Copy of 2003 Group Newsletter 12 15 - SWOG

Page 6
THE GROUP NEWSLETTER
Plenary session celebrates Statistical Center’s 20th anniversary
Under the shroud of secrecy until just before the plenary
session began, the topic of the Southwest Oncology Group’s main
session paid tribute to the many accomplishments and advances of
the Group’s Statistical Center, which is celebrating its 20 th
anniversary this year under the longtime directorship of John J.
Crowley, Ph.D.
Following opening remarks by Group Chairman Dr.
Charles A. Coltman Jr., he and
Chairman Elect Dr. Laurence H.
Baker set the tone with a
lighthearted presentation of the
complicated process used to select
the Statistical Center more than 20
years ago.
Next, several Statistical Center
employees and former employees
gave presentations on the Stat
Center’s many accomplishments.
Among the presenters were:
• Stephanie J. Green, Ph.D., former
Statistical Center statistician who now
Stephanie J. Green,
works for Pfizer Corporation in New
London, Connecticut, spoke about
the Data and Safety Monitoring
Committee.
• Biostatistician Joseph M. Unger, M.S., spoke on the
Person-Years Saved On Therapeutic Trials.
• Phyllis Goodman, M.S., lead statistician for PCPT, spoke
on the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial Design.
• Cathy M. Tangen, Dr.P.H., coordinating statistician,
spoke on the statistical considerations for the PCPT PO1.
• Jo Ann
L. Hartline, M.P.H.,
project manager for
SELECT, spoke on
SELECT Web-
Based Systems.
• Jacqueline K.
Benedetti, Ph.D.,
the Statistical
Center’s deputy
director, spoke on
The Statistical
Center’s Future.
Jo Ann L. Hartline, M.P.H.
While the first presentation
was underway, three of the
members of the Statistical Center
Special Review Committee, which
helped select the Statistical Center
years ago, filed to the head table,
surprising Crowley and others in
attendance. The committee
members, Byron William Brown
Jr., Ph.D., Stephen L. George,
Joseph M. Unger, M.S. Ph.D., and Carol Redmond, Sc.D.,
commented on each of the
speaker’s topics and praised the accomplishments the Statistical
Center has given to the international cancer research community.
The meeting concluded with an impromptu speech by Dr.
Crowley, who thanked Dr. Coltman, the presenters and special
guests, for the tribute to the Statistical Center.
Southwest Oncology Group Chair Elect Laurence H. Baker, D.O.; Chairman Charles A. Coltman Jr., M.D; John A. Crowley, Ph.D.; Byron William
Brown Jr., Ph.D.; Carol Redmond, Sc.D.; and Stephen L. George, Ph.D.., celebrate the Statistical Center’s 20th anniversary.
DECEMBER 2004