Rebecca Hubbard always excelled at science and math and considered becoming a science fiction writer but chose pre-med instead. However, not a “people person,” she discovered she had no interest in the clinical side of medicine. While looking for summer research opportunities, she learned about the Harvard Summer Program in Biostatistics, a field she had never heard of before, and decided to give it a try. This literally changed her life. Today, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, she writes papers instead of poetry and science instead of fiction and helps her talented students decode the academic maze.

