Christophe Toukam Tchakoute grew up in Cameroon during the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which is how he became interested in STEM. His interest was reinforced when he attended the University of Cape Town in South Africa and became curious about the chemistry and cell biology of HIV and how the virus can hijack the immune system for its own benefit. Consequently, he interned in the HIV/AIDS department at the World Health Organization and was introduced to epidemiology and biostatistics. He now works at Genentech and leverages statistics and real-world data to inform clinical trial design for different oncology programs.
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First Rousseeuw Prize Awarded for Work on Causal Inference
The King Baudouin Foundation has awarded the prize, worth $1 million, to James Robins, Miguel Hernán, Thomas Richardson, Andrea Rotnitzky, and Eric Tchetgen for their pioneering work on causal inference with applications in medicine and public health.
Christy Chuang-Stein
Christy Chuang-Stein grew up in an isolated city on the east coast of Taiwan. Both her parents were high-school teachers, and she remembers doing math lessons with her mother while other kids played outside. Yes, she resented the extra lessons at the time, but those lessons served her well and she ended up majoring in math in college. In the 90s, Chuang-Stein represented Pfizer (then Pharmacia) in presenting their HIV trial data at an FDA Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee meeting to review statistical evidence for using viral load as a surrogate for clinical outcome in assessing HIV treatments. It is hard for her to describe the sense of exhilaration when her team’s endeavors lead to profound improvement in people’s lives.
Sheila Macdonald Bird
Sheila Macdonald Bird’s father played mental arithmetic games with her when she was a child, which sparked her enthusiasm for math. And even though she has won numerous awards and her work has led to statistical guidelines for contributors to medical journals, some of her most enjoyable days have been spent absorbed in designing studies—especially when analysis leads to new insights with important implications for public health.
ASA Leaders Reminisce: Lynne Billard
In the 19th installment of the Amstat News series of interviews with ASA presidents and executive directors, we feature a discussion with 1996 ASA President Lynne Billard.