Overview
The National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS), and Translational Data Analytics Institute (TDAI at The Ohio State University) are hosting a two-day, in-person Statistics Serving Society (S3) Forum on “Challenges in Modeling and Analyzing Maternal Health Data.” This forum will bring together statisticians, data scientists, public health researchers, and clinicians to explore pressing issues in maternal health through the lens of statistical modeling and data analysis.
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Motivation
Maternal health outcomes remain a critical public health priority, shaped by complex interactions among biological, behavioral, social, and environmental factors. With the growing availability of diverse data sources—from clinical records and surveys to multimodal, population-level databases—new opportunities and challenges are emerging for rigorous statistical inquiry.
The forum will feature keynote presentations, invited sessions, poster presentations, and working groups addressing a range of topics, including integrating heterogeneous data sources to study maternal health outcomes, developing statistical methods for longitudinal and high-dimensional data, and applying causal inference approaches in maternal and perinatal health.
By fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue, the forum aims to identify methodological gaps, highlight best practices, and spark new collaborations that advance both statistical research and its application to improving maternal health. Approximately 50 participants are expected, providing an intimate setting for exchanging ideas and shaping future research directions.
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About NISS Statistics Serving Society (S3) Ingram Olkin Forums
The National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS) presents Statistics Serving Society (S3), a series of forums to honor the memory of Professor Ingram Olkin. Each forum focuses on a current societal issue that might benefit from new or renewed attention from the statistical community. The S3 Forums aim to bring the latest innovations in statistical methodology and data science into new research and public policy collaborations, working to accelerate the development of innovative approaches that impact societal problems. As the Forum will be the first time a particular group of experts will be gathered together to consider an issue, new energy and synergy is expected to produce a flurry of new ideas and approaches.
Goals for the S3 Ingram Olkin Forums:
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- Providing statisticians with an understanding of the societal problems and stimulating their interest in working on related statistical issues.
- Developing an agenda of statistical action items that are needed to better inform public policy and to generate reliable evidence that can be used to mitigate the problem. For example, action items might focus on data availability, data collection methods, causal inference, data science, designed and natural experiments, quality control, trend assessments, and the evaluation of preventative and restorative initiatives.
- Leading to new collaborations among statisticians and those working to understand and mitigate the problem.
- Leading to funded grant proposals that works to bring the detailed action items to life.
S3 Ingram Olkin Forum: Challenges in Modeling and Analyzing Maternal Health Data
Dates: May 14 - 15, 2026 Location: Ohio State University
IOF Committee Liaison: Shili Lin, Ohio State University
S3 Ingram Olkin Forum: The Opioid Crisis
Dates: October 12 - 13, 2026 Location: Emory University
IOF Committee Liaisons: Katherine Thompson, University of Kentucky and Lance Waller, Emory University
Visit the NISS Statistics Serving Society (S3) page for more information: https://www.niss.org/S3Forums
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- NISS Hosted
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