September is Women in Medicine Month, and to celebrate we want to highlight the accomplishments of Biostats alumna Dr. Loni Philip Tabb, PhD ’10, who throughout her career has used her analytical skills in novel ways to highlight healthcare-related disparities, while also always making time to “pay-it-forward”, connecting mentees and mentors and supporting community in the varied contexts in which she works. While a PhD candidate at Harvard, Dr. Philip Tabb worked to develop novel statistical methods to address zero inflation in longitudinal count data – mapping and measuring premature mortality and the effect of census tract poverty in the greater Boston area. After graduating she returned to Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health in Philadelphia, PA, where she is currently an Associate Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. At Drexel Dr.Philip Tabb has been a Co-Investigator on several projects funded by National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. These projects range from an extension of her doctoral work with zero inflation in the area of genome sequencing data to examining the spatial distribution of alcohol outlets in Philadelphia. More recently, Dr. Philip Tabb was awarded a K01 Career Development Award (2017) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to apply spatial statistics and spatial epidemiology methods in the area of cardiovascular disease in the US, assessing the spatial patterning of cardiovascular health between blacks and whites. In 2020 Dr. Philip Tabb named the first recipient of the American Statistical Association’s Annie T. Randall Innovator Award, established to recognize early-career statistical innovators across all job sectors and honor path-breaking Black female statistician Annie T. Randall for her pioneering career in government amid pervasive racial discrimination. Since she graduated, Dr. Philip Tabb has been a frequent presence at HSPH, serving as a keynote and panelist at the Pipelines into Biostatistics Symposium, where she has offered insight into her path to aspiring researchers. Dr. Philip Tabb is also an ambassador for this year’s Harvard Medical School women’s leadership course. As part of her work for this course, she is involved with a strategic initiative called the Invest In Her Campaign which aims to support the recruitment of women into medicine and also to leadership positions; to retain women in medicine to ensure a strong workforce; and, to develop pathways and support for the re-entry of women who have left healthcare but would like to return. For more information on the course, please check out this informational flyer. For all of her academic contributions, social engagement, and commitment to creating better health for everyone, we celebrate Dr. Loni Philip Tabb!—Please email us to recommend another Biostats colleague to be featured this month!
WOMEN IN MEDICINE MONTH: Spotlight on Dr. Loni Philip Tabb, PhD ’10
