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In the News

Headlines featuring UW Biostatistics people and research.
Graphic rendering of a human fending off large coronavirus spors
Graphic rendering of a human fending off large coronavirus spors
First, a Vaccine Approval. Then 'Chaos and Confusion.'
The New York Times,

Professor of Biostatistics Tom Fleming is a member of WHO’s Solidarity Vaccines Trial group. He discusses the group's COVID-19 vaccine mega-trial, to start this month with a small study in Latin America.

Headshot of Tom Fleming
Headshot of Tom Fleming
Thomas Fleming Receives 2020 Ward Cates Spirit Award
HIV Prevention Trials Network,

Thomas R. Fleming, professor and former chair of biostatistics, received the 2020 Ward Cates Spirit Award from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN). The honor recognizes Fleming’s dedication, passion, and tireless pursuit of ensuring clinical trials are well designed, properly implemented, and correctly interpreted.

Ruth Etzioni headshot
Ruth Etzioni headshot
Dr. Ruth Etzioni receives Rosalie & Harold Rea Brown Endowed Chair
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Hutch News,

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center biostatistician Dr. Ruth Etzioni was just named the inaugural recipient of the Rosalie & Harold Rea Brown Endowed Chair. The new endowed chair will help advance Etzioni’s population science research, which focuses on cancer screening and early detection, particularly in breast and prostate cancers. Etzioni is also a UW affiliate professor of biostatistics.

 Four standing bar graph figures with one shorter figure leading in front.
 Four standing bar graph figures with one shorter figure leading in front.
What Does It Mean If a Vaccine Is ‘Successful’?
Wired,

Elizabeth “Betz” Halloran, professor of biostatistics, is quoted in this piece about pharma companies using different playbooks to test their Covid-19 shots, noting the first team to claim victory may not have the best formula.

Fred Hutch's Dr. Ruth Etzioni speaks during a panel discussion at the Northwest Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference in September 2017.
Fred Hutch's Dr. Ruth Etzioni speaks during a panel discussion at the Northwest Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference in September 2017.
Public health’s pandemic pivot
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center News,

When the pandemic hit, Fred Hutch biostatistician and UW Affiliate Professor of Biostatistics Ruth Etzioni began to put her modeling chops to work on outmaneuvering COVID-19. “In a way, I feel like I’ve become a model whisperer,” she said.

 

A scientist at work on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate at Bogazici University in Istanbul in August. Onur Coban/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A scientist at work on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate at Bogazici University in Istanbul in August. Onur Coban/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
How Can You Tell If A COVID-19 Vaccine Is Working?
NPR,

Holly Janes, affiliate professor of biostatistics and a biostatistician at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is quoted in this article that answers frequently asked questions about large-scale vaccine efficacy studies.

Map showing concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in the Puget Sound
Map showing concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in the Puget Sound
Dementia in the air?
UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences,

Associate Professor of Biostatistics Adam Szpiro is part of the team using a high-resolution model to study the impact that air pollution may have on cognitive decline and dementia.

Gloved healthcare worker administers vaccine in patients arm
Gloved healthcare worker administers vaccine in patients arm
‘Warp Speed’ COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts Aim for Diverse Volunteers and Long-Lasting Protection
Scientific American,

The trick to delivering fast answers on vaccine safety and efficacy is to enroll large numbers of people, says Peter Gilbert, a biostatistician at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and a UW research professor of biostatistics.