Behavior Estimation

2025—present

Estimating nationally representative sedentary time from 2011–2014 wrist accelerometry using ML posture/sleep predictions, survey weights, and reproducible R/Python pipelines.

CHAP2R Prediction Pipeline

2026—present

Reimplementing CNN/BLSTM inference in R and validating cross-language equivalence for accelerometer-based posture classification.

2026 NESS Statathon · Policy Retention

2026

Built an insurance policy-cancellation workflow with external county-level context, LightGBM/XGBoost, year-aware validation, and Optuna tuning.

Statistical Model Suggester

2024—2025

Developed a Flask/R website recommending statistical model classes from user problem statements.

Publications

  1. Ohemeng, E., Musah, M., Clouston, P., Odoom, C., & Doe, S. M. (2026). Impact of forest policy reforms on timber export performance in Ghana. Discover Forests, 2, Article 44.
  2. Folitse, D., Odoom, C., Boateng, A., & Gil-Alana, L. A. (2026). Beyond spending: nonlinear impacts of health financing and out-of-pocket costs on mortality in Africa. Health Economics Review.
  3. Kharasch, E., Gately, R., Odoom, C., Gallagher, O., & Gatlin, M. (2025). Efficacy of fenbendazole in small ruminants on southern New England farms. Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports, 63, 101292.
  4. Odoom, C., Boateng, A., Mensah, S. F., & Maposa, D. (2024). Modeling the daily dynamics in bike rental system using weather and calendar conditions: A semi-parametric approach. Scientific African, 24, e02211.
  5. Odoom, C., Folitse, D., Boateng, A., Alaña, L. A. G., & Maposa, D. (2024). Beyond GDP: A statistical analysis of timber trade dynamics in Ghana using structural vector autoregression. Intelligent Computing and Optimization. Springer.
  6. Boateng, A., Aidoo, E. N., Maposa, D., Odoom, C., & Owusu, S. A. (2024). Optimizing binary classification by handling class imbalance in machine learning models. Intelligent Computing and Optimization. Springer.
  7. Boateng, A., Odoom, C., Mensah, E. T., Fobi, S. M., & Maposa, D. (2023). Predictive analysis of misuse of alcohol and drugs among youths and adults in the United States. Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences, 17(2), 261–271.

Affiliations

UMass Amherst Department of Mathematics & Statistics · UC San Diego ADALab · New England Statistical Society · American Statistical Association · Sigma Xi nominee for Associate Membership