Blog

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Bryan Helm to principal statistical genetic analyst, effective November 1. Helm earned a BA cum laude in biology at DePauw University, followed by his MS and PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona. He was then a postdoc at North Dakota State University (funded by the USDA and NSF) and Indiana University School of Medicine (supported by a T32 fellowship for work in pediatric clinical and developmental pharmacology). 

Transitioning into bioinformatics and joining the Department of Biostatistics in 2021, Helm supports research projects with genomic, transcriptomic, and next-generation sequencing analysis, including single-cell and spatial methods. His bibliography includes first-authored papers in Journal of Experimental Biology, Journal of Insect Physiology, Biology Open, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). His recent work includes identifying functionally distinct thymic DC subsets and elucidating requirements for crosstalk with thymocyte subsets that support their homeostasis and activation, with a preprint posted at bioRxiv; members of that team include biostatistics and bioinformatics professor Qi Liu, Vanderbilt University Medical Center colleagues Cody Heiser and Ken Lau, and investigators at the University of Texas at Austin. Outside of work, his activities include serving as an umpire for the West Nashville Sports League.

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Hui Nian to research assistant professor of biostatistics and orthopaedic surgery, effective December 1. After earning her BS in biology and MS in cell biology from Beijing Normal University, followed by her MS in statistics and PhD in biochemistry at Oregon State University, Dr. Nian joined Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2010 as a biostatistician. She was appointed to the faculty as Assistant in Biostatistics in 2018, with a secondary appointment in Orthopaedic Surgery added in 2022. Dr. Nian has published more than one hundred peer-reviewed papers, including first-authored articles in the Journal of Applied Statistics ("Performance evaluation of propensity score methods for estimating average treatment effects with multi-level treatments," 2018) and Nicotine & Tobacco Research ("Demographic characteristics, perinatal smoking patterns, and risk for neonatal health complications among pregnant smokers in the United States who begin using electronic cigarettes during pregnancy: A descriptive study using population-based surveillance data," 2024). In demand as a content expert and experienced collaborative statistician among multiple departments at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Dr. Nian chaired this year's Patrick G. Arbogast Collaborative Publication Award Committee.

The Statistical Computing Series hosted by Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Department of Biostatistics features presentations on the implementation of statistical models and methods, statistical computation, and graphics. These informal meetings allow experienced statisticians and developers to share their expertise on computing topics with practitioners across Vanderbilt. On Thursday, December 12, 2024, at 2:30 pm Central Time on Teams, principal application developer Cole Beck will present "What I look for in a code review." Here is his description:

Have you ever had your code reviewed, or had to review someone else's? I occasionally have the chance to evaluate someone else's R code - it's always a valuable learning experience for myself and the author. In this talk I'll provide common potential issues I look for in a review, as well as several example solutions.

For access to this webinar, contact series organizer Ryan Moore.

Beck is a 2023 IT Innovation Award winner, and the student body bestowed on him the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2022. His service to the department also includes contributing to the Vanderbilt Biostatistics Summer Internship for Underrepresented Undergraduate program as a planning and selection committee member and instructor.

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Caroline Birdrow to senior biostatistician, effective November 1. Originally from New Orleans, Birdrow earned her bachelor's degree in mathematics from Washington and Lee University, with a minor in poverty and human capability studies, and a term abroad in China on management accounting. For her MS in biostatistics from Vanderbilt, she completed her thesis, "Cumulative Probability Models for Semiparametric G-Computation," under the supervision of associate professor Andrew Spieker. At Vanderbilt University Medical Center since 2021, Birdrow has collaborated primarily with Vanderbilt's Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship (CIBS) Center; her duties as a biostatistician have included completing data safety monitoring board reports for randomized controlled trials, managing and analyzing observational study data, leading project meetings, and conducting a variety of ancillary analyses in relation to larger projects. She is a 2023 and 2024 winner of travel awards from Women in Statistics and Data Science, a graduate of the ISTAART (International Society to Advance Alzheimers Research and Treatment) Design and Data Analytics PIA (Professional Interest Area) Workshop on applying novel models for longitudinal continuous outcomes (including cognitive function), and a co-author of peer-reviewed papers in JAMA Network Open and Critical Care Medicine. As an ASA (American Statistical Association) GivesBack leader, she has judged the ASA's Fall Data Challenge and Virtual Science Fair, developed community impact projects for JSM 2023 and 2024, and actively contributed to other organizational and peer-review activities. Her service to the Department of Biostatistics includes participating on the hiring and staff onboarding committees, the causal inference working group, and the Ethical Responsibilities Regarding Race in Research group. Outside of biostatistics, Birdrow loves listening to podcasts and music, watching reality TV and documentaries, spending time with her dog, and going for long walks.

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Onur M. Orun to principal biostatistician, effective October 1. Orun earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Izmir University of Economics in Turkey, followed by a MS in math from Bilkent University (Ankara, Turkey) and a MS in statistics from Colorado State University, with his master's project focusing on alumni association membership retention at CSU. At Vanderbilt University Medical Center since 2019, Orun has collaborated primarily with Vanderbilt's Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship (CIBS) Center, playing a lead role in creating statistical analysis plans and high-quality, reproducible reports for randomized controlled trials and observational studies, with first-authorship of "Statistical analysis plan for the Surgery for Cancer with Option of Palliative Care Expert (SCOPE) trial: A randomized controlled trial of a specialist palliative care intervention for patients undergoing surgery for cancer" (Trials 2021). Orun has co-authored nine other peer-reviewed publications to date, in high-impact journals such as Lancet: Respiratory Medicine, JAMA Surgery, Chest, and New England Journal of Medicine, and won our department's Linda Stewart Applied Analysis Report Award twice, in 2019 for "Vitamin D to Improve Outcomes by Leveraging Early Treatment: Long-term Brain Outcomes in Vitamin D Deficient Patients (VIOLET-BUD)" and in 2023 for "BRAIN-ICU Long-term Outcomes Latent Trajectory Analysis Report." Away from his computer, his interests include foodie adventures and hiking. Click his name to view his staff profile.