With support from the department, Reid Merritt, a master’s student in Statistics, attended the 2025 Bay Area Biotech Pharma Statistics Workshop (BBSW), held November 6–7 in Foster City–San Mateo, California. BBSW is a major industry conference focused on statistics in human health research and includes strong participation from academic researchers and industry professionals. This year’s theme, titled Driving Smarter Decisions: Data, AI, and Statistics, featured presentations on the use of large language models in biostatistical applications, as well as discussions on regulatory oversight, FDA compliance, evolving clinical trial requirements, and the approval of medical devices that incorporate artificial intelligence.

Merritt presented a research poster titled “Reclaiming Power for Multiple Comparisons to a Control: Positive Correlation in Multi-Arm, Multi-Stage Platform Trials,” completed under the guidance of Dr. Sarah Emerson. The conference reported its most competitive poster selection process since its inception, making Merritt’s acceptance especially meaningful. Posters were displayed throughout the venue, and Reid also participated in a lightning-talk session, delivering a brief introduction to the research to conference attendees.

Reflecting on the experience, Merritt shared that preparing the abstract and poster “pushed me to both synthesize and communicate my research,” and that stepping back to explain the project helped highlight “the specialized nature of the knowledge that I’ve gained.” Engaging with professional biostatisticians and attending technical presentations further reinforced this growth. According to Merritt, the conference underscored the feeling that “this is work I am ready to begin now,” rather than something far off in the future.

Throughout the event, Merritt felt well prepared thanks to the strong foundation developed in OSU’s Statistics master’s program. After one presentation on a novel application of the Mann Whitney U test for clinical trials, the speaker expressed surprise to learn that Merritt was a master’s student. Reid viewed this moment as “a testament to the value of the stats master’s program and to my own efforts to take advantage of the opportunities and resources afforded through it.”

Merritt described the workshop as an extremely valuable experience that made a meaningful contribution to both academic growth and future career readiness.