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LinkedIn | Email: danni631@gmail.com
I am a Sr. Applied Scientist on Safety & Insurance at Uber. I develop machine learning and causal inference models to enhance driving safety and risk intelligence at scale.
I hold dual Ph.D. degrees — in Statistics from Virginia Tech and in Transportation Planning and Management from Tongji University.
My research focuses on advancing causal inference and machine learning to create trustworthy, interpretable, and generative AI frameworks for complex real-world problems. I’m particularly interested in developing causal generative models that connect observational data with counterfactual reasoning, empowering more reliable decision-making in dynamic and uncertain environments.
A large part of my applied work centers on transportation safety, including vehicle and motorcycle risk modeling, driver behavior analytics, and population-level safety intelligence. Beyond road safety, I’m passionate about extending these methodologies to other high-stakes domains where causal understanding and AI-driven reasoning can enhance human well-being and system resilience.
Outside of work, I enjoy dancing, motorcycling, snowboarding, and photography — finding inspiration in movement, rhythm, and perspective, both in data and in life.
Education
Education
Ph.D. in Statistics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA [Dissertation]
Ph.D. in Transportation Planning and Management, Tongji Unniversity, Shanghai, China
B.S. in Mathematics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Experience
Experience
2021/03 - now, Sr. Applied Scientist, Uber Technologies, Inc. San Francisco, CA.
2020/05 - 2020/08, Data Scientist Intern, Genentech Inc. South San Francisco, CA
2015/08 - 2020/05, Research Assistant, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute(VTTI), Blacksburg, VA
Patents
Patents
UNCONTROLLED INTERSECTION DETECTION AND WARNING SYSTEM
Patent number: 12055409, Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
COMPLEX NAVIGATION MANEUVER REDUCTION
Publication number: 20250035453, Publication date: January 30, 2025
Publication
Publication
[15] Guo, F and D Lu. "How many crashes does cellphone use contribute to? Population attributable risk of cellphone use while driving." Journal of safety research (2022).[Link]
[14] J Chen, D Lu, Z Xiu, K Bai, L Carin, C Tao, Variational Inference with Holder Bounds, arXiv:2111.02947, 2021. [Paper]
[13] Tural E, Lu D, Austin Cole D. Safely and Actively Aging in Place: Older Adults’ Attitudes and Intentions Toward Smart Home Technologies. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. January 2021. [Paper]
[12] Lu D, Li Y, Guo F, Evaluating Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Population Density using High Resolution Cellular Data, IEEE ITS 2021. [Paper]
[11] Lu D, Tao C, Carin L, Li F, Guo F, Reconsidering Generative Objectives For Counterfactual Reasoning , NeurIPS 2020. [Paper] [Poster] [Code]
[10] Lu D, Guo F, Li F, Evaluating the Causal Relationship between Crash Risk and Cellphone Engagement Using Propensity Score Method, Accident Analysis & Prevention 2020 (143): 105579. [Link] [Paper]
[9] Tural E, Lu D, Cole DA. Factors predicting older Adults’ attitudes toward and intentions to use stair mobility assistive designs at home. Preventive Medicine Reports. 2020 ; 3(16):101082. [Link] [Paper]
[8] Li Y, Lu D. Bus Scheduling Model Based on Peak Hour Volume Clustering. CICTP 2015; 7: 1065-1080. [Link]
[7] Li Y, Lu D, Tian Y. Modeling corridor and growth pole coevolution in regional transportation network. Transportation Research Record. 2014 Jan;2466(1):144-152. [Link] [Paper]
[6] Li Y, Bao L, Deng H, Lu D. Promoting the Marketization of Battery-electric-Bus (BEB) based on the Satisfaction Model. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2013 Nov 6;96:1146-1155. [Link] [Paper]
[5] Li Y., Deng H., Lu D., From Cost Control to Performance Assessment: Transforming the Urban Public Transportation Management System. Urban Transport of China. 2013(2):16. [Link]
[4] Li Y., Deng H., Lu D., Institutional Framework for Urban Public Transportation Priority Based on Concept Innovations. Urban Transport of China. 2013(2):12. [Link]
[3] Li Y, Lu D, Deng H. Legislation System for Urban Public Transportation Priority Development: International Lessons and Experience. Urban Transport of China. 2013;8:52-59. [Link]
[2] Tian Y., Li Y., Lu D., A Biologically Inspired Model for Generating Regional Adaptive Transportation Network. Journal of Tongji University (Natural Science). 2012;40(3):428-433. [Link]
[1] Sun Y, Li Y, Lu D. Adaptive Transport Network Model Based on Sparse Matrix Processing Technics. Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development. 2011;28(11):138-141. [Link]
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