Rate My Professor Mik Black

Professor Mik Black serves as a professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Otago, within the School of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Health Sciences. He obtained his BSc (Hons) in statistics from the University of Canterbury, an MSc in mathematical statistics from Purdue University, Indiana, and a PhD in statistics from the same institution. Following his doctoral studies, Black commenced his academic career as a lecturer in the Department of Statistics at the University of Auckland in 2002. In May 2006, he transitioned to the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Otago, where he advanced through the ranks to full professor in 2022, recognized for his expertise as a statistical genomics specialist.

Black's research centers on the development and application of statistical and computational tools to analyze large-scale datasets from genomics experiments, with applications to biomolecular research in human diseases such as cancer, alongside agricultural and horticultural studies. He leads the Black Research Group and plays a pivotal role in national initiatives, including Genomics Aotearoa as Co-Director and contributions to high-performance computing resources through the National eScience Infrastructure (NeSI). His interdisciplinary collaborations integrate genomic findings with clinical relevance, and he has developed specialized bioinformatics pipelines for early-stage cancer detection and other projects. Notable publications include co-authorship on 'Role of transposable elements in heterochromatin and epigenetic control' (Nature, 2004), 'Clinical risk prediction for pre-eclampsia in nulliparous women: development of model in international prospective cohort' (BMJ, 2011), 'Early pregnancy prediction of preeclampsia in nulliparous women, combining clinical risk and biomarkers' (Hypertension, 2014), 'The power and promise of RNA-seq in ecology and evolution' (Molecular Ecology, 2016), and 'Tumor mutational burden is a determinant of immune-mediated survival in breast cancer' (Oncoimmunology, 2018). In teaching, he instructs undergraduate and postgraduate courses in statistics, computer-based genomic data analysis, and bioinformatics, incorporating Te Ao Māori concepts; he previously taught the BIOC354 bioinformatics course. Black received a University of Otago Research Award in 2008 and delivered his Inaugural Professorial Lecture.