Pharmaceutical Data Science Conference 2024

Committees

Organizing Committee

Program Committee

Poster Competition Committee

Support Team

Dr. Joan Buenconsejo, BMS

Dr. Joan Buenconsejo Dr. Joan Buenconsejo is the Vice President and head of Cardiovascular and Neuroscience Biostatistics at Bristol-Myers Squibb. In addition to leading a team of talented statisticians who support the development of innovative therapies for patients with CV and neurological diseases, she is also co-leading a BMS-wide workstream that aims to foster trial design innovation and optimization. Dr. Buenconsejo has over 20 years of drug development experience, having worked at the Food and Drug Administration and AstraZeneca before joining BMS. While she calls statistics as her “bread and butter” skillset, she is also passionate about applying novel tools and technology to generate insights, simplify workflows, and reduce patient burden in clinical research. She is also an advocate of using innovative trial designs to accelerate the development of promising new therapies. Dr. Buenconsejo holds a Ph.D. and an MPH in Biostatistics from Yale University.

Dr. Kun Chen, University of Connecticut

Dr. Kun Chen Kun Chen is a Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Connecticut (UConn) and a Research Fellow at the Center for Population Health, UConn Health Center. He has been a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) since 2022 and an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute (ISI) since 2016. His research mainly focuses on large-scale multivariate statistical learning, statistical machine learning, and healthcare analytics. He has extensive interdisciplinary research experience in several fields, including ecology, biology, agriculture, and population health. Dr. Chen has graduated with over ten PhDs and received Recognition for Teaching Excellence at UConn multiple times. He has also been active in professional services. In particular, he was a core member in establishing the New England Statistical Society (NESS) in 2017 and served as its secretary until 2021. Currently, he serves as the Program Chair for the ASA Section on Statistical Computing and Vice-President for the ASA Connecticut Chapter.

Dr. Chen received his B.Econ. in Finance and Dual B.S. in Computer Science & Technology from the University of Science & Technology of China in 2003, M.S. in Statistics from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2007, and Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Iowa in 2011. Before joining UConn, he was on the faculty of Kansas State University from 2011 to 2013.

Numan Karim, AbbVie

Numan Karim Numan Karim is an Associate Director of Data Science & Analytics at AbbVie. He has 8 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with a focus on enabling analytics capabilities across Clinical Development, with an emphasis on Patient Safety analytics.

Numan's current work involves developing fit-for-purpose analytics platforms for healthcare professionals and scientists to easily navigate, interrogate, and survey complex clinical data to ensure patient safety and the safety of AbbVie drugs. Combining visual analytics, statistics, and modern data engineering tactics, he has deployed multiple data science products at scale, enabling patient safety insights and surveillance in an automated, self-service manner. Numan is passionate about data science leadership and the intersection of analytics, technology, and medicine.

Numan received a B.S. in Statistics & Integrative Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2016, and received a M.S. in Applied Data Science from the University of Chicago in 2020.

Nareen Katta, AbbVie

Nareen Katta Nareen Katta works as the Head of Data Science and Analytics at AbbVie. Nareen has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. In his current role, Nareen is responsible for building and executing the advanced analytics strategy, that covers both Scientific and Business Operations, across Clinical Development Continuum, Geostrategy and Study start-up, Centralized and Risk Based Monitoring, Site Engagement, Business Performance, Precision Medicine, Patient Safety and R&D. In addition, Nareen is actively engaged in evaluating the opportunities created by the technology trends like big data, automation, machine learning and AI, digital health etc. and strategically instantiating them at AbbVie to drive organizational transformation. Nareen has an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a MS in Electrical Engineering from University of Texas at Arlington.

Dr. Nan Shao, Moderna

Dr. Nan Shao Dr. Nan Shao is currently leading the real world evidence (RWE) analytics team at Moderna. She has lead several innovation projects in her previous position at Boehringer Ingelheim, applying data science to real world data and promoting the use of digital health technology (DHT) in clinical trials. She was the lead data scientist at New York Life insurance and Research Staff Member at IBM Research. She is curious, persistent and embraces challenges. She received her PhD degree in applied statistics from University of California, Riverside and BS in statistics from Peking University.

Dr. Pritibha Singh, Novartis

Dr. Pritibha Singh Global leader with extensive cross-sector experience (Tech space, Pharmaceutical, Biosimilar, Academia, FMCG, and Banking) across diverse geographies (NZ, AU, UK, DE, CH). A blend of expertise in Drug Development (Psychology, Statistics, and Business). Proven track record in driving change, stakeholder collaboration, and managing organizational complexity. Most recently, working on data42, a novel technology platform that brings data from Research, Development and Late-Phase onto one platform to enable advanced Data Science analyses. With 17 years of drug development experience, I am completing a Doctorate at ETH Zurich, specializing in sustainable strategies for decentralized clinical trials.

Dr. Rebecca Taha, ICON

Dr. Rebecca Taha Rebecca Taha PhD, MBA, a portfolio strategist and statistician has served the life sciences and healthcare industry for over 20 years. As Director, she supports biotechnology and biopharma organizations around the globe, providing strategic consulting and advisory services. Previously, she supported numerous pharmaceutical and device development programs, most recently as a senior research scientist at Eli Lilly and Company in Global Statistical Sciences. Dr. Taha received her MS and PhD from the University of Kentucky in Statistics and Gerontology, respectively, and her MBA from the Kelley School of Business.

Dr. Jingjing Ye, BeiGene

Dr. Jingjing Ye Dr. Jingjing Ye is an executive director and currently leads a global team, Data Science and Digital Innovations (DSDI), with Global Statistics and Data Sciences (GSDS) in BeiGene. She has over 17 years’ experience in pharmaceutical industry and US FDA, with focus in cancer drug discovery and development. Her statistical and regulatory experience expands full spectrum on patients’ treatment journey from diagnosis, treatment, to living with the condition. She is very active in statistical communities in US and between US and China DIA communities, including leading several cross-disciplinary and cross-company working groups. She received her PhD degree in statistics from University of California, Davis and BS in applied mathematics from Peking University.

Dr. Wei Zhong, BioNTech

Dr. Wei Zhong Wei Zhong is a Senior Director of Biostatistics at BioNTech SE and providing strategic guidance into oncology drug development and regulatory plan. He has over 12 years’ in-depth experience in phase I-IV clinical trials with the focus on oncology and CNS in big pharma companies including Genentech, Takeda and Pfizer. Wei is a recognized expert in innovative trial designs, Bayesian methodology, and pharmacometrics, with a solid publication record (30+ papers). Wei is playing an active role in scientific community and professional society as Conference Organizer, Session Chair and Invited Speaker in national statistical conferences. He is currently the VP of New England Statistical Society to lead NextGen Committee to support the next generation of statisticians and data scientists. Wei received his PhD in biostatistics and MS in pharmacometrics from University of Minnesota and BS in biotechnology from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.