Simone Gray

Affiliation:
Senior Statistician, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Educational Background:
BS, Mathematics, Palm Beach Atlantic University
MS, Mathematical Science, University of Miami
PhD, Statistical Science, Duke University

About Simone
Simone’s research interests broadly include data visualization and translation. She is also interested in reducing disparities in cancer incidence and mortality. At the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Simone works on a variety of projects related to surveillance, recurrence, and cancer survivorship. She collaborates with epidemiologists, medical professionals, and other public health professionals to conduct research across the cancer spectrum from prevention to survivorship. She enjoys this collaborative environment in which individuals contribute based on their area of expertise to address emerging issues related to cancer.

Simone is from the Caribbean and grew up on Trinidad. She always enjoyed being challenged by mathematical problems and did undergraduate and graduate work in mathematics. After graduating from the University of Miami, she became aware of the critical shortage of math and science teachers in high schools across the US and was compelled to do something about it. Simone became a tutor and mentor, first through the Breakthrough Collaborative Organization and later through a 21st century community learning center. Both programs provide academic enrichment opportunities to support students from under-resourced communities. Simone also became a full-time mathematics teacher at a low-performing high school in a rural southwest Florida community.

Simone wanted to continue learning about both math and science. Having some exposure to biostatistics through a CDC internship, she decided to leave teaching and pursue a PhD at Duke University in statistical science. Her interest in biostatistics was similar to her interest in teaching: She wanted to take important and complicated ideas and make them understandable and relatable to others. Her research at Duke focused on air pollution modeling and maternal health outcomes. Simone continued her air pollution research in a postdoctoral position at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where she was challenged to think about how race and other social and environmental factors influence children’s health.

Still a lover of teaching and mentoring, Simone has been the co-chair of the Fostering Diversity in Biostatistics Workshop hosted by the Eastern North American Region of the International Biometric Society. This workshop focuses on recruiting under-represented minority students to biostatistics. She has also served as a mentor for the Joint Statistical Meetings Mentoring Program. Being actively involved in these programs has allowed her to serve as a mentor to students and other junior professionals.

While working for the EPA and CDC, Simone has always been excited to know she is applying statistics to affect policy that impacts not only the scientific community, but also the general public. Her current work serves both internal programs and external CDC partners by providing data and analytical support to a community of professionals interested in population-based cancer control efforts. Simone hopes to continue using her quantitative skills to answer important health-related questions.