“Biostats Day” is a 1 to 1 ½-hour long biostatistics exposure program that we offer to partner organizations to provide an engaging introduction to the field. It is currently an online program but, when feasible, we will convert it to an in-person event so we can host students at our office, and they can experience a biostatistics work environment. The program consists of the following sections:

Introduction

Broad definition of biostatistics and exploration of what the actual work of a biostatistician entails.

Statistical Activities

Discussion and exploration of statistical concepts.

• A discussion of data visualization featuring the “What’s Going on in this Graph?” collection from the New York Times’ collaboration with the American Statistical Association.
• “Statistical thinking” exercises which incorporate student data and update in real-time.
• “Population vs Sample Mean” demonstration exploring the concept of sampling error.
• “The F Test” activity, which explores measurement error. Participants count the number of F’s in a paragraph in a 2-minute timeframe.

Meet the Biostatistician

One or two professional biostatisticians (both masters and doctoral level) will describe the paths that led them from high school to their current positions, and present a relatable project with accompanying visuals.

Next Steps

A discussion of resources and recommendations for students interested in learning more about a career in biostatistics.

Bridge to Biostats, in partnership with BEAM (Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics), has taught a weekend “Data Literacy & Bio/Statistical Thinking” class as part of BEAM’s High School Pathway Program in the spring semesters of 2021 & 2022.

Bridge to Biostats hosts a cohort of students in a Biostatistics-specific track of MSK’s Summer Exposure Program (SEP) which is designed to expose and provide support to underrepresented and under-resourced high school students interested in pursuing careers in the health professions.  In addition to the exposure and college preparatory training that all SEP students receive, our Biostatistics students attend introductory statistics lectures and R coding labs. To demonstrate the relevance of statistics in medicine to all SEP students, we also host statistical thinking sessions (on subjects like data ethics, p-values, sampling, and correlation vs. causation) and guest lectures from MSK and the greater Biostatistics community. We just completed the second year participating in the SEP and already look forward to Summer 2023!

• July 2023: Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Summer Exposure Program Biostats Day
  Jessica Lavery, Stephanie Lobaugh, Esther Drill, and Hannah Kalvin presented to Memorial Sloan Kettering’s 2023 Summer Exposure Program students. Many thanks to Dr. Mithat Gönen for joining us for the “Meet the Biostatistician” section. 
• April 2023: Baruch College STEP Academy Biostats Day
  
  
  Esther Drill, Stephanie Lobaugh, Zoe Guan, and Kay See Tan presented to Baruch College STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program) Academy students. We thank Celine Bien-Amie for sharing her experiences in the biostatistics field during our “Meet the Biostatistician” section.
• March 2023: Success Academy Biostats Day
  
  
  We presented our 2nd-ever in-person “Biostats Day” at the Success Academy Harlem High School campus to a group of engaged and inquisitive scholars. Thank you to all who helped make this a success!
• November 2022: Baruch College STEP Academy Biostats Day
  
  
  Esther Drill, Stephanie Lobaugh and Zoe Guan presented our first in person Biostats Day program to the Baruch College STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program) Academy students. Thank you to Celine Bien-Aime for sharing her journey to a career in biostatistics and to Baruch STEP for the opportunity to showcase the field.
• July 2022: SEP Biostats Day
  Jessica Lavery and Stephanie Lobaugh presented our Biostats Day program to the Summer Exposure Program students. Many thanks to Dr. Mithat Gönen for sharing his experiences during our “Meet the Biostatistician” section.

• April 2022: BEAM 8th grade Biostats Day
  Joanne Chou and Jessica Lavery presented the first Biostats Day of 2022. We thank Dr. Melody Goodman for sharing her journey into biostatistics and the impactful work she is doing in this field.

• December 2021: CUNY STEM Research Academy Biostats Day
  Jessica Flynn and Hannah Kalvin led our final Biostats Day of 2021. A special thanks to Dr. Manisha Desai & Celine Bien-Amie for joining us for our “Meet the Biostatistician” section.
• June 2021: HOPP SSP & SEP Biostats Day
  Joanne Chou and Stephanie Lobaugh presented our Biostats Day program for MSK’s HOPP Summer Student Program and Summer Exposure Program students. Thank you to guest speaker Dr. Mithat Gönen for sharing his career path and meaningful professional insights with us.
• March 2021: Einstein Enrichment Program Biostats Days
  Jessica Flynn, Jessica Lavery, Sammi Brown and Stephanie Lobaugh ran two Biostats Day programs for EEP students. Many thanks again to Dr. Kay See Tan and Dr. Sujata Patil for joining us for “Meet the Biostatistician.”

• December 2020: BEAM 8th Grade + High School Biostats Day
  Sammi Brown and Jessica Lavery led the second BEAM Biostats Day program for 8th grade and high school students. At the start of the program, 33% of the students had heard of biostatistics, and at the end of the program 90% were interested in learning more.
• October 2020: BEAM High School Biostats Day
  Jessica Flynn and Stephanie Lobaugh presented an introduction to biostatistics to 20+ high school students in New York City and Los Angeles. At the start of the program, 20% of the students had heard of biostatistics, and at the end of the program 70% were interested in learning more.
• September 2020: StatFest
  The Bridge to Biostats committee organized a virtual booth to provide information about opportunities in Biostatistics to undergraduate students at the annual StatFest expo. StatFest is a conference aimed at encouraging undergraduate students who are members of historically underrepresented groups to pursue careers and graduate studies in the statistical sciences.
• August 2020: BEAM Career Day
  Jessica Lavery and Sujata Patil presented their paths to careers in biostatistics to middle school students through a career day organized by BEAM.