Faculty Member: Wendy Leisenring

Wendy Leisenring, Sc.D. is a Biostatistician and Faculty Member for the Clinical Research Division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA.

How did you choose your career? Was this an easy or hard process for you? If you struggled, how did you overcome these struggles?

My response is probably fairly specific to my particular field, biostatistics, as it took me awhile to find out about its existence. I knew that I loved quantitative/mathematical work, but didn't have a lot of information about what kind of a career could be had that allowed one to use mathematics/quantitative skills in a setting that had interaction with and a tangible impact on people, besides teaching math. I did work as a math teacher for a couple of years, knowing that it was something I was doing while figuring out what I really wanted to do. During that time, I talked to lots of people about what kind of thing I wanted to do and eventually I learned of biostatistics through a friend. I knew immediately that it was the perfect combination for me as it allows one to apply quantitative methodology to medical or environmentally-related research. I applied to graduate school and have never looked back.

What kind of training, both formal and informal, did you receive to prepare you for your career? If applicable, how did you select where to attend graduate school? How did you choose your postdoc? How about any additional training? How did you choose what additional training to pursue and how did you choose where to do it?

I had an undergraduate degree in mathematics, and received my master's and doctoral degrees from a Biostatistics Program, within a School of Public Health. I selected my doctoral program based both on the strength of the department as well as geographical location. One thing that was useful to consider was that many departments have policies about not hiring their own graduates as faculty, so it is not always optimal to select to attend graduate school in the place you eventually want to live. I did do a one year postdoc after graduate school, mostly because of personal choice, but was also offered a faculty position straight out of graduate school, which is a frequent occurrence in biostatistics.

How competitive and/or rigorous was the training for your career?

My training was quite rigorous. At the time I applied to graduate school, I think I did benefit from the fact that biostatistics was not as widely known as a career. Now, I suspect, entry to graduate programs may be more competitive than it was ten–twenty years ago. The key requirement is strong training in mathematics or statistics as an undergraduate.

In general, how much did the training cost? Was the investment worth it?

I was very fortunate in that throughout my graduate training, I was supported by a training grant which paid a (very) modest stipend to live on and also paid my tuition, so I had no debt after graduation.

How long did it take you to train? Was it shorter or longer than anticipated? If you had any setbacks, how did you deal with them?

My graduate training took four years, including the masters and doctorate work. This was a normal/average length of time for completion of the program, though five-six years is also not unheard of.

What was the process like to apply for your first job after your training was over? Was it easy or difficult? How did you cope with any difficulties? Did that differ from subsequent jobs you've had?

I was very specific about the geographical area I wanted to work in, so I applied for all the advertised positions in that region and wrote a number of additional letters to specific people who I thought might have suggestions for me. Overall, showing strong interest and being thorough paid off and the search resulted in a great opportunity that then led to my current position.

What advice would you give to someone interested in following a similar career path?

I highly recommend this career to anyone who likes working with people, but it is also very quantitative. It is a career that can take many different paths: academic teaching or research, pharmaceutical, environmental consulting, public health, etc. If you are good at math, are fascinated by science and/or medicine, it is an opportunity to use your skills and always learn more about new topics. Also, there is plenty of good interaction with other people — it is a career that not only requires strong scientific skills, but also, excellent communication skills.

What would you have done differently in preparing for your career?

I would have probably tried to get more practical experience while in graduate school. I ended up figuring a lot out after beginning work. Fortunately, I have always been surrounded by many resources, in the form of terrific colleagues as well as more tangible library and computer oriented resources.

How much do you like what you do? Why? Is it what you imagined it would be? If not, how have you adapted?

I usually love what I do as it is a good mix of different types of thought, interactions, and work. The best part is the problem-solving part of it: making sense of chaos. I take a "raw" data set and synthesize and summarize it to formulate a clear understanding of what the data means. Then, I need to convey that information to a non-biostatistician, usually a clinician, clearly and concisely. Usually, along the way, I learn some interesting medical facts and feel that I am contributing in a big way to the scientific process. Sometimes I get to develop or apply an entirely new way of analyzing that type of data, and that is very exciting.

How do you achieve career-life balance? Is this easy or hard to do? How many hours do you typically work per week?

The best way I find it possible to achieve a good balance is to simply set clear boundaries on my time. Work will expand into any available time you give it! Early in my career, I often worked much longer hours, in the evenings and on weekends. But now, with a young family, I usually stick to a roughly forty-fifty–hour work week, except when things get very busy with grant or meeting deadlines. One of the aspects of a biostatistics career that allows flexibility, particularly for a working parent, is that one can do much of it from home on a computer. Obviously, one's ability to do this would depend on their specific work situation, but it has worked well for me.

What strategies have you figured out over time to help you succeed?

I'm not sure that there are any terribly novel nuggets to share. Just work hard and enjoy your work!

How do you see your field changing in the next 5–10 years?

I think genetics and the larger, more complex data sets that are generated by this direction of research will continue to become more infused in all different aspects of medical research. I think there will always be a need for good biostatisticians.