Florence Nightingale David Award

Most Recent Winner     About the Award     Current Committee     Operating Procedures     Nominations     Past Recipients

Most Recent Winner

2023 F.N. David Award 

Karen Bandeen-Roche, PhD
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

For outstanding leadership and service in the statistics and biostatistics community, for her leadership in statistical education, and for her achievements in biostatistical research, particularly in the field of aging research and frailty. 

Dr. Bandeen-Roche will deliver the F.N. David Lecture entitled "More than freedom from disease: A quest to determine 'health'" at the 2023 Joint Statistical Meetings in Toronto, Ontario.

Abstract

Medical care predominantly addresses disease, whether by prevention, early identification, or treatment. Rather "health," beyond disease absence, is multifaceted and involves thriving. Even considering only "physical" health, surprisingly much remains to be known about the mechanisms determining cellular, physiological and functional fitness. Among health disciplines, those particularly focused on a holistic health view include gerontology, geriatrics and public health.

Statistics has much to contribute to better determining "health." In this presentation, I address three aspects: Modeling the physiology underlying health with clinical and epidemiological cohort data, creating holistic health phenotypes, and early identification of unraveling health. Latent variable modeling plays a prominent role, highlighting needed next-generation research. Content to be presented is grounded in my work at the nexus of biostatistics, gerontology and public health, addressing constructs of resilience, frailty and functioning. 

In a final analog motivated by my leadership experiences, I consider organizational health with those present in the hope of promoting thriving in our profession.

Biography of Dr. Bandeen-Roche

For the past 15 years Karen Bandeen-Roche has served as the Hurley Dorrier Professor and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a highly established biostatistician with signature leadership in research, education and administration.

A biostatistical generalist in her methods research, Karen has published nearly 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts in a wide range of topics and journals. She has contributed greatly to latent variable model methodology and led methods work in the medical and epidemiology literature. In particular, Karen has been a tireless leader in the promotion of biostatistical thinking in general, especially in the field of aging. Her leadership roles at the Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health have guided an organization that is the size of a large department of statistics. Karen is a Fellow of both the American Statistical Association (ASA) and the Gerontological Society of America, recognizing her contributions as a bridge researcher who is helping to close the gap between aging research and biostatistics.

Karen has been an active participant and played leadership roles in many of the major biostatistical and statistical organizations. Of particular relevance are her service as chair and executive committee member of the International Biometric Society (IBS) Eastern North American Region (ENAR), chair and executive committee member of the Caucus on Academic Representatives of the ASA, chair of the Biometrics section of the ASA, and chair of the Biostatistical Methods and Research Design (BMRD) National Institutes of Health (NIH) study section, which represents the primary funding outlet for methodological, theoretical and general applied biostatistical research. Karen also has been elected to the IBS Executive Board, which allows her to shape the vision and activities of the International Biometric Society. Since 2020, Karen also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Institute of Statistical Sciences.

In education, Karen’s leadership has expanded biostatistical instruction including onsite, hybrid and online teaching at all levels. Under her leadership the department expanded its teaching role outside of the university, having a large presence in online open education, including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). At the same time Karen remains a dedicated and passionate in-person educator herself and is regularly recognized as such. She has won the Bloomberg School’s highest teaching award, the “Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching”, an annual award given to only four faculty members among the entire teaching faculty (offering more than 600 courses annually in the Bloomberg School of Public Health). In addition, she is a three-time recipient of the “Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching Recognition Award”, an award given annually by the students of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in recognition of outstanding educational contributions.

On July 1, 2023 Karen will step down as the chair of the Johns Hopkins Department of Biostatistics, handing over a department in excellent financial shape and co-ranked as number 1 in the nation according to US News and World Report.

About the Award

This award is named after F.N. David, an accomplished statistician and the first recipient of the Elizabeth L. Scott Award. The award, sponsored jointly by COPSS and the Caucus for Women in Statistics, is granted to a female statistician who serves as a role model to other women by her contributions to the profession through excellence in research, the  of multidisciplinary collaborative groups, statistics education, or service to the professional societies. The award, established in 2001, is given biennially (odd years). The award consists of a plaque and a cash honorarium of $2000 and is presented at the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM). Starting from 2019, the award winner will also deliver an F.N. David Lecture at the JSM. See also the Wikipedia page.

Nomination Deadline for 2025 Award: December 15, 2024

2024-2025 Award Committee (Awarded in odd-numbered years only):

    Nalini Ravishanker

 ASA

 Oct. 2022-Sept. 2026

 nalini.ravishanker@uconn.edu

    Jinbo Chen

 COPSS

 Oct. 2020-Sept. 2024

 jinboche@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

    Naomi Brownstein

 ENAR

 Oct. 2022-Sept. 2026

 brownstn@musc.edu

    Lu Wang

 IMS

 Oct. 2022-Sept. 2026

 luwang@umich.edu

    Rhonda Rosychuk

 SSC

 Oct. 2020-Sept. 2024

 rhondar@ualberta.ca

    Kate Crespi

 WNAR 

 Oct. 2020-Sept. 2024

 ccrespi@ucla.edu

    Susan Ellenberg

 2019 Awardee

 Oct. 2022-Sept. 2024

 sellenbe@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Purpose and History

This award shall recognize a female statistician who exemplifies the contributions of F.N. David, an accomplished statistician in combinatorial probability theory, author or editor of numerous books including the classic on the history of probability theory “Games, Gods, and Gambling”, first Chair of Department of Statistics at University of California at Riverside and the first recipient of the Elizabeth L. Scott Award. F. N. David died in 1993 at the age of 83. The award was established in and is sponsored jointly by COPSS and the Caucus for Women in Statistics.

Award Committee

The Award Committee selecting the recipient will consist of six members, one member appointed by each of the five COPSS member societies and one member appointed by the Chair of COPSS. The appointment terms for these six members are for two cycles of the award, normally four years. The award winner from 6 years previous to the current award is invited by the COPSS Chair to serve as the seventh committee member. His/her term is for two years. The Chair of the Award Committee will be selected by the Chair of COPSS from among the members of the current Award Committee. 


Frequency of Award

The award shall be given every other year in odd-numbered years if, in the opinion of the Award Committee, an eligible and worthy nominee is found. The Award Committee shall have the option of not giving an award for any given year. The Award Committee may not split the award between more than one winner.


Nominations and Eligibility

The award shall not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sexual orientation, nationality or citizenship. Nominees must be living at the time of their nomination. Nomination submissions will be invited by October of the previous year and will close on December 15th of the year prior to which the award is to be made. Nominations may be made by members of any of the COPSS affiliated organizations. Prior nomination does not exclude a nominee from consideration in subsequent years. No member of the Award Committee, officer or societal member of COPSS, or officer of the Caucus for Women in Statistics shall be eligible to receive the award during his or her term of service. Eligible nominations shall be based a nomination letter, letters of support, curriculum vitae, and other appropriate documentation as requested by the Award Committee.

Eligible candidates are expected to adhere to the highest standards of statistical practice, professional conduct, and personal conduct; see the Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice published by the Committee on Professional Ethics of the American Statistical Association: https://www.amstat.org/ASA/Your-Career/Ethical-Guidelines-for-Statistical-Practice.aspx for more information.

Award Committee members should not prepare individual nominations or letters of support.  However, they should actively recruit nominations for individuals they feel would be competitive for the award.


Selection Criteria

In the spirit of F. N. David, the award is presented to a female statistician who has advanced the discipline and proven herself to be an outstanding role model. She shall have demonstrated excellence and leadership in at least two of the following categories:

• Statistical research
• of multidisciplinary collaborative groups
• Leadership in statistical education
• Leadership in the profession

Form and Presentation of Award

The award consists of a lecture, a plaque, a citation, and a cash honorarium. It is presented at a special session at the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM). The amount of the award shall be such that the principal of the fund is left intact. Reimbursement for reasonable travel and hotel expenses to attend the JSM to receive the award is provided to the if other funds are unavailable. The award will be presented by the Chair of the Award Committee or their designee. 


Important Dates

• Members of the Award Committee will be appointed by September 30th of the previous year. Chair of COPSS will work with COPSS members to complete all committee appointments. Chair of COPSS will select the Award Committee chair. If any COPSS member society is unable to appoint their member by October 1st of the previous year, the Award Committee will proceed and complete its work without representation of that society.
• Call for Nominations in October of the previous year. Secretary/Treasurer of COPSS is responsible for assuring the call is publicized in the COPSS publications, including relevant WebPages, and will work with the Award Committee to find other outlets for the call.
• December 15th of the previous year of the award year is the close of the nomination period.
• Award recipient will be selected and notified by March 1st of the award year. 
• Chair of the Award Committee will work with the Secretary/Treasurer of COPSS to provide all the necessary information to the ASA/JSM Awards Coordinator by March 31st of the award year.

Submitting Nominations

Nominations should include the following information:

• nominator’s name, address, and phone number;
• nominee’s name and title, institutional affiliation, address, and email address;
• a summary of the action(s) that form the basis for the nomination, not to exceed three pages;
• three to five letters of support – support letters should not come from Award Committee members or members of COPSS;
• a curriculum vitae containing professional positions held

The call for nominations will include instructions regarding where to mail/email nominations, and if multiple copies are needed. Questions the Award will be referred to the Award Committee Chair and the COPSS Secretary/Treasurer. Contact information will be included in the call for nominations.


Committee Chair Responsibilities

• Communicate the award criteria and selection process to Committee members.
• Ensure distribution of copies of nominations to Committee members.
• Contact and encourage unsuccessful nominations from the previous award period to be updated and renominated. (COPSS Secretary should have previous unsuccessful nominations).
• Organize and chair Committee discussion of nominees and selection of award recipient.
• Inform the Award recipient of their selection.
• Inform nominator of the recipient.
• Inform all other nominators that a selection has been made, maintaining the confidentiality of the selection. COPSS Secretary/Treasurer will assist the Committee Chair as needed.
• Write the citation, and convey the recipient’s name, the citation text, and the ASA/JSM Award Recipient Information form to the COPSS Secretary/Treasurer by March 31st for preparing the plaque.
• Introduce award and recipient at COPSS Awards Presentation at the JSM
• Send complete application packets of unsuccessful nominations to COPSS Secretary for future renomination.
• Communicate any recommendations for changes to any part of this document to the COPSS Chair and Secretary/Treasurer.

Committee Member Responsibilities

• Work with the chair to adhere to the selection timeline.
• Participate fairly and openly in the selection deliberations.
• Request removal from the committee if other time constraints do not allow for adequate attention to the nominations and award process.

COPSS Secretary/Treasurer Responsibilities

• Review and manage the expenditure of the Award Endowment Fund
• Publicize award by November of the previous year.
• Assist Committee Chair in correspondence, as needed.
• Provide award information to ASA Meetings department ASA/JSM award coordinator by March 31st.
• Prepare plaques and checks for presentation at the JSM.
• Coordinate with Committee Chair and ASA staff on Awards presentation

COPSS Chair Responsibilities

• Ensure that COPSS member societies name Award Committee members by August 1st of the previous year.
• Select Award Committee Chair by September 31st of the previous year.
• Help to orient committee members and the Award Committee Chair to their responsibilities.
• Review potential conflicts of interest and other issues for the Committee Chair, if they arise.
• Thank committee members and the Award Committee Chair to their responsibilities and solicit suggested improvements to the award process after the award cycle is completed.