Michelle Wiest is an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics at University of Idaho. She came to the university after working at a biotechnology company in Sacramento, CA as the Head Statistician and Director of Research.  

Michelle’s research interests lie in epidemiological and biostatistical methods. Her work includes evaluation of risk factors for mining injuries, study design for nutrition interventions, and development of diagnostic tests. She plays a large role in supporting research across UI as a statistical consultant and in training master’s level statistics students in consulting.

She is also committed to statistics education. She has developed a statistics course specifically for life and social science majors. Along with her involvement in the Micron STEM Education Research Project, she is highly involved in the UI Women in Science program, an invitational program for tenth-grade girls to introduce them to careers in mathematics and science related fields.