Deep learning is a subfield of machine learning used to learn representations of data by successive layers. Remarkable achievements and breakthroughs have been made in image classification, speech recognition, et cetera, but the full capability of deep learning is still under exploration. As statistical researchers and practitioners, we are especially interested in leveraging and advancing deep learning techniques to address important and impactive problems in biomedical and other related fields. In this article, we provide a basic introduction to Feedforward Neural Networks (FNN) along with some intuitive explanations behind its strong functional representation. Guidance is provided on how to choose quite a few hyperparameters in neural networks for a specific problem. We further discuss several more advanced frameworks in deep learning. Some successful applications of deep learning in biomedical fields are also demonstrated. With this beginner's guide, we hope that interested readers can include deep learning in their toolbox to tackle future real-world questions and challenges.
Keywords: feedforward neural networks; machine learning; representation learning.
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