Assistant Vice Chancellor for Clinical Trials, Health Sciences
Professor of Medicine, Biostatistics, and Clinical & Translational Science
Director, Center for Biostatistics & Qualitative Methodology
Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Kaleab Z. Abebe grew up in Goshen, Indiana, which is a small town in the northern part of the state and about two hours east of Chicago. He enjoyed math in middle and high school, “mostly because it came easy to me, and it just made sense,” he said. He went to Goshen College for undergraduate studies, where he majored in math and minored in computer science and Spanish. Being a statistician was never among his plans. In fact, he didn’t really know what he was going to do with his math degree. “I investigated actuarial science, but didn’t necessarily want to take multiple certification exams,” he said.
Ultimately, he learned about the demand for applied statisticians, especially in industry settings, and decided to apply to several master’s programs. In 2004, he was accepted into the MA program in the department of statistics at the University of Pittsburgh. He and his wife planned to be in Pittsburgh for two years and then leave … or so they thought. “During graduate school, I was apprehensive about pursuing a PhD, despite encouragement from professors and peers,” Abebe said. “I thought the only career paths for someone with a PhD were ‘traditional,’ tenure-track roles as a professor in a department of statistics or biostatistics with heavy emphasis on methodological development.” It wasn’t until he learned about the various clinical trials collaborations certain faculty had with colleagues in the psychiatry department that he decided to take the leap and get his PhD.
After graduating in 2009, Abebe transitioned to a faculty position in the department of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, where he has been ever since. “I’m currently a tenured full professor (something I wouldn’t have believed I would be if you had told me in 2004) in medicine, where I lead the Center for Biostatistics and Qualitative Methodology. I mentor and support 10 core faculty and 30 research staff across the domains of biostatistics, data management and information systems, data coordination, and qualitative analysis.”
Throughout the past 15+ years on the faculty, one of Abebe’s proudest moments was being elected as a fellow of the Society for Clinical Trials—not because of any individual prestige brought with the fellowship, but because it signified the culmination of challenging work by many current and former colleagues, mentors, and mentees.
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