Career Roundtable Hosts

Harleigh Haynie, MS is a recent graduate from Duke University school of medicine with a Masters of Biostatistics. At Duke, her focus was on clinical translational methods in clinical trial design with research interest in invisible illnesses and incurable diseases. She has obtained her Bachelors of Science Degree in Mathematics with a concentration in Statistics from Winston Salem State University in May 2021.In July of 2023 year HarLeigh began employment with Atrium health Wake Forest Baptist as a Biostatistician II where she works primarily with the pulmonology and critical care group and also on a clinical trial called Look AHEAD. She is a native of Greensboro, NC where she values family, faith and the well-being of the community. She strives to do her part in society by studying Biostatistics; which allows her to use her quantitative skills to contribute to the things that she is most passionate about. She is inspired by those that come before her and her own personal life experiences.  Her everyday quote by Dr. Maya Angelou is “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style”.

Raphiel Murden, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Murden’s research centers simultaneous matrix factorization and applications of functional data analysis methods. He has published in a broad swath of subject areas including social determinants of health, HIV, cardiovascular health, neuroimaging, and others. He is a member of the Emory Biostatistics Collaboration Core (BCC) and the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design Core (BERD) of the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance. Dr. Murden is also an active member of ENAR, serving on the Regional Advisory Board and the IDEA Committee. Lastly, he dedicates significant time to mentoring through his role Practicum Advisor for his Department’s MPH/MSPH program and his own research program.  Dr. Murden earned his Ph.D. in Biostatistics from Emory University, a M.A. in Statistics from Washington University and a B.A. in Mathematics from Morehouse College.

Reneé H. Moore, PhD, joined Drexel University in 2021 as a Research Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Dornsife School of Public Health, where she serves as Director of the Biostatistics Scientific Collaboration Center (formerly the Biostatistics Service Center) and Associate Dean for Culture, Community & Opportunity. She earned her BS in Mathematics from Bennett College and her MS and PhD in Biostatistics from Emory University. Prior to joining Drexel, she held faculty appointments at University of Pennsylvania, North Carolina State University, and Emory University. An interdisciplinary team scientist, Dr. Moore has extensive experience collaborating with clinicians, public health practitioners, and scientists across a wide range of disciplines. Her early scholarship focused on methodology for longitudinal data subject to limits of detection, clinical trial design and oversight, and obesity research. For nearly a decade, she has directed biostatistics collaboration centers that support rigorous, reproducible research across public health and medicine. Deeply committed to equity and inclusion, Dr. Moore dedicates much of her time to fostering supportive learning and working environments and to recruiting, training, and retaining the next generation of collaborative biostatisticians and users of statistics.

Felicia R. Simpson, PhD., is an Associate Professor of Statistics and chair of the Department of Mathematics at Winston-Salem State University. Dr. Simpson received her BA in Mathematics from Albany State University and her Ph.D. in Biostatistics from Florida State University. Prior to joining Winston-Salem State University, Dr. Simpson worked as a Mathematical Statistician at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at FDA, Division of Biometrics IV. Her research interests include design and analysis of clinical trials, and metrics of aging, with a current focus on interfaces among aging, diabetes, and lifestyle. Dr. Simpson is an active member of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and International Biometric Society. She has served on ENAR’s regional committee. She is passionate about increasing the exposure of statistics and biostatistics among students in underrepresented populations. Dr. Simpson is a member of ASA’s Committee on Minorities in Statistics and served as co-chair for the ENAR Fostering Diversity in Biostatistics Workshop. Dr. Simpson was the recipient of the American Statistical Association’s 2023 Annie T. Randall Innovator Award established to recognize statistical innovators with a tenacious, resolute commitment to excellence, and dedication to building a diverse profession through leadership and service. In addition, Dr. Simpson is the 2025 inaugural recipient of the Eastern North American Region International Biometric Society (ENAR) Dionne Price Early Career PIONEER Award in Biostatistics. She received this award in recognition of her exceptional innovation in mentoring, dedicated service to the biostatistics community, and significant impact in the field. In 2025, Dr. Simpson was honored by Winston-Salem State University as one of its endowed professors, recognizing her exceptional accomplishments as a scholar and academic leader. She was named the Vivian Chambers Distinguished Professor in Mathematics. In 2026, she was selected by the Executive Board of the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) to deliver the distinguished Cox–Talbot Address during the Joint Mathematics Meetings. 

Dr. Paul Albert is the Director and Senior Investigator of the Biostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute. He  leads a research program focused on methods development in biomarker and longitudinal studies and their application to cancer epidemiology. He leads work on the development and application of hidden Markov models in cancer epidemiology and genetics, and on the development of novel methodology for analyzing chemical mixture data and its application to population-based cancer studies.  He continues to have an active research agenda in the use of group-testing methodology with applications to clinical medicine and epidemiological research. Dr. Albert was the 2025 President of ENAR, and continues to serve as Past President in 2026. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Statistics in Medicine.  Dr. Albert has been an associate editor for major biostatistics journals including Biometrics, Statistics in Medicine and Statistics in the Biosciences. He was the co-section editor for biometrical methodology in the New England Journal of Statistics in the Data Sciences. Dr.  Albert is a 2005 Fellow of the American Statistical Association. 

Kay See Tan, PhD (FEBW Past-Chair) is is an Associate Attending Biostatistician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. As a biostatistician, I collaborate with physicians and scientists to design clinical studies and develop prognostic and predictive models using data from cancer patients. As a first-generation college student, I was fortunate to have the mentorship of many educators who guided me along the path to become a biostatistician. As a result, I have a passion for mentoring the next generation of biostatisticians. I am a member of the Bridge to Biostats committee at MSK, where our goal is to introduce biostatistics to high school students from underrepresented and underserved communities in New York City. I also co-direct the Quantitative Sciences Undergraduate Research Experience program at MSK.

Ana Ortega-Villa, PhD (FEBW Chair) is an Associate Director of Biostatistics at Biogen. Prior to this role, she served as a mathematical statistician at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). She completed postdoctoral fellowships at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Cancer Institute, and earned her PhD in Statistics from Virginia Tech, where she currently serves as an Adjunct Professor.

Her interests include design and analysis of clinical trials and observational studies, longitudinal data, mixed models, postpartum depression, immunology, research capacity building, statistics education, and initiatives that foster a culture of belonging.

Dr. Ortega-Villa is a COPSS Emerging Leader, the Chair of the American Statistical Association Biometrics Section, a member of ENAR RECOM, and an Associate Editor of Statistics in Medicine.

Dr. Jemar Bather is a Senior Scientist in Biostatistics at Merck Research Laboratories and a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the NYU School of Global Public Health. At Merck, Dr. Bather serves as a statistical representative on cross-functional teams, collaborating with research scientists, clinical scientists, regulatory experts, and other specialists to support product discovery and development. At NYU, Dr. Bather is committed to training graduate students in applying quantitative methods to address public health research questions. He is a recipient of multiple awards for his research, teaching, mentoring, and service, including a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Alumni Achievement Award from the Pennsylvania State University Alumni Association. Dr. Bather received his PhD and AM in Biostatistics from Harvard University, MS in Applied Statistics from NYU, and BS in Statistics from Pennsylvania State University. He is a member of the American Statistical Association and the Eastern North American Region of the International Biometric Society.

Lorin Crawford, PhD is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research. His research program focuses on developing interpretable machine learning and AI algorithms to study how genetic effects and gene-by-environmental interactions influence complex traits and disease progression. As part of this work, Dr. Crawford co-leads Project Ex Vivo, a collaborative effort between Microsoft and the Broad Institute focused on defining, engineering, and targeting cell states in cancer. He has been featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 and The Root 100 Most Influential African Americans list. I also received an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, a Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering, a COPSS Emerging Leader Award, and the Annie T. Randall Innovator Award from the Biometrics Section of the ASA. Lorin received his PhD from the Department of Statistical Science at Duke University where he was co-advised by Sayan Mukherjee and Kris C. Wood. He also received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Clark Atlanta University.

Bill Emker is a nationally recognized headhunter specializing in biostatistics and life sciences recruitment. Currently, Senior Director of Recruiting at The Lotus Group, Bill has spent the last decade helping pharmaceutical and biotech companies build high-performing biometrics functions—from placing principal-level statisticians to recruiting Heads of Biostatistics and VPs of Biometrics.

He is passionate about helping biostatisticians navigate the transition from academia to industry, and frequently works with talent at all levels to align technical expertise with career growth opportunities. Bill is also highly enthusiastic about AI and its applications in recruiting and workforce planning, and currently leads The Lotus Group’s efforts in this space.

Dr. Ixavier (Zae) Higgins earned his B.S. in Mathematical Economics and M.A. in Mathematics from Wake Forest University.  He completed his Ph.D. in Biostatistics at Emory University in 2019 and joined Eli Lilly as a Research Scientist in Discovery Statistics supporting Neuroscience.  He currently leads a group of discovery statisticians supporting the Cardiometabolic Research therapeutic area.  His research interests span genetic epidemiology, systems biology, and neuroimaging data analysis.  Zae also engages in ASA efforts to increase the presence of underrepresented minorities in the statistical sciences.  

Lei Wang began her recruiting career in the biostatistics and statistical programming space in November 2002. Prior to recruiting, she worked as a statistical analyst at Northwestern University Medical School and later at Abbvie. For over 20 years, Her recruiting has focused exclusively on biostatistics, statistical programming, and data management, while also expanding into RWE/HEOR, epidemiology, pharmacology, and other clinical functions

In 2013, Lei co-founded The Lotus Group, a recruiting firm dedicated to the pharmaceutical industry. The firm was recognized as one of the 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned Businesses in 2020 by the Women Presidents Organization, sponsored by American Express, and was certified as a Great Place to Work in 2024 and 2025.

Lei’s deep experience in relationship-building with hiring managers, career development, interviewing, and compensation negotiation has benefited thousands of candidates and supported the majority of pharmaceutical companies across the U.S..

Rebbecca Wilson, DrPH is a Principal Statistician who works in Immunology and Oncology at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. She joined Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine in February 2020, bringing prior experience as a Lead Data Scientist in finance. Rebbecca earned her DrPH in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2018, following an A.B. in pre-medical studies and Spanish from Bowdoin College in 2007. Before graduate school, she completed a postbaccalaureate program in Mathematics and Statistics at Smith College. Rebbecca's research interests include Longitudinal, Categorical, and Missing Data Analysis. Her dissertation focused on imputation and repeated measures analysis for accelerometer data. Rebbecca is a firm believer in paying it forward. She enjoys serving on various committees related to mentorship, uplifting persons from all backgrounds, and career engagement.