The Caucus for Women in Statistics and Data Science organized a virtual conference to celebrate the International Day of Women in Statistics and Data Science on October 10, which was also World Mental Health Day. The following four women were invited to speak about their experiences in a session titled “Journey of Early Career Women in the Pharmaceutical Industry and Their Paths Forward.”
Dooti Roy is an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut and director of global biostatistics and data sciences at Boehringer Ingelheim, where she leads a team of statisticians and data scientists who develop and implement clinical research and statistical visualization tools. She has more than eight years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Her talk, titled “Chasing Science, Passion, and Heart: A Statistician’s Journey into Drug Development,” was about her journey pursuing her scientific interests and career goals—from earning a PhD in statistics to becoming a methodology statistician and global product owner to growing into her current position as a leader at Boehringer Ingelheim. Roy also spoke about her teaching experience at UConn, where she designed a summer program that introduces students to off-the-books biostatistics skills needed to be a clinical trialist.
Bhramori Banerjee has been at Merck for a little more than two years, but she has worked for other pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations in different capacities for 11 years. She spoke about how working as a statistician in the pharmaceutical industry during her early-career years was challenging and gave a few examples of how to solve problems in the industry as a statistician.
Hiya Banerjee is a biostatistician at Eli Lilly who has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for more than a decade. Her talk, “Wearing Many Hats in Career Development: Navigating Challenges and Maximizing Growth,” focused on how wearing many hats in the workplace is a dynamic and multifaceted experience that often leads to personal and professional growth, but also comes with its fair share of challenges. Ultimately, her journey juggling multiple roles and responsibilities has been rewarding and allowed her to expand her skill set and gain a broader understanding of the business landscape.
Arinjita Bhattacharyya is a senior scientist at Merck, where she supports phase 1 clinical trials and is involved in designing clinical trials and writing study protocols and reports. Her primary research interests are clinical trials, COVID-19, HIV, mental health, oncology, shrinkage priors, prediction, methods for omics data, subgroup analysis, and dose-response models. Her talk, titled “Life in Pharma Through the Eyes of an Early Career Professional,” provided a snapshot of a day in the life of an early-career statistician in the pharmaceutical industry.
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