Why and how you can promote more students become statisticians
As someone who found my way into statistics late—only halfway through university—I often wonder: what if more young people knew about this path earlier?
In this episode, I sit down with two wonderful guests and PSI volunteers, Emma Crawford and Alex Spiers, to explore exactly that: how we, as statisticians and scientists, can inspire the next generation.
We talk about the why behind investing in STEM outreach, share personal stories, and get into the practical steps you can take—whether you want to volunteer at a school, present virtually, or simply start a conversation with a student.
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29:32
Clarifying confusions around interim, primary, final, and other analyses in clinical trial
Group sequential trials, interim analyses, final analyses, updated analyses… what do these terms actually mean, and why is there so much confusion?
In this technical yet highly practical episode, I speak with Kaspar Rufibach, Principal Biostatistician at Roche, to unpack some of the most commonly misunderstood terminology and concepts in clinical trial design and analysis.
If you've ever questioned what really qualifies as an "interim analysis" or struggled to explain why a “final analysis” isn’t always the last word, this conversation is for you.
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31:11
Reimagining Clinical Trials with Synthetic Data and Digital Twins
In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Prof. Holger Fröhlich, who leads the AI and Data Science Group at the Fraunhofer Institute and is an honorary professor at the University of Bonn. We explored one of the hottest topics in healthcare data science right now: synthetic data.
Holger and I discussed how synthetic data is generated using AI, what role digital twins could play in the future of clinical trials, and how these innovations could fundamentally reshape how we design and conduct research. We dove into the Cynthia Project, which is part of the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) – the largest public-private partnership for health research in Europe.
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22:11
Working in an english work environment as a non-native speaker
In this episode, I’m diving into a topic that’s very personal to me—working in an English-speaking environment as a non-native speaker. If you’ve ever felt unsure about your English skills in meetings, emails, or presentations, you’re not alone. I’ve been there myself, and I want to share what’s helped me grow more confident and effective over the years.
I’ll walk you through practical strategies that go beyond grammar—things that have really made a difference for me in both speaking and writing, and most importantly, in getting my message across clearly.
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12:51
R-shiny - how to set it up effectively and avoid common mistakes
In this episode, I’m once again joined by Daniel Sabanés Bové for a deep dive into one of the most impactful tools for statisticians working with data visualization—R-Shiny.
We explore how interactive data visualizations can help you iterate faster, collaborate better across functions, and focus more on the actual scientific questions rather than just coding. Daniel shares some excellent examples from clinical trials and gives practical tips on how to avoid common pitfalls when building Shiny apps.
Whether you're designing your first app or maintaining a more complex one, you'll find plenty of value in this conversation—from best practices around UI/UX design to strategies for modular development and testing.
Über The Effective Statistician - in association with PSI
The podcast from statisticians for statisticians to have a bigger impact at work. This podcast is set up in association with PSI - Promoting Statistical Insight. This podcast helps you to grow your leadership skills, learn about ongoing discussions in the scientific community, build you knowledge about the health sector and be more efficient at work. This podcast helps statisticians at all levels with and without management experience. It is targeted towards the health, but lots of topics will be important for the wider data scientists community.
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