Previous Schedule

Current Schedule

Vance Rabius, American Cancer Society
Wednesday, November 18th
4:30pm-5:30pm
UTC 1.146

More than 70 percent of smokers want to quit and attempt to do so each year, but without help, most fail. Vance Rabius will discuss the role that data and statistics played in the development and growth of Quitline, a clinically proven, telephone-based counseling program that helps employees who use tobacco double their chances of successfully kicking the habit.

Speaker Bio:

Vance Rabius is a Senior Scientist at the American Cancer Society and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Health at the University of Texas. He directs research related to smoking cessation at the National Cancer Information Center in Austin. He completed his BA at the University of Kansas in Economics and Psychology, his MA at Arizona State University in Social Psychology, and his PhD at the University of Texas, School of Public Health, in Behavioral Science, Biomedical Statistics, and Health Economics . Dr Rabius participated in the development and implementation of the American Cancer Society’s Quitline® program and, for the first 6 years of its operation, directed all related clinical trials, evaluations, and contract reporting. He has also studied at the University of Texas Schools of Law and Public Affairs and the Indian Law Institute in New Delhi. In addition to Texas, he has lived in Missouri, Kansas, Arizona, Montana, and India. Dr. Rabius has published numerous articles related to smoking cessation in peer-reviewed journals and presented and moderated at numerous national and international tobacco conferences. He also reviews articles for several journals, grants & contracts for various government agencies, and lectures periodically at various universities in the US and Portugal.

Previous Schedule

Jonathan Hilland, Mindwave Research
Thursday, September 24th
4:30pm-5:30pm
UTC 3.122

Each year, leading global technology companies spend millions of dollars developing new products, creating marketing campaigns to sell them, and pursuing broader customer reach. What challenges do they need to address? What types of information do they seek to solve these challenges – market trends, customer feedback? And what methods are used to capture this information? How do the top technology companies use market research to ultimately guide strategy and drive decisions?

Mindwave Research is a leader in full-service market research and has conducted custom studies in 30 countries for more than 100 leading computer, telecom, and software companies since its launch in 1999. Jonathan Hilland, CEO of Mindwave Research, will discuss how his team uses forward-thinking qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to provide actionable insights for its technology clients.

Speaker Bio:

Jonathan Hilland is President / CEO of Mindwave Research, a full-service market research firm which he co-founded in 1999. Jonathan has over 15 years of experience in quantitative and qualitative research, with special expertise as a qualitative moderator. His deep knowledge of the technology industry began at CMP Media – a publishing company for Information Week, Network Computing, VAR Business, Reseller News, etc. – where he focused on advertising and media research as well as technology market trends. In his spare time Jonathan enjoys travel to France to visit family and friends, horseback riding/roundup, and trying new red wines that he hasn’t tasted yet!

Mindwave Research is a leader in global market research, and has conducted custom studies in 30 countries for more than 100 leading computer, telecom, and software companies since its launch in 1999. The company employs a cohesive balance of multi-faceted professionals, cutting edge technology and best-in-class processes to deliver proven results in qualitative and quantitative research. Mindwave provides its clients consultative and actionable insights with their in-depth knowledge of markets and forward-thinking research techniques.

Rep. Rodriguez, Councilmember Morrison, and Councilmember Spelman
Tuesday, September 29th
4:30pm - 5:30pm
UTC 4.110

Elected officials are coming to UT to discuss how data and statistics are used in creating policy. Join Rep. Rodriguez, Councilmember Morrison, and Councilmember Spelman in discussing how data effects their decision making and how data is used to influence elected officials.

Speaker Bios:

Representative Eddie Rodriguez:

First elected in 2002, Representative Eddie Rodriguez currently serves on the Public Safety and the Technology, Economic Development and Workforce committees. Eddie was born in McAllen, Texas, leaving home to be the first in his family to attend college. He received his B.A. in Government from the University of Texas in 1995 and received his law degree from University of Texas School of Law in 2008. Eddie’s legislative focus is on regional transportation, affordable housing, health and human services and the promotion of renewable and sustainable energy as part of a statewide approach to improving environmental quality and creating economic development opportunities for Texas. Some of Eddie’s significant legislative successes, thus far, include the passage of bills and amendments relating to: the establish the state's first Homestead Preservation District; automatic homestead exemptions for individuals who are elderly or disabled; the National School Breakfast Program; youth with disabilities who are transitioning out of secondary school to adult activities and services; the ability of the Austin police and fire retirement systems to join the Proportionate Retirement Program; and the creation of the Person with Permanent Disability Home Loan Program.

Council Member Laura Morrison:

Laura Morrison was elected to serve as an Austin City Council Member in June of 2008. Prior to taking office, Laura served as a community volunteer in many roles. She was President of the Austin Neighborhoods Council (ANC), served with several organizations including Community Action Network Community Council, HousingWorks Policy Committee and the Pandemic Flu Taskforce. As a Council Member Laura sits on the City Council's Emerging Technology and Telecommunications Committee and the Land Use and Transportation Committee. In addition, she represents the City on the Community Action Network Resource Council, the City of Austin/AISD/County Joint Subcommittee and the Capital Area Council of Governments. Laura's professional career has included working as an engineer for Lockheed Martin, as a consultant in export compliance, and more recently, in the field of pandemic flu preparedness. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Community Preparedness and Disaster Management from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; a Master's degree in Mathematics from the University of California, San Diego; and a Bachelor's in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Council Member Bill Spelman

Bill Spelman tries to bridge the gap between theory and practice. In his day job, he is a professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, where he teaches courses in applied math and statistics, urban policy, and public management. Between 1997 and 2005, he was also executive director of the Texas Institute for Public Problem Solving, which trained 13,000 police officers throughout Texas in the practice of community policing. Before coming to UT in 1988, he spent seven years with the Police Executive Research Forum, a national association of big-city police chiefs, working with local police departments nationwide to develop the (then-new) concepts of community policing and the epidemiology of crime. Spelman has won awards for teaching, research, and community service; two of his policing projects were finalists for the Ford Foundation’s program on Innovations in State and Local Government. He has written a half-dozen books and several dozen scholarly articles, mostly on police work, prisons, and urban economic development. He holds a B.A. in political science and economics from UCLA, an M.P.P. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard. Spelman served on the Austin City Council between 1997 and 2000, and was reelected (nine years late, but without opposition) in 2009.

Liz Jambor and Christopher Frye, Austin Energy
Tuesday, October 6th
4:30pm-5:30pm
UTC 1.116

The general public tends to view statistics and their use as a rather dry exercise or as a way to distort or spin an issue to one’s favor. This presentation seeks to introduce the idea that statistics is not something bound up in numbers or formulas but a cool way to understand the world. For Austin Energy, this involves going far beyond thinking of our customers as simply those who use electricity or even worse, simple ratepayers. By taking a collaborative approach with internal Austin Energy staff that need information on their customers, Market Research and Product Development provides more than just numbers. First and foremost, we educate potential users of statistics to help them understand what their needs are, what questions should be asked, and what they should do with the answers when they receive them. Ultimately, it is a never-ending process that cumulatively builds our picture of the customer and what we can do to meet their needs and manage their expectations.

Speaker Bios:

Liz Jambor, EdD:

Dr. Jambor has nearly 20 years experience with statistical analysis, resulting in several published research papers and book chapters as well as some pretty cool jobs. She has taught at Fort Valley State College and Texas Tech University, applying her statistical knowledge to the areas of leadership, team dynamics, and fans as consumers of sport. The consumption research led to jobs with the Texas Lottery Commission (citizens as consumers of lottery games) and Austin Energy (citizens as consumers of energy). A self-professed numbers geek, she likes answering the questions. Liz's current position with Austin Energy involves integrating the results and interpretation of statistical analyses into program and service design and implementation.

Christopher Frye:

Mr. Frye serves as Senior Manager of Market Research & Product Development at Austin Energy where he provides direction on market research projects and the identification of potential programs and services for Austin Energy customers. Christopher brings a diverse background to his position, having served as a statistician with an Austin-based survey research firm, the state labor economist for the State of Wisconsin, as well as a labor market analyst for the Texas Workforce Commission. Christopher graduated with Distinctive Scholastic Achievement from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in Sociology, Statistics, and Latin American Studies. He also holds a Master's degree in Community and Regional Planning from UT-Austin.

Wei Zhang, CEDRA
Tuesday, October 27th
4:30-5:30pm
UTC 4.110

Do you hear the ads on the TV or radio for prescription drugs and wonder how they are tested? Wei Zhang, a Biostatistician at CEDRA, will share his experiences with the drug research & development process discussing how drug companies determine effects of dose, formulation, dosing regimen, and drug interactions. He will provide a brief introduction to how data and statistics are used in a contract research organization (CRO) to achieve specific objectives. Here are some of the topics that will be covered:

• What statistics are used to describe demographic information from clinical studies
• What statistics are used to describe adverse events recorded at clinical trials
• How data listing is used to organize clinical laboratory data
• What types of study designs are frequently used in clinical trials
• How do we “randomize” a study
• How do we determine if two bioanalytical methods are comparable
• “Drugs in a human body” – how do we test them “chemically” and “statistically”
• How do we determine if a generic drug is equivalent to a brand-name drug
• How to identify an outlier in a data set
• SAS and its uses in statistical analysis and data management

CEDRA Corporation is a CRO providing clinical and bioanalytical services to pharmaceutical industries and government agencies. With its state-of-the-art bioanalytical laboratory and two clinical research sites (Austin and San Antonio), CEDRA offers a full range of Phase I-IV clinical researches and bioanalytical services and provide expert advice on everything from protocol development to regulatory submission. CEDRA also conducts specialized studies to assess the effects of dose, formulation, dosing regimen, drug interactions, genotype, gender, and other factors on pharmacokinetics.

Speaker Bio:

Wei Zhang has been the Biostatistician at CEDRA since 2007. His job responsibilities at CEDRA include (1) To ensure statistical principles are applied appropriately in clinical trials; (2) To ensure that data from clinical trials are analyzed with appropriate methods and the results are interpreted and reported correctly; (3) To provide statistical support for data analysis and results interpretation of pharmacokinetic studies; (4) To provide general statistical support for the whole organization; and (5) To create SAS programs needed for data analysis and data management at CEDRA. Previously, Dr. Wei Zhang worked at Louisiana State University as a specialist in charge of data management, data analysis, and statistical report of multiple biological research projects.

Ryan Leslie, Seton Hospital
Monday, November 2nd
4:30pm-5:30pm
UTC 3.122

Data on an individual patient can be used by a clinician to diagnose illness and develop care plans. When the data are viewed in aggregate, a similar approach can be taken from the community perspective. The Seton Family of Hospitals serves a Central Texas population of nearly 2 million--so it's critical that we understand changing health trends and needs of our community.

In this presentation, we'll show a few examples of how Seton uses data analysis and statistics to do some pretty cool things, including:
- how we used historical flu season data to prepare for H1N1
- how we identify what causes some patients to have longer, costlier stays
- how we use forecasted changes in the demographics and growth of the community to develop our strategic plan for the future.

Speaker Bio:

Ryan Leslie is Director, Analytics, and Special Assistant to the Network COO for the Analytics for the Seton Family of Hospitals. He has three degrees from UT-Austin, including a BBA in MIS and an MS and PhD in pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research. Before joining the Seton Family of Hospitals he spent ten years as a business consultant helping organizations make better use of their data.

Yuki Miyamoto, Austin Police Department
Tuesday, November 10th
4:30pm-5:30pm
UTC 1.116

The Austin Police Department (APD) Research and Planning Unit will discuss the types of statistical requests that the planners analyze and provide. With the consolidation of the Austin Police Department and the Austin Public Safety and Emergency Management Department at the beginning of 2009, APD is responsible for all municipal law enforcement in the City of Austin, including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, parks, and municipal courts. APD employs approximately 2,100 sworn officers and civilian personnel. Come explore the exciting world of crime and traffic analysis and be prepared to use your discernment in determining how framing a data request can ultimately impact the information provided and the decision outcome. Challenges to planners or researches in this field are to provide the statistics that best answer the question being asked. Often times the results this data analysis has a significant, direct impact on the deployment of resources and the types of police initiatives that take place in our community. Ultimately, these decisions impact the safety of Austin residents and visitors to our city.

Speaker Bio:

The Austin Police Department Research and Planning Unit of the Austin Police Department is a team of four APD Planners, the APD Grant Coordinator and their Supervisor and Manager. The team is responsible for all major planning activities for the department including redistricting of area command boundaries, business planning and performance measurement, writing millions of dollars in new grants, patrol staffing, and complex analysis of police operations and citywide crime data. The planners come from diverse educational backgrounds with training in areas such as organizational development, political science, geography and sociology. In 2008, the Research and Planning Unit received the distinction of being honored as the Austin Police Department’s Unit of the Year for “devotion to duty, and for diligent endeavors which have been added immeasurably to the furtherance of the police profession.”