Andreas Bender

About

Following my doctorate at LMU Munich (2018) and extensive consulting experience at the statistical consulting unit (StaBLab), I spent a year as a Postdoc at the [Big Data Institute, University of Oxford](https://www.bdi.ox.ac.uk/). Currently I am a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Machine Learning Consulting Unit (MLCU) at the Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML).
In my methodological research I focus on machine learning frameworks capable of handling the complex, "non-standard" data characteristics inherent in real-world data. A cornerstone of my work is \textbf{Machine Learning Survival Analysis}, the analysis of partially observed temporal processes. Since 2020 I have led the [Machine Learning for Survival Analysis](https://www.slds.stat.uni-muenchen.de/research/survival.html) group, mentoring 6--10 PhD candidates and Postdocs and have established myself as one of the leading experts in this area.
In addition to my core research and transfer activities, I served a two year term as employee representative at the Department of Statistics, LMU Munich and joined the [Covid-19 Data Analysis Group (CoDAG)](https://www.covid19.statistik.uni-muenchen.de/index.html) at the beginning of the pandemic in order to support the understanding and communication of the spread of the disease. In 2021, in the face of the "replication crisis in methodological research", I joined the [Open Science Center (OSC)](https://www.osc.uni-muenchen.de/members/individual_members/lmu-members/bender/index.html) at the LMU Munich and founded the [Open Science Initiative in Statistics](https://www.stat.lmu.de/en/osis/). In the winter term 2024/25 I was accepted as Researcher in Residence at the Center of Advanced Studies.

Contact

Machine Learning Consulting Unit (MLCU)

Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML)

LMU Munich

Akademiestraße 7

D-80799 München

bender.andreas [at] lmu.de

Research Interests

You Can Find me on

Software/Projects

Teaching

References

  1. Xu Q, Rügamer D, Bender A, Maros ME (2026) Deep Generative Models in Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) and X-ray Angiography: A Systematic Review. Artificial Intelligence Review 59.
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  2. Özeren E, Ulbrich A, Filimon S, Rügamer D, Bender A (2026) Enhancing Traffic Accident Classifications: Application of NLP Methods for City Safety. In: In: Dutra I , In: Pechenizkiy M , In: Cortez P , In: Pashami S , In: Pasquali A , In: Moniz N , In: Jorge AM , In: Soares C , In: Abreu PH , In: Gama J (eds) Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Databases. Applied Data Science Track and Demo Track, pp. 180–195. Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham.
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  3. Kopper P, Rügamer D, Sonabend R, Bischl B, Bender A (2026) On Training Survival Models with Scoring Rules. In: In: Ribeiro RP , In: Pfahringer B , In: Japkowicz N , In: Larrañaga P , In: Jorge AM , In: Soares C , In: Abreu PH , In: Gama J (eds) Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Databases. Research Track, pp. 74–91. Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham.
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  4. Walter E, Brock T, Lahoud P, Werner N, Czaja F, Tichy A, Bumm C, Bender A, Castro A, Teughels W, Schwendicke F, Folwaczny M (2025) Predictive Modeling for Step II Therapy Response in Periodontitis - Model Development and Validation. npj Digital Medicine 8, 445.
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  5. Santhanam N, Kim HE, Rügamer D, Bender A, Muthers S, Cho CG, Alonso A, Szabo K, Centner F-S, Wenz H, Ganslandt T, Platten M, Groden C, Neumaier M, Siegel F, Maros ME (2025) Machine Learning-Based Forecasting of Daily Acute Ischemic Stroke Admissions Using Weather Data. npj Digital Medicine 8, 225.
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  6. Fischer S, Zobolas J, Sonabend R, Becker M, Lang M, Binder M, Schneider L, Burk L, Schratz P, Jaeger BC, Lauer SA, Kapsner LA, Mücke M, Wang Z, Pulatov D, Ganz K, Funk H, Harutyunyan L, Camilleri P, Kopper P, Bender A, Bischl B, Zhou B, German N, Koers L, Nazarova A (2025) mlr3extralearners: Expanding the Mlr3 Ecosystem with Community-Driven Learner Integration. Journal of Open Source Software 10, 8331.
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  7. Burk L, Bender A, Wright MN (2025) High-Dimensional Variable Selection With Competing Events Using Cooperative Penalized Regression. Biometrical Journal 67, e70036.
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  8. Dandl S, Bender A, Hothorn T (2024) Heterogeneous treatment effect estimation for observational data using model-based forests. Statistical Methods in Medical Research 33, 392–413.
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  9. Ferry N, Dupont P, Bender A, Heurich M (2024) Introducing Recurrent Event Analyses to Assess Species Interactions Based on Camera-Trap Data: A Comparison with Time-to-First-Event Approaches. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 15, 1233–1246.
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  10. Wiegrebe S, Kopper P, Sonabend R, Bischl B, Bender A (2024) Deep Learning for Survival Analysis: A Review. Artificial Intelligence Review 57, 65.
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  11. Zumeta-Olaskoaga L, Bender A, Lee D-J (2024) Flexible Modelling of Time-Varying Exposures and Recurrent Events to Analyse Training Load Effects in Team Sports Injuries. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C: Applied Statistics, qlae059.
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  12. Hornung R, Nalenz M, Schneider L, Bender A, Bothmann L, Bischl B, Augustin T, Boulesteix A-L (2023) Evaluating Machine Learning Models in Non-Standard Settings: An Overview and New Findings. arXiv:2310.15108 [cs, stat].
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  13. Hartl WH, Kopper P, Xu L, Heller L, Mironov M, Wang R, Day AG, Elke G, Küchenhoff H, Bender A (2023) Relevance of Protein Intake for Weaning in the Mechanically Ventilated Critically Ill: Analysis of a Large International Database. Critical Care Medicine.
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  14. Hendrix P, Sun CC, Brighton H, Bender A (2023) On the Connection Between Language Change and Language Processing. Cognitive Science 47, e13384.
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  15. Coens F, Knops N, Tieken I, Vogelaar S, Bender A, Kim JJ, Krupka K, Pape L, Raes A, Tönshoff B, Prytula A, Registry C (2023) Time-Varying Determinants of Graft Failure in Pediatric Kidney Transplantation in Europe. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
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  16. Ramjith J, Bender A, Roes KCB, Jonker MA (2022) Recurrent Events Analysis with Piece-Wise Exponential Additive Mixed Models. Statistical Modelling, 1471082X221117612.
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  17. Rügamer D, Bender A, Wiegrebe S, Racek D, Bischl B, Müller C, Stachl C (2022) Factorized Structured Regression for Large-Scale Varying Coefficient Models Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Databases (ECML-PKDD), Springer International Publishing.
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  18. Beaudry G, Drouin O, Gravel J, Smyrnova A, Bender A, Orri M, Geoffroy M-C, Chadi N (2022) A Comparative Analysis of Pediatric Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Utilization in Montréal, Canada, before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Annals of General Psychiatry 21, 17.
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  19. Fritz C, Nicola GD, Günther F, Rügamer D, Rave M, Schneble M, Bender A, Weigert M, Brinks R, Hoyer A, Berger U, Küchenhoff H, Kauermann G (2022) Challenges in Interpreting Epidemiological Surveillance Data - Experiences from Germany. Journal of Computational & Graphical Statistics.
  20. Kopper P, Wiegrebe S, Bischl B, Bender A, Rügamer D (2022) DeepPAMM: Deep Piecewise Exponential Additive Mixed Models for Complex Hazard Structures in Survival Analysis Advances in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, pp. 249–261. Springer International Publishing.
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  21. Hartl WH, Kopper P, Bender A, Scheipl F, Day AG, Elke G, Küchenhoff H (2022) Protein intake and outcome of critically ill patients: analysis of a large international database using piece-wise exponential additive mixed models. Critical Care 26, 7.
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  22. Pretzsch E, Heinemann V, Stintzing S, Bender A, Chen S, Holch JW, Hofmann FO, Ren H, Bösch F, Küchenhoff H, Werner J, Angele MK (2022) EMT-Related Genes Have No Prognostic Relevance in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer as Opposed to Stage II/III: Analysis of the Randomised, Phase III Trial FIRE-3 (AIO KRK 0306; FIRE-3). Cancers 14, 5596.
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  23. Sonabend R, Bender A, Vollmer S (2022) Avoiding C-hacking When Evaluating Survival Distribution Predictions with Discrimination Measures. Bioinformatics 38, 4178–4184.
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  24. Python A, Bender A, Blangiardo M, Illian JB, Lin Y, Liu B, Lucas TCD, Tan S, Wen Y, Svanidze D, Yin J (2021) A Downscaling Approach to Compare COVID-19 Count Data from Databases Aggregated at Different Spatial Scales. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society).
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  25. Bauer A, Klima A, Gauß J, Kümpel H, Bender A, Küchenhoff H (2021) Mundus Vult Decipi, Ergo Decipiatur: Visual Communication of Uncertainty in Election Polls. PS: Political Science & Politics, 1–7.
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  26. Fabritius MP, Seidensticker M, Rueckel J, Heinze C, Pech M, Paprottka KJ, Paprottka PM, Topalis J, Bender A, Ricke J, Mittermeier A, Ingrisch M (2021) Bi-Centric Independent Validation of Outcome Prediction after Radioembolization of Primary and Secondary Liver Cancer. Journal of Clinical Medicine 10, 3668.
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  27. Python A, Bender A, Nandi AK, Hancock PA, Arambepola R, Brandsch J, Lucas TCD (2021) Predicting non-state terrorism worldwide. Science Advances 7, eabg4778.
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  28. Küchenhoff H, Günther F, Höhle M, Bender A (2021) Analysis of the early COVID-19 epidemic curve in Germany by regression models with change points. Epidemiology & Infection, 1–17.
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  29. Bender A, Rügamer D, Scheipl F, Bischl B (2021) A General Machine Learning Framework for Survival Analysis. In: In: Hutter F , In: Kersting K , In: Lijffijt J , In: Valera I (eds) Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Databases, pp. 158–173. Springer International Publishing.
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  30. Sonabend R, Király FJ, Bender A, Bischl B, Lang M (2021) mlr3proba: An R Package for Machine Learning in Survival Analysis. Bioinformatics.
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  31. Kopper P, Pölsterl S, Wachinger C, Bischl B, Bender A, Rügamer D (2021) Semi-Structured Deep Piecewise Exponential Models. In: In: Greiner R , In: Kumar N , In: Gerds TA , In: Schaar M van der (eds) Proceedings of AAAI Spring Symposium on Survival Prediction - Algorithms, Challenges, and Applications 2021, pp. 40–53. PMLR.
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  32. Günther F, Bender A, Katz K, Küchenhoff H, Höhle M (2020) Nowcasting the COVID-19 pandemic in Bavaria. Biometrical Journal.
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  33. Guenther F, Bender A, Höhle M, Wildner M, Küchenhoff H (2020) Analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bavaria: adjusting for misclassification. medRxiv, 2020.09.29.20203877.
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  34. Bender A, Python A, Lindsay SW, Golding N, Moyes CL (2020) Modelling geospatial distributions of the triatomine vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi in Latin America. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 14, e0008411.
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  35. Bauer A, Bender A, Klima A, Küchenhoff H (2019) KOALA: a new paradigm for election coverage. AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis.
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  36. Pratschke S, Bender A, Boesch F, Andrassy J, Rosmalen Mvan, Samuel U, Rogiers X, Meiser B, Küchenhoff H, Driesslein D, Werner J, Guba M, Angele MK (2018) Association between donor age and risk of graft failure after liver transplantation: An analysis of the Eurotransplant database - a retrospective cohort study. Transplant International 0.
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  37. Bender A, Bauer A (2018) coalitions: Coalition probabilities in multi-party democracies.
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  38. Bender A, Groll A, Scheipl F (2018) A generalized additive model approach to time-to-event analysis. Statistical Modelling 18, 299–321.
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  39. Bender A, Scheipl F (2018) pammtools: Piece-wise exponential Additive Mixed Modeling tools. arXiv:1806.01042 [stat].
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  40. Bender A, Scheipl F, Hartl W, Day AG, Küchenhoff H (2018) Penalized estimation of complex, non-linear exposure-lag-response associations. Biostatistics.
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  41. Hartl WH, Bender A, Scheipl F, Kuppinger D, Day AG, Küchenhoff H (2018) Calorie intake and short-term survival of critically ill patients. Clinical Nutrition.
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  42. Maierhofer T, Pfisterer F, Bender A, Küchenhoff H, Moerer O, Burchardi H, Hartl WH (2017) Kosten als Instrument zur Effizienzbeurteilung intensivmedizinischer Funktionseinheiten. Medizinische Klinik - Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin, 1–7.
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  43. Brandl S, Falk W, Klemmt H-J, Stricker G, Bender A, Rötzer T, Pretzsch H (2014) Possibilities and Limitations of Spatially Explicit Site Index Modelling for Spruce Based on National Forest Inventory Data and Digital Maps of Soil and Climate in Bavaria (SE Germany). Forests 5, 2626–2646.
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  44. Ruëff F, Vos B, Oude Elberink J, Bender A, Chatelain R, Dugas-Breit S, Horny H-P, Küchenhoff H, Linhardt A, Mastnik S, Sotlar K, Stretz E, Vollrath R, Przybilla B, Flaig M (2014) Predictors of clinical effectiveness of Hymenoptera venom immunotherapy. Clinical & Experimental Allergy 44, 736–746.
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  45. Guillemot V, Bender A, Boulesteix A-L (2013) Iterative Reconstruction of High-Dimensional Gaussian Graphical Models Based on a New Method to Estimate Partial Correlations under Constraints. PLoS ONE 8, e60536.
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  46. Kuppinger D, Hartl WH, Bertok M, Hoffmann JM, Cederbaum J, Bender A, Küchenhoff H, Rittler P (2013) Nutritional screening for risk prediction in patients scheduled for extra-abdominal surgery. Nutrition 29, 399–404.
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  47. Boulesteix A-L, Bender A, Lorenzo Bermejo J, Strobl C (2012) Random forest Gini importance favours SNPs with large minor allele frequency: impact, sources and recommendations. Briefings in Bioinformatics 13, 292–304.
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  48. Stüber AT, Coors S, Schachtner B, Weber T, Rügamer D, Bender A, Mittermeier A, Öcal O, Seidensticker M, Ricke J, others (2023) A Comprehensive Machine Learning Benchmark Study for Radiomics-Based Survival Analysis of CT Imaging Data in Patients With Hepatic Metastases of CRC. Investigative Radiology, 10–1097.
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