Kathleen Kerr, a professor of biostatistics in the University of Washington School of Public Health, has been named director of the Master of Science (MS) Capstone Program in the Department of Biostatistics.
Now in its fifth year, the 18-month degree program provides rigorous, practical training for students looking to enter the job market upon graduation.
In the program students focus on one of three specialization pathways: data science, statistical genetics, or modeling and methods.
“I'm proud to be a part of the outstanding educational programs in UW Biostatistics, and I'm looking forward to becoming more deeply involved in the MS Capstone Program,” said Kerr.
Kerr’s recent research has focused on the overdiagnosis of skin cancer which was published in JAMA Dermatology, and for another project, she developed statistical models to identify subsets of patients with very low risk of dying from melanoma. She has been a member of the research team on the UW Dog Aging Project since the project originated. Kerr has previously engaged Biostatistics MS Capstone students in Dog Aging Project research, including a study investigating a possible effect of feeding frequency on dog health.
Kerr is also the director of the Summer Institute in Statistics for Clinical & Epidemiological Research (SISCER) which offers graduate-level short courses every summer for statisticians, epidemiologists and clinical researchers. SISCER is in its 10th year.
Kerr’s appointment as MS Capstone director will begin September 1, 2023 succeeding Noah Simon who supervised the program from 2022-2023.
“I am excited to engage with our returning Capstone students as director, and to welcome the incoming cohort of students to our department,” said Kerr.
