Winners Announced for Inaugural David Cox Medal for Statistics

Eric Tchetgen Tchetgen of the University of Pennsylvania, Nancy Zhang of the University of Pennsylvania, and Richard Samworth of the University of Cambridge were recently named winners of the inaugural David Cox Medal for Statistics. This medal is awarded to commemorate the work of the late world-leading statistician and former Royal Statistical Society president Sir David Cox.

Tchetgen Tchetgen was honored for his work improving our understanding of causal inference, Zhang was awarded for her contributions to statistical genomics and its application in biomedical research, and Samworth was recognized for contributions to methodological and theoretical statistics.

Each recipient is a leader in their field. Among Tchetgen Tchetgen’s contributions is the development of proximal causal inference and instrumental variable methodology, while Zhang has advanced the analysis of high-dimensional biological data and aided the understanding of cancer genome evolution. Samworth has made numerous contributions to shape-constrained modeling and change-point analysis.

Peter McCullagh, chair of the prize committee said, “Sir David Cox’s work led to great advancements in the field, so it feels fitting to celebrate those carrying on his great work in moving the profession and our understanding of statistics forward. Eric, Nancy, and Richard are to be wholeheartedly congratulated for their contributions that have reshaped our understanding across the discipline.”

This international prize was established to recognize researchers in the fields of statistical theory, methodology, and applications whose work is original, with conceptual depth and novelty, and which moves the field or a substantive application area forward. It celebrates mid-career researchers, as Cox published his seminal paper on regression models in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A at aged 48. The medal is awarded jointly by the Royal Statistical Society, American Statistical Association, Bernoulli Society, International Biometric Society, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and International Statistical Institute.