Donna Brogan

Donna Brogan’s career in biostatistics was never planned—but its impact has been lasting.

Born in 1939, she followed an early love of math into statistics and public health, at a time when women were rarely welcomed in the field. Over nearly four decades, Brogan made significant contributions to biostatistics, particularly in sample survey design and public health research, including work that informed breast cancer studies and population-level health data.

At Emory University, she broke barriers as the first female faculty member in the Department of Statistics and Biometry and later the first female full professor at the Rollins School of Public Health. She was also a gifted teacher and collaborator, influencing generations of statisticians through mentoring and interdisciplinary research.

Alongside her scientific work, Brogan confronted sex discrimination in academia and helped change the profession from within. She co-founded the Caucus for Women in Statistics, creating space, support, and opportunity for those who followed.

Her legacy lives not only in data and methods—but in a profession made more open, more rigorous, and more just.

To read more about Donna Brogan, read this interview with her from 2017 or download the CHANCE article she wrote, “Challenging Sex Discrimination: Reflections over Seven Decades.”