My ASA Story: Fanni Natanegara, Research Adviser and Group Leader

It was the summer of 2002 and I was a third-year graduate student at Baylor University when my professor encouraged me to attend JSM and apply for job opportunities. That year, JSM was in New York City and housing was predictably expensive. Through the ASA website, I discovered a more affordable housing option by pairing up with other attendees and splitting the cost. I remember thinking, “How COOL is that?!” This organization carefully thought through a way to make attendance more affordable and convenient for graduate students like me. This was my introduction to the ASA.

The following year, I started working for Eli Lilly and Company, a pharmaceutical company based in Indianapolis. I spent the next few years as a clinical project statistician, learning about drug development and working across therapeutic areas. By 2010, I took on a new role in which I focused on Bayesian applications in pharmaceutical research.

I became part of a larger network of statisticians across the industry, government, and academic sectors with this common research interest. I began attending JSM once again, more regularly this time, as well as the ASA Biopharmaceutical Section Regulatory-Industry Statistics Workshop to share my research work and learn from others. Through these meetings, the ASA provided a home for us to engage in scientific discussions, exchange ideas, and collaborate.

By a stroke of serendipity, I was made aware of the ­opportunity through the Bayesian network to become an industry representative for the ASA SPAIG (Statistical Partnerships Among Academe, Industry, and Government) Committee in 2015. SPAIG’s mission is to lead and promote initiatives that foster connectivity and collaborations across the academic, industry, and government sectors. This mission is very much aligned with my work as a pharmaceutical statistician. While I was thrilled about the opportunity to become more active in the ASA, I was unsure about how exactly I could contribute.

Under the leadership of then SPAIG chair, Kelly Zou, I quickly found my footing in the committee by volunteering for small tasks such as taking meeting minutes and putting together an announcement template for the annual SPAIG Award. These small tasks led to bigger tasks such as writing Amstat News articles and chairing and organizing SPAIG-sponsored JSM invited sessions and annual speaker with lunch events.

My research and collaborative work in the Bayesian pharmaceutical application gave me ideas for collaboration topics and speakers for our sponsored events. Making this connection between research and committee work has been personally rewarding. And more importantly, it has been fun working with a group of talented and enthusiastic ASA liaisons and cross-sector committee members who are always ready to make new connections and come up with new ideas, ranging from growing industry and government partnerships with academia to making internship opportunities more widely known, accessible, and equitable to students.

Being part of the SPAIG Committee and taking on a leadership role as vice chair and then chair of the committee have offered me a glimpse of the ASA’s mission to promote our profession and make a positive contribution to society. Through the ASA, I feel a sense of belonging and a sense that I am part of something bigger. I also meet new friends and gain some transferable skills along the way. So, I am hooked! I only wish I had gotten more active with the ASA sooner in my career.

I look forward to continuing my ASA journey, learning more about the statistical community, and understanding how, together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on the larger community.