Affiliation
Director of Biostatistics, Clara D. Bloomfield Center for Leukemia Outcomes Research, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

Education
MS, PhD, The Ohio State University
MS, Statistics, Sam Houston State University
BS, Mathematics, Sam Houston State University

Jessica K. Kohlschmidt grew up in Houston, Texas, with five siblings. She was encouraged to pursue a college education so she could always support herself if she needed to. A first-generation college student, she had a passion for math from a young age and grew up with an interest in teaching. She would teach dolls or children—whichever was available. Thus, it was an easy choice to study math and teaching in college, although that has looked different throughout her life.

Kohlschmidt pursued a degree in mathematics and, through a series of curious events—including a required statistics class—she ended up minoring in statistics. Statistics was a real-world application of math that made sense and inspired her. Therefore, when Sam Houston State University created a new master’s in statistics program, she went for it. Later, she attended The Ohio State University and earned a PhD. Kohlschmidt dreamed of sharing her inspiration with others and envisioned that would happen through teaching in a college classroom.

Kohlschmidt has taught full and part time at colleges since 1999. She is a PhD biostatistician at the Clara D. Bloomfield Center for Leukemia Outcomes Research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research group looks retrospectively at patient data to determine what gene mutations and expression (or combinations) predict which patients will have improved survival. This helps direct prospective clinical trials. In this role, Kohlschmidt is a consulting statistician and has the opportunity to apply statistics to real-world problems and teach collaborators about statistics and how to interpret results in a meaningful and appropriate way.

A longtime officer of the Caucus for Women in Statistics (CWS)—serving for 10 years as secretary and, in 2018, as the first executive director—Kohlschmidt currently oversees CWS operations. She has been involved with many of the updates that have occurred in the past few years and is enthusiastic about the new directions CWS has undertaken, including efforts to increase international visibility and outreach to young people. Kohlschmidt has a passion for helping young people, especially girls, learn about statistics and explore it as a career option. This is something she has been able to do more of through CWS and the Florence Nightingale Day event that has occurred the last three years and is sponsored by the CWS and ASA.

Kohlschmidt is currently serving on the committee for the International Statistical Institute’s International Year of Women in Statistics and Data Science and is assisting the committee chair, Jessica Utts, with various initiatives. She is also actively involved with the ASA and serves as treasurer for the Survey Research Methods Section, president for the Columbus Chapter, and chair for the History in Statistics Interest Group. She feels honored when her work and effort is appreciated and when a student or collaborator expresses gratitude for the help and understanding of statistics she has provided.