StatFest 2018 was hosted at Amherst College this past weekend. The one-day conference is an ongoing initiative of the American Statistical Association, aimed at encouraging undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups to consider careers and graduate studies in the statistical sciences. Department alumnus and Amherst professor Nick Horton was head of the organizing committee and event co-chair.
Sherri Rose, Associate Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Health Care Policy at HMS, gave a talk on “Summer Opportunities in Statistical Science and Quantitative Public Health.” PhD students Rolando Acosta and Jemar Bather represented the department while talking to prospective students curious about our PhD, Masters and Summer Programs. Jemar was also part of the conference organizing committee and participated in a panel discussion on “The Graduate Student Experience.” 2018 Summer Program alumni Katherine Cyr and Steven Lawrence presented their poster “Gene Regulatory Networks and Sex Differences Among Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients,” which is based on a group research project with faculty mentor, John Quackenbush. Alumna Scarlett Bellamy gave a keynote address “Nudges, grit and grinding: Navigating a career as an academic biostatistician while working to build a diverse profession.”
