2021 Writing Workshop Continues as a Huge Success!

A screenshot of attendees and mentors attending the virtual workshop this year.Xumin He (Michigan) present comments as part of the Statistics and Data Science Journals panel.

On August 6 and 13 the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS) hosted once again the Writing Workshop for Early Researchers.  A successful workshop since its inception in 2007 and this year’s workshop was no different!  (see Event page)

NISS gathered a host of senior authors, editors, grant writers/reviewers—individuals who take valuable time out of their day to share their advice and experiences with a group of 29 junior faculty and early researchers. 

The event started with a session on Writing Skills, Evaluation, and Visualization led by Lee Wilkinson (H2O.ai & U of Illinois at Chicago), then a session on Choosing Where to Publish presented by Nick Jewell (UC, Berkeley & London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine).  The lunch hour was then spent in meetings between mentors and their early research mentees where  comments, suggestions and advise was dispensed regarding pieces of writing they are currently working on.   A panel was then convened on Statistics and Data Science Journals.  Xuming He (Michigan), Nicole Lazar (Penn State), Tyler McCormick (U of Washington), David Rocke (UC, Davis) and Karen Kafadar (Virginia) all provided advice that comes from years of experience as editors of journals in the fields of statistics, biostatistics and other areas.  A final session on Reviewing and Revising led by Naomi Altman (Penn State University) ended a busy first day!

The second day of the workshop was kicked on by Regina Nuzzo (ASA) who provided a number of tips for How to Get Started and Avoid Writer’s Block.  She was followed by an inspiring panel  who spoke to Speaking from Experiences and Career Development that included Emma Benn (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai), Eric Laber (Duke), Ali Shojaie (U of Washington), and Judy Wang (NSF DMS Statistics Program Director & George Washington University).

Peter Imrey (Cleveland Clinic) presented a session on Ethical Issues and Reproducibility which was followed by a final panel on Grant Writing that included Cheryl Eavey (NSF SBE Program Director), Karen Messer (NIH BMRD Study Section Chair & UC, San Diego) and Edsel Peña (NSF DMS Statistics Program Director & U of South Carolina), moderated by Keith Crank formerly of NSF.

Check out the slide show from both days on the NISS website!

Writing Workshop in 2022?  You Bet!

It is never too late to think about who might benefit next from this workshop that will be associated in some manner with JSM 2022.  Keep your eye on the NISS website or subscribe to our newsletter for all of the latest information about this and other professional development activities!

Tuesday, August 17, 2021 by Glenn Johnson