Dr. Shibasish Dasgupta (PhD)
Professor of Practice, IAI, TCG CREST
With over two decades of experience in Data & Statistical Sciences following his master’s degree in Statistics, he has just joined the Institute of Advancing intelligence (IAI) at the TCG CREST Kolkata, India as the Professor of Practice from 1st July 2025.
From May 2020 to June 2025, he was an Associate Director in the AI/ML, Quantitative and Digital Sciences team within the Data Science and Analytics (DSA) global organization at Pfizer Research and Development (PRD) in Mumbai, India. Since joining Pfizer, he has played an active & significant role in shaping the “AI/ML Vision for Pfizer R&D” through regular interactions with senior leadership. He established a cross-functional AI/ML Quantitative Data Science team, which has been instrumental in supporting multiple global collaborative AI/ML portfolios in PRD.
This led to the formation of the India Data Science team within the DSA India organization, where he was actively involved in the hiring process. He has developed the team’s capabilities through global collaborations and has been committed to the professional and personal development of the team members.
As a leader in external engagements and talent acquisition for the team, he has represented not only the Data Science/Statistics team but also Pfizer for the past few years as a brand ambassador. He has served on various Scientific Program Committees and Advisory Committees for international conferences and has delivered numerous invited lectures at international scientific events and at various premier universities, institutes, and organizations all over the world. He has established the long-term Data Science Summer Internship Program at DSA India. Each year, he has recruited and mentored summer interns, leveraging his industry and academic experience, connections, and networks. He was one of the main organizers for the first ever Chennai AI/ML Symposium jointly hosted by Pfizer and IIT-Madras in September 2023 at IIT Madras Research Park. One of their Pfizer research projects titled “Application of Statistical Machine Learning in Biomarker Selection” was published in “Scientific Reports,” a highly cited journal within the Springer-Nature portfolio, in October 2023.
Additionally, he holds the position of Adjunct Faculty in Statistics & Data Science at the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI), Chennai, India. He is an invited member of the Board of Studies for Data Science at CMI as well as at the St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata, India. He is also an invited member of the Governing Council of the Indian Statistical Association (ISA) established in 1960 as well as the Research and Recognition Committee (RRC) of the Department of Mathematics, Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, India.
He is an active member of the International Indian Statistical Association (IISA) and currently serving as the treasurer of the India Chapter of IISA. He is also a member of the International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics (ISBIS), an organization associated with the International Statistical Institute (ISI).
Before his tenure at Pfizer, he was part of the “Global Data Insight & Analytics” (GDI&A) organization at Ford Motor Company as the Data Science & Analytics Thought Leader from Nov 2016 to April 2020, where their team’s role was to be trusted advisers, empowering Ford to understand their business, know their customers, and act meaningfully. They were committed to driving evidence based decision-making by delivering timely, actionable, and forward-looking insights to their One Ford business partners. His previous work experience includes stints in industry and academia. He has built, trained, and supervised Data Science teams in various organizations.
Before Ford, he was a Visiting Scientist at the Interdisciplinary Statistical Research Unit (ISRU) of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata for a short period of time. Prior to that, he was a Tenure track faculty in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of South Alabama, USA, and earlier, a visiting faculty at the Farmer School of Business, Miami University, Ohio, USA.
He also had the privilege of being a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Population Sciences Statistics Department at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, USA, renowned for its cancer research and distinguished scientists, including three Nobel laureates and recipients of the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific honor in the US.
He earned his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA, in August 2013, with a dissertation on “High Dimensional Inference and Variable Selection” under the joint supervision of Prof. Malay Ghosh and Prof. Kshitij Khare. From August 2007 to July 2013, he fulfilled roles as a Teaching Assistant as well as Teaching Instructor for core undergraduate and graduate courses in the Statistics Department at the University of Florida, alongside various consulting activities.
Prior to coming to the United States for pursuing his PhD, he worked in the Data & Analytics teams for almost 3 years in Pune from 2004 to 2007, India, first at the TATA Research Development & Design Center (TRDDC) and then at the Persistent Systems. He has pursued his Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Statistics & Machine Learning in collaboration with TRDDC and the Department of Statistics & Center for Advanced Studies in Statistics, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India from where he had also received his master’s degree in Statistics in 2004. He was awarded bachelor’s degree in Statistics (Hons) from St. Xavier’s College, University of Calcutta in 2002.
He has some publications in well-known refereed journals, has taught several courses at different universities and institutes and, and has given numerous invited presentations at various places all over the world.