SCASA Kick Off

• Location:  Room 43-105, Center for the Health Sciences (CHS Building), Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095 ParkingAndDirectionsWithMapSCASA2016.pdf
• Keynote Speaker:  Ron Brookmeyer, Professor, UCLA Department of Biostatistics
• Schedule:
  •  1:00-1:30:  Coffee, Tea, Cookies and Conversation
  •  1:30-2:30:  Keynote Address
  •  2:30 - end:  Business Meeting
  • Open Floor
• Business Meeting Agenda:
  • Nominations for Elected Offices
  • Treasurer’s Report
  • Update from SCASA Membership Committee
  • Update on the Applied Statistics Workshop
  • DataFest Update
  • ASA Traveling Course
  • Career Day
  • AP Statistics Poster Competition
  • 2017 Intel International  Science and Engineering Fair
  • Potential New Student and Young Professional-Oriented Activities
    • ASA Mentoring program
    • SCASA Paper Competition/Travel Award
    • Student Showcase
    • Mixers

Keynote Talk:  The Power of Small Data: A Case Study in Biosecurity

Abstract: “Big data” has been the focus of a lot of attention in recent years. However, there are pressing societal questions for which only “small data” is available. Here we discuss a case study in biosecurity related to the post 9/11 anthrax attacks. We illustrate that even with “small data,” we can effectively address public health challenges using statistical reasoning in combination with models of scientific mechanisms.

About the Speaker: Ron Brookmeyer, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, where he moved in 2010 after spending many years on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University. His research sits at the interface of biostatistics and epidemiology. A major theme of his work is the development of quantitative approaches for measuring the health of populations, including models for tracking and forecasting disease. In particular, Dr. Brookmeyer has worked extensively on methods for tracking the course of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control to develop the statistical methodology underlying recent U.S. HIV incidence estimates for which he was a recipient of the CDC’s Shepard Science Award.  Other areas of application include bio-security and studies of aging populations. Dr. Brookmeyer’s methodological interests include survival analysis, epidemic models, epidemiological methods and clinical trials. He is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine and a fellow of both the American Statistical Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Early in his career he was honored with the Spiegelman Gold Medal from the American Association of Public Health as the most outstanding public health statistician under 40. This past year, he received the Nathan Mantel Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions at the intersection of statistical science and epidemiology from the ASA. Dr. Brookmeyer has served on numerous editorial boards and national scientific panels and currently sits on the Statistics Board of Reviewing Editors of Science Magazine.