Recipe to Becoming a Successful Biostatistician in a Collaborative Environment

• Activity Number: 681
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Thursday, August 13, 2015 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section for Statistical Programmers and Analysts
• Author(s): Terry Hyslop* and Sumithra J. Mandrekar* and John Crowley*
• Companies: Duke University and Mayo Clinic and Cancer Research and Biostatistics
• Keywords: Biostatistician ; Mentoring ; Leadership ; Collaboration

Abstract

Being a successful biostatistician in a collaborative environment requires multidisciplinary skills. Understanding of the clinical nomenclature and clinical implications of the different statistical designs and analyses is vital to make the connection from statistical to clinical relevance. A willing mentoring team (comprised of members not restricted to just biostatistics, but also from the collaborative areas) able to spend time with the mentee regularly to groom them at a scientific and academic level is an essential component. Effective communication skills (speaking, listening, writing and presenting ideas, concepts, and results) are a key to establishing and sustaining a successful collaboration with busy clinician investigators. As a collaborative statistician, often there are multiple demands, thus team work, project management, prioritization, delegation, and multi-tasking are essential. Finally, leadership skills (team building, conflict resolution, creative problem solving, strategic planning and goal setting) are critical. This interactive session will touch upon all these aspects of career development, using insights from personal experiences of the speakers.