Janet Sinsheimer

A symposium honoring the life and science of Dr. Sinsheimer will be held on June 2, 2023. For more information, and to register, click here.

It is with great sadness that we share the news that our colleague, Janet Sinsheimer, has passed away. Janet was a truly remarkable scientist and educator. She had a great impact on her wide circle of friends and colleagues, and her loss will be deeply felt.

Janet was part of the UCLA Health Sciences community for over 35 years. She received a BS in Chemistry from Brown University (magna cum laude), and an MA in Biochemistry from Brandeis University. After working for a few years as a chemist at Hoffmann-La Roche, Janet returned to academia. She received her PhD from the UCLA Department of Biomathematics in 1994 under Drs. Lake and Little. She has been faculty at UCLA almost continuously since then. She was an active Professor in four UCLA Departments: Biostatistics, Computational Medicine, Human Genetics, and the Institute for Society and Genetics. In the past, she also held an appointment in the UCLA Department of Psychology. She was Chair of the Dept of Biomathematics (now named Computational Medicine) from 2013-2017.

Janet published over 200 research articles, with over 13,000 citations, in statistical genetics (including outstanding work in gene mapping, gene interactions, epigenetics and microbiome analysis), Bayesian methods for phylogenetics, and mathematical modeling of infectious diseases. Janet was also a dedicated educator. She mentored 14 students (including 10 women) to their PhDs, most of whom are now professors themselves, including some at UCLA: Mary Sehl, Marc Suchard, and Jin Zhou. In addition, she was an extremely popular statistical collaborator and consultant on projects across our campus and worldwide; she was sought after by both professors and students, who could rely on her judgment and empathy.

Janet was repeatedly recognized for her work. She was a fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Linnean Society of London. In 2017, she was awarded the L. Adrienne Cupples Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Service in Biostatistics. We will all continue to benefit from her contributions to science and to the next generation of biomedical researchers.

Janet is survived by her husband, Alan; her sister, Ann; her brother, Robert; her mother, Ruth; her nephews, Andrew and Patrick; and her terriers, Dandini and Norina.

Giving

If you would like to donate to UCLA Fund Number 61957C established by Janet to support "The development of mathematical and statistical models that can be applied to translational cancer research", please click here.