Nominations are now open for the award for statistical excellence in the pharmaceutical industry jointly made by the Royal Statistical Society and PSI (Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry).

This will be the second year in which the award is made, with its aim of highlighting the achievements of some of the most innovative and influential statisticians working within the pharmaceutical industry.

The inaugural winner was Phil Woodward for his “a portfolio-wide implementation of a Bayesian framework for early clinical development within a major pharmaceutical company.”

Phil’s was not the only high quality nomination. Other nominations certainly reached the necessary standard for the award. These included the development and implementation of statistical software tools for the use of scientists and the development of novel methodology for the analysis of clinical trials data.

Once again, this year the award will be for the most influential example of the novel application of an existing statistical practice, or the implementation of an innovative statistical practice, in the pharmaceutical industry.

The nominees will have either employed existing or new statistical techniques or processes to enhance the planning and analysis of investigations, or developed statistical systems and processes which have strengthened the quality and efficiency of these investigations. The winning nominee(s) will have demonstrated how they identified the need for improvements, applied existing techniques or developed innovative techniques, and successfully implemented these techniques in their organization to enhance the statistical service provided.

Nominations for the award will close at 5pm on Friday, 18 May 2012. The winner(s) will be announced towards the beginning of July 2012 with the award being presented at the Royal Statistical Society’s awards reception at its conference in Telford on Tuesday, 4 September 2012.

The RSS web site has further details and an entry form if you are interested in nominating someone, or making a self-nomination. Nominations should refer to work undertaken between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011. In the case of projects which span more than one year, the project should have delivered the final product during this period.

James Matcham, Amgen, PSI External Affairs Committee
Trevor Lewis, Theme Director for Professional Affairs, Royal Statistical Society