Donna J. Brogan Lecture in Biostatistics

This lecture honors Donna J. Brogan, an outstanding former faculty member and chair in the Department of Biostatistics at the Rollins School of Public Health. The lecture is made possible in large part by the generous support of Donna and her colleagues and friends. Donna has been Professor Emerita since her retirement from Emory in 2004.

History of the Donna J. Brogan Lecture in Biostatistics

The Donna J. Brogan Lecture in Biostatistics was established in late 2004 by the Biostatistics Department of the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University to honor the outstanding career of Dr. Donna Jean Brogan, a biostatistics/statistics faculty member at Emory for 34 years. Emory recognized Dr. Brogan's inspiring career with a gala retirement celebration in 2004. Her colleagues, friends and family members marked this occasion with gifts to support what would become the annual Donna J. Brogan Lecture in Biostatistics. These lectures, always in April, may be related to Dr. Brogan's research interests in sample surveys, breast cancer epidemiology and statistical education. Since the inception of the lectures in 2006, preeminent scholars and lecturers in biostatistics have visited Emory to deliver the lecture in honor of Dr. Brogan.

In 2010, Dr. Brogan made a significant contribution to establish an endowment fund that will provide funding continuity for the lecture. Her endowment, combined with generous gifts from colleagues and friends, makes possible one of only four named lectures at the Rollins School of Public Health. If you wish to contribute to the endowment fund for this lecture, click here. Please choose "Other" under Designations and enter the Donna J. Brogan Lecture in Biostatistics in the text box that appears.

2023 Donna J. Brogan Lecture

April 20, 2023 at 4:00 p.m., Reception following

Lance A. Waller, Ph.D.

Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics

Emory University

Maps: A Statistical View

Spatial statistical analysis builds upon the premise that where something happens can influence what happens, i.e., the location of observations can provide information on the observations themselves. Location can be defined on geographic maps and in geometric space, but geography often involves information beyond simple location, distance, and direction. In this presentation, we will explore how geography influences inference in spatial statistical analyses and offer geographic insights on familiar statistical constructs such as data visualization, asymptotics, classical and Bayesian inference, weighted estimation, model diagnostics, and compromises between design and modeling. We will discuss compromises between geographic and statistical precision, statistical precision and local and global probabilistic strategies for ensuring data confidentiality. Using historical and contemporary examples, we will illustrate how maps provide a critical context for data visualization and interpretation, ranging from the known (“You are here”) to the unknown (“Here be dragons”).

See the full announcement here.