Ellen Graham, a biostatistics PhD student at the University of Washington School of Public Health, has been awarded the Gertrude M. Cox Scholarship by the American Statistical Association (ASA).
In announcing the award, ASA cited Graham’s extraordinary commitment to improving human health through statistical research, her dedication towards inclusiveness in medical research, and her academic success in pursuit of a PhD.
Graham is passionate about using her graduate training to ensure medical research includes and acknowledges participants who are sex or gender minorities. As part of the Biostatistics Department’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, she advocates for classes that discuss how data on the category of sex is used in biostatistics and examine the implications of current systems for classifying and utilizing sex and gender in research.
"We all deserve to be represented in every level of the medical research process, from the participant to the investigator, and I'm excited to continue working towards a more equitable health system with the support of the Gertrude M. Cox Scholarship," said Graham.
Graham currently works as a research assistant at Seattle Children’s Research Institute with Amalia Magaret, a research professor in pediatrics and biostatistics. They are investigating methods that adjust for bias caused by error in measurements of baseline lung function in cystic fibrosis research.
“Ellen possesses an abundance of curiosity, persistence and organization. She is curious to learn all the clinical, logistical, and statistical aspects of the work we are undertaking, asking insightful questions that are improving our approach and making our findings more generalizable,” said Magaret.
Graham’s advisor, Professor of Biostatistics and Statistics Daniela Witten, agrees. "Ellen is smart, hard-working, intellectually curious, and passionate about our field. She is a very deserving recipient of this year's award."
The Gertrude M. Cox Scholarship is sponsored by ASA’s Committee on Women in Statistics and Caucus for Women in Statistics and is awarded each year to two women: one in or entering the early stages of graduate training (MS or PhD) and one in a more advanced stage of training. Scholarship recipients receive a certificate and $1,000.
