Annamaria Prati

I do data science for data scarce applications.

I am a Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor of Data Science at New York University's Center for Data Science. I develop Bayesian machine learning and causal inference methods for messy, incomplete data, and apply them to study how international actors build state capacity in fragile states — work that has combined fieldwork in Nepal with micro-level administrative and remote sensing data. I will be on the academic job market during the 2026–2027 cycle.

My research has appeared in Artificial Intelligence and Statistics (AISTATS), won the American Political Science Association Best Poster Award, and been supported by the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Equity, the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy, and the Institute for Humane Studies. I hold a PhD in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis, master's degrees from the University of Chicago and Columbia University, and a bachelor's degree in International Relations from Stanford University, where I graduated Phi Beta Kappa with interdisciplinary honors. Before academia, I worked in the data science industry. You can find my CV here.