TSHS 2024 Incoming Chair Message
2024 Incoming Chair Message by Melinda Higgins, PhD, Emory University.
Happy New Year! I am Melinda Higgins, the incoming 2024 Chair of the ASA Section for Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences. On behalf of myself and the entire Executive Committee, we are looking forward to making this a great year for all our members. Let me take this opportunity to tell you about TSHS resources, upcoming events, and opportunities to get involved!
1. Teaching Resources: The TSHS Resources Portal provides peer-reviewed health-science related datasets for TSHS members to use in their teaching. There are currently 17 datasets available on the Portal, and each dataset is accompanied by a study description, data dictionary, and, when available, published paper. If you have a dataset that you would like to contribute to the Portal, please consider submitting it for review. If you have any questions, please contact our Portal Co-Directors, Carol Bigelow and Jenna Carlson.
2. Blog: The TSHS blog is regularly updated with Section news, webinar recaps, and resource reviews. We are always looking for individuals to contribute to the blog, so if you would like to share a helpful teaching resource or your thoughts on a teaching method that worked well for you, please contact our blog Editor, Charlotte Bolch.
3. Webinars and YouTube: The TSHS Section hosts several free online webinars each year. Our latest Winter 2023 webinar was a presentation by Lucy McGowan on “Design Principles for Data”. This webinar and more are hosted on the TSHS YouTube channel. If you have an idea for a future webinar, please contact our webinar Coordinator, Darsy Darssan.
4. Awards: The Section offers three annual awards for our members, including the Outstanding Teaching Award, the Young Investigator Award, and the Distinguished Achievement Award. Deadline for nominations is May 1 and details are available on the TSHS Amstat Community pages.
5. JSM 2024: We are looking forward to JSM 2024 in Portland, Oregon August 3-8, 2024. We are currently organizing several events for this year’s meeting. If you are attending JSM, please be sure to come to our annual mixer where you can meet other members, have a bite to eat, and enter to win great raffle prizes. The time/date and location of our events will be listed in the JSM online program.
6. Career Development Subcommittee: The Section’s Career Development Subcommittee aims to foster career development for our fellow section members by providing career advice and mentoring to help junior or mid-level statisticians achieve their professional goals. We are currently seeking sample promotion dossier personal statements, tips for writing a successful dossier package for promotion, and volunteers to be letter writers for fellow TSHS members submitting their dossier package for promotion. We will be posting updates soon in mid-Spring 2024 for more on these career support and mentoring opportunities through the ASA Community Discussion Board.
This is an exciting time for our Section and there are many opportunities to get involved. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or suggestions. I look forward to hearing from you.
2024 Chair, Section for Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences: TSHS Blog and ASA Amstat Community Webpages