CS2a: Panel: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Leveraging Different Approaches to Learn from Data

A single source of data can provide insight into a wide variety of interesting questions. Research teams often approach similar problems from different lenses and synthesize their findings to better understand the context of their work. This setup often flourishes when a senior investigator works with junior trainees, as each brings different expertise to the table. In this panel, sponsored by the Caucus for Women in Statistics, we feature a diverse group of research teams ranging from undergraduate research assistants to tenured faculty. The speakers will discuss their collaborative work in health disparities, phylogenetic diversity, HIV prevention, and disability statistics. For each pair, we highlight how their projects align to answer a broader question. First, Dr. Sarah Lotspeich and mentees Cassandra Hung and Darcy Green will describe how measurement error can pose challenges in quantifying health disparities using a case study on diabetes and the food environment. Next, Dr. Taylor Krajewski and mentee Lydia Owens will apply distinct modeling strategies to understand predictors of pre-exposure prophylaxis. Then, Dr. Laura Kubatko and former mentee Dr. Kristina Wicke will present a fair proportion index to explore the range of outcomes induced by using gene-level and species-level phylogenies to rank species. Finally, Dr. Shiya Cao and mentee Lucia Qin will close the session by discussing the use of multilevel models and quantitative intersectional analysis to discover healthcare disparities and policy implications for inter-categorical groups. The four speaker teams span a wide array of technical content and statistical applications, making the session valuable and interesting to a general audience. However, all four showcase how team science can build community, support collaboration, and allow both the mentors and the mentees to excel.