Infectious disease modeling pioneer helped outline modern precepts for design and analysis of vaccine trials, causal inference with interference; shaped a generation of infectious disease scientists. M. Elizabeth Halloran was a professor with the University of Washington Department of Biostatistics and founder of the Summer Institute in Statistics and Modeling for Infectious Diseases (SISMID).

In this podcast episode Kathleen Kerr, a Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Washington, discusses overdiagnosis and medical decision making. Kerr delves into how patients perceive mammogram results, the difference between overdiagnosis and overcalling, and the challenges pathologists face in diagnosing cancer. She also shares findings from her research on the influence of prior opinions on second diagnoses and the cognitive processes involved in interpreting pathology images. The discussion highlights the complexities and subjectivity in pathology diagnoses and the implications for patient care.

Vibrent Health, a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) data company in the field of precision medicine research, is collaborating with Fred Hutch Cancer Center on critical correlates of protection research. Peter Gilbert, principle Hutch investigator and University of Washington professor of biostatistics, is quoted: ""This study expands access, enhances flexibility of collecting high-quality data, and accelerates the development of next-generation therapeutics and prevention agents...By identifying and validating correlates of protection, this research not only informs the development of more targeted and effective treatments for infectious diseases but also establishes a framework that can be applied to a wide range of clinical trials, improving outcomes and speeding up the path to approval."