UB to host UP-STAT conference for statistics and biostatistics

Statisticians from across upstate New York will descend on UB May 2-4 for UP-STAT 2022, the 10th joint conference of the Upstate Chapters of the American Statistical Association. This year’s conference — which will focus on how the statistical sciences serve as a foundation for knowledge, discovery and innovation — is taking place in a hybrid format, with in-person sessions scheduled at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

The conference aims to bring together statistical scientists, computational and data scientists, as well as other professionals from related relevant fields with which the statistical sciences — statistics and biostatistics — interact, from upstate New York and its neighboring regions.

This is the first time UB is hosting the conference, which has expanded to two-and-a-half days instead of one. It will also feature broader and more inclusive topics than previous iterations.

“We are excited to host this conference at UB, as it allows us to showcase the work we do, both in research and education,” says conference organizer Marianthi Markatou, SUNY Distinguished Professor and associate chair of research and healthcare informatics in the Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Health Professions.

“Statistical sciences is a foundation for knowledge, discovery and innovation. Hosting the conference at UB facilitates connections with the major academic institutions and businesses in the region and beyond,” adds Markatou.

Keynote speakers include Regina Y. Liu, Distinguished Professor and chair of statistics and biostatistics at Rutgers University; Jianying Hu, IBM fellow, global science leader in AI for health care and director of HCLS research at IBM Research, whose talk will focus on artificial intelligence for health care and life sciences; and Xuming He, H.C. Carver Professor of Statistics at the University of Michigan.

In addition, Sarah Muldoon, associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, UB College of Arts and Sciences, will deliver a special invited session on modeling and analyzing neuroimaging data across scales.

A panel discussion on pathways to careers in biopharmaceutical statistics will feature several industry representatives, including Bo Yang, vice president for biometrics at Vertex; Joseph C. Cappelleri, executive director of biostatistics for Pfizer; Ray Liu, senior vice president and head of biometrics and precision medicine at EMD Serono/Merck KGaA; and Ram Tiwari, head of statistical methodology for Bristol Myers Squibb.

The conference is also hosting student paper and poster competitions. “UP-STAT 2022 is an exciting opportunity for students to present their work and interact with top-notch researchers from both academia and industry,” says Gregory Wilding, professor and chair of the Department of Biostatistics. “Furthermore, they will learn of cutting-edge advancements in the statistical sciences.”

More information on this year’s panels, speakers and events is available on the conference website.

Event sponsors include: American Statistical Association (ASA); Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design Core, CTSI, UB; Corning; EMD Serono; Frontier Science Foundation; Gilead; Kaleida Health Foundation; and Pfizer.