Third-year doctoral student Charles Wolock has been awarded the 2020 Donovan J. Thompson Award by the University of Washington Department of Biostatistics. The honor, which includes a $2,000 stipend, is presented each year to the student with the best combined performance on the PhD applied and theory qualifying exams.
"It's an honor to receive this award from the department. I'm grateful for the support from my professors, the graduate program, and the members of my cohort during the last two years," says Wolock, who earlier this year received a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation.
Wolock’s research interests include decision theory, missing data methodology, and statistical genetics. He is currently working with Lurdes Inoue, professor of biostatistics and department chair, to explore connections between Bayesian and frequentist approaches to sequential decision making. The aim is to design methods that optimally individualize patient treatment plans based on evolving health status over time.
The award is named in honor of Donovan J. Thompson, who served as department chair from 1973 to 1983, and whose vision laid the foundation for what is today a nationally-recognized biostatistics program.
