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Turkey

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Behavioral Data Scientist | Predictive Modeling, Causal Inference & Explainable ML for Real-World Data

Profile Summary

I unravel human choices and behavior through data.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ I am a data scientist and quantitative researcher (PhD in Sociology/Demography) with 17+ years of experience helping organizations turn complex behavioral and survey data into predictive and actionable insights. I specialize in interpretable machine learning and causal inference for real-world decision problems in healthcare, social science, education, and finance. I work with Python (XGBoost, LightGBM, SHAP) and advanced statistical and econometric methods for robust predictive modeling and inference. I can help you with predictive modeling, causal inference, model interpretation (SHAP/explainable AI), and statistical consulting for research and industry applications.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ★ Machine Learning
• ☆ Data Analysis
• ☆ Statistics
• ☆ Statistical Computing
• ☆ Child Development
• ☆ Demography
• ☆ Python
• ☆ STATA
• ☆ Scikit-learn
• ☆ Public Health
• ☆ Global Health

Services

• Data & AI

Data & AI Predictive Modeling, Statistical Analysis, Algorithm Design-ML, Data Visualization, Text Mining & Analytics, Data Mining, Data Cleaning, Data Processing, Data Insights

Work Experience

Statistical Consultant

NOVASAM Research and Consultancy

April 2022 - November 2025

Course Instructor

Istanbul Bilgi University

February 2019 - June 2022

Statistical Consultant

Palladium Group

April 2020 - July 2020

Statistical Consultant

S.A.M Research and Consultancy

September 2019 - December 2019

Graduate Research Assistant / Research Assistant

University of Wisconsin Madison

September 2008 - August 2015

Research Intern

United Nations

September 2010 - December 2010

Statistical Research Assistant

Oxford University, COMPAS

January 2006 - December 2006

Education

PhD Sociology

University of Wisconsin Madison

September 2008 - December 2017

MA in Sociology and Social Policy

University of Nottingham

September 2005 - September 2006

BSc in Sociology

Middle East Technical University

September 2002 - June 2005

Certifications

• Applied AI and Data Science

  MIT

  November 2025 - Present

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Rengin Aktar (2025). Economic Development, Maternal Education and Infant Mortality in Türkiye 1960-2010 . Sosyoekonomi.

Rengin Aktar, Alberto Palloni (2022). Ready–Willing–Able: Early childhood mortality decline in Turkey . Population Studies.