Stats + Stories 009: Medicine is getting personal

With Special Guest: Bonnie LaFleur

Bonnie LaFleur has over fifteen years of experience in statistical and cancer research, and in teaching both physicians and degree seeking statistics/biostatistics students. She is currently a senior manager of biostatistics and data management at Ventana Medical Systems, Inc , which is the tissue diagnostic arm of Roche, Inc. Her primary research interests are in the interface between biology and quantitative methods, specifically the application of statistical methods to cancer biology and novel biologic technologies. Her current work focuses on statistical methodologies used in biomarker development and verification of tissue biomarkers used as companion diagnostics for cancer therapy.

Stats + Stories Episode 8: How do I know this medicine works?

With Special Guest: Marie Davidian

Marie Davidian, William Neal Reynolds professor of statistics from North Carolina State University and past president of the American Statistical Association joined the Stats+Stories regulars to discuss studies that underlie drug development. Marie has broad interest and expertise involving the development and application of statistical methods to challenges in health science research.

Stats + Stories Episode 7: What do Seinfeld, The Tonight Show and Stats+Stories have in common?

With Special Guest: Rick Ludwin

Rick Ludwin was hired by NBC Entertainment in 1979 and made director of variety shows there in 1980. He then became vice president for specials and variety programs in 1983; senior VP for specials, variety programs and late-night in 1989; and executive VP for NBC’s late-night and primetime series in 2005. In its 57 years, The Tonight Show has had five permanent hosts, and Rick has been the boss of three of them. His late-night division at NBC developed the hit comedy Seinfeld. Rick, a 1970 Miami University grad, joined the Stats+Stories regulars to discuss the use and impact of ratings on television programming.

Stats + Stories Episode 6: Earth Day Special

With Special Guest: Jim Oris

Jim Oris is Associate Provost for Research, Dean of the Graduate School, and University Distinguished Professor of Biology at Miami University (Ohio). Jim has spent the last 36 years exploring the effects of fossil fuels and their combustion products in freshwater and marine ecosystems. He joined the Stats + Stories regulars to discuss Earth Day and environmental issues related to oil spills and climate change.

Stats + Stories Episode 5: Health, Privacy and Confidentiality

With Special Guest: Paul Scanlon

Paul Scanlon is a survey methodologist and research social scientist in the Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. His research focuses on attitudes towards privacy and confidentiality in federal surveys and on how questionnaire evaluation methods can be used to validate international health surveys.

Stats + Stories Episode 4: CSI - Crime Stats Investigated

With Special Guest: Karen Kafadar

Karen Kafadar, Rudy Professor of Statistics and Physics at Indiana University, joined the Stats+Stories regulars to discuss forensic science, the evidence used help solve crimes. She was a member of a National Research Council (NRC) committee that produced the report Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward, and she has written on Statistical Issues in Assessing Forensic Evidence.

Episode 3: What are the patterns of aging and how this might inform policy?

With Special Guest: Suzanne Kunkel

Suzanne Kunkel, Director of the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University, joined the Stats+Stories regulars to discuss the statistics that help us understand the patterns of aging and how this might inform policy. Suzanne was trained as a demographer.

Episode 2: What does the Census do during the other nine years?

With Special Guest: Tommy Wright

Tommy Wright, statistician in the US Census Center for Statistical Research and Methodology, joined the Stats+Stories regulars to discuss what the US Census Bureau does and why it is important.

Stats + Stories Episode 1: Baseball and Statistics

With Special Guest: Jim Albert

Jim Albert, co-author of Curveball: Baseball, Statistics and the Role of Chance in the Game , editor of the Journal of Quantitative Analysis and Sports , and professor of statistics at Bowling Green State University will join the Stats and Stories regulars to discuss why statistics and baseball have been linked for decades and how this connection has strengthened with the growing presence of sabermetrics in player and team management.