Transcript Where I`ve Been and Why

Building a Better Twinkie
—
A Mixture Design Problem
Katherine L. Monti, Ph.D.
r
Principal Statistical Scientist, Rho, Inc.
k
March 12, 2011
Why Statistics?
Why Biostatistics?
• Math
   
• Earning power
$ $ $
was not in math
• Variety of non-math courses
• Math + Applications
•
•
Statistics
Forestry, biology, education, anthropology, finance and economics,
sociology, manufacturing, advertising, ….
Epidemiology, health sciences, medicine, drug development,
Where I’ve Been and Why
• UNC Sch. of Public Health -- Chapel Hill
• University of Missouri - St. Louis
Department of Mathematics & Computer Science
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•
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Ralston Purina Company
Ciba Corning Diagnostics Corporation
Astra Pharmaceuticals
Rho, Inc.
• Along the way – a little independent consulting
I wanted variety
• I got variety!
• Some of the projects I’ve worked on over the
decades.
Projects
• Energy review system (Ralston)
– Simple review of energy usage, external temperature, and
production saved millions of dollars a year per plant
Energy use = a + b (external temperature) + c (tons*)
* Tons of pet food or cereal produced
Projects
• Effects of weight gain restriction in Labrador retrievers
(Ralston): DG448—only long-term, large mammal study
investigating the health and longevity advantages of lean body
mass (achieved in dogs by diet restriction)
Projects
• Feline reproduction (Ralston): a publication of simple
summary of data from Ralston cattery has become a classic
paper in veterinary medicine
Projects
• Heritability of feline cardiomyopathy: 25 years of feline
reproductive data, 7 generations of ancestors (27 = 128)
– MMMMMMM
- MMMMMM
– MMMMMMF
….
- MM
-M
- MMMMMF
- MF
-F
– MMMMMFM
- MMMMFM
- FM
– MMMMMFF
- MMMMFF
- FF
– MMMMFMM
…
– MMMMFMF
- FFFFFF
– MMMMFFM
– …
– FFFFFFF
Projects
• Salary discrimination law suit (Independent
consulting)
– Fauteck vs Montgomery Ward, 1970’s and early ‘80s
– Systematically paid women less
• In general, women had more years of experience, longer time with the
company, higher education…and a lower salary, for any job category
– ~ $5,000,000 settlement
Projects
• Medical instrumentation (Ciba Corning)
– Blood gas machines
– Co-oximeters
– PSA testing
Projects
• Drug studies (Astra, Rho): blood pressure, acute pain,
chronic pain, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s, opioid-induced
constipation, asthma, allergy, AIDS, autism, cancer, traumatic
brain injury, arthritis, diabetes….
Twinkies
• Studying the ratio of emulsifiers in Hostess Twinkies
for optimal springiness (Ralston/Continental Baking)
– A mixture design
– 3 emulsifiers make up a total of 5% of the recipe
– How to decide the proportions of the emulsifiers
Statisticians Have Variety
• Opportunities exist in many fields
• So....you can find one you like
and go in that direction
It is a great time to be a biostatistician!
• http://www.biostatpharma.com
• Google “biostatistics” “prospective student”
• [email protected]
When I graduated, I had no idea...
• How much writing I would do and how
valuable my high school grammar class
would be.
• That I should have taken more
chemistry.
• How important team work is.
When I graduated, I had no idea...
• How much the field of statistics would
continue to grow.
• How much you teach even when you
don’t teach.
• How valuable curiosity, common sense,
and common courtesy are.