I’m an Epidemiology PhD candidate at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. My research focuses on spatial and social barriers to physical activity and health, methodologically drawing on my professional background as a computer programmer. In addition to a pre-conference workshop on R at SER last year, I’ve taught both week-long intensive courses and semester-long graduate-level classes in the use of R for epidemiology. If elected education chair, I would have two primary aims: 1) to increase technical education opportunities for trainees and 2) to publicize and deliver a high-quality SERdigital e-Conference.
I believe strongly that epidemiologic training needs to incorporate technical skills. As studies increasingly gather personalized data through custom smartphone and web apps, we need the technical competence to guide these apps’ technical development, if not the skills to build them ourselves. Perhaps more importantly, as ‘Big Data’ analyses become a stream of epidemiologic research, we will need hacking skills to work the data efficiently. As education chair, I would work both to develop opportunities to build these skills and to ensure the opportunities that already exist are well-publicized.
SERdigital, the annual Student/Postdoc e-Conference, has consistently featured not only high-quality student research but also valuable perspectives from established leaders in the field. But I believe the e-conference has not gotten the trainee attention it deserves – only a small proportion of SER student members have attended each year. If elected education chair, I will make it my mission not only to deliver a conference on par with previous years but also to encourage as many trainees as possible take advantage of the conference, both through traditional publicity and by organizing “viewing parties” for trainees to attend together and discuss the presentations.
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