Another great year for the BSU Internship Programme

This summer, the BSU welcomed a new and fantastic cohort of interns. 

Our successful and widely recognised internship programme provides undergraduate students with an interest in data science and knowledge of statistics to join the Unit for 8 weeks, to work on and contribute to research projects led by our researchers. They carry out data analysis, take part in research team meetings, present their findings, and get involved in all aspects of life at the BSU. The programme, which is now in its fifth consecutive year, is expertly managed by Hélène Ruffieux and Pavel Mozgunov, and each project is supervised by an early career researcher in the Unit, allowing one-to-one support and guidance. As well as this, each intern is integrated into research group meetings and attends Unit wide activities such as seminars and staff meetings. A series of internal career discussion sessions are also organised, providing valuable insights into the different research paths the interns could take following their placement at the Unit.

This year, it was a pleasure to welcome and host: Rosemary Sayle, Jack Garland, Harry Huang, Ansiha Tehim, Yuxuan Ju, Jiawei Tian, Emilia Czernuzewicz and Olivia Ortlib, as well as Melody Hong as a remote intern. A few of them have shared insights into their time at the Unit.

Yuxuan Ju

"I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do after my undergraduate degree at the University of Warwick. I was curious about statistics and eager to learn, but also anxious about what the next step should be. 

This internship has not only given me technical skills and research experience, but also something deeper - a sense of direction. Being surrounded by such supportive supervisors, kind interns, and genuinely welcoming people created a space where I felt encouraged to ask questions and explore. The career talks were especially memorable. Hearing the different journeys people have taken reminded me that as long as there's interest, it's always possible to carve-out something meaningful, even through a bit of randomness. 

I'm leaving with stronger coding skills (including a new appreciation for how powerful dplyr package can be!), a network of brilliant people, and a mindset that values learning for its own sake. I've come to realise that there's no need to rush, taking time to explore is part of the process." 

Jenny Tian

"After completing my second year in my undergraduate studies, I applied for the BSU internship seeking both research experience and an opportunity to explore how statistics can be applied to impactful problems in the medical settings. During my internship, I worked on biclustering methods in gene expression data, under the supervision of Luis A. Vargas-Mieles. My project focused on understanding recent statistical approach - outcome guided SSLB, and exploring its potential extension to non-linear features. This gave me the chance to deepen my knowledge of statistical learning techniques, while also strengthening my coding skills in R and C++.

This experience was both challenging and rewarding. I particularly appreciated the freedom to investigate ideas independently, while having the guidance and support of my supervisor whenever I needed it. Along the way, I also developed valuable transferable skills, such as presenting technical results clearly and collaborating effectively within a research environment.

Beyond the project itself, what stood out to me was the welcoming and intellectually stimulating atmosphere at the BSU. I enjoyed engaging in conversations with researchers and fellow interns across different themes. The career talks and PhD session were also incredibly helpful, providing insights into academia and alternative career paths in statistics.

Overall, this internship has been an invaluable experience. I am leaving with stronger research and technical skills, greater confidence in my ability to contribute to scientific projects, and a deeper enthusiasm for pursuing a future in statistics and data science."

Anisha Tehim

"Under the supervision of Folarin Oyebolu, I worked on a simulation-based evaluation of extended blood matching across patient groups. The project focused on optimizing blood allocation for transfusion by incorporating NHS and NHSBT clinical expert assessments regarding transfusion reaction likelihood and severity in regularly transfused patient populations, such as those with sickle cell disorder or myelodysplastic syndromes.

During the placement, I carried out various tasks including extending simulation models of the blood supply chain in England, modifying optimization algorithms for blood matching scenarios, and analysing patient outcomes under different allocation strategies. Coming from a statistics background, this project provided an exciting opportunity to explore the optimization side of research while working on a large, complex codebase.

Throughout the internship, my supervisor was an exceptional mentor who fostered my learning and provided invaluable guidance when I encountered challenges. Beyond the technical work, the atmosphere at the BSU was incredibly welcoming. The career talks were particularly enlightening, offering exposure to diverse research areas and career trajectories that I hadn't previously considered.

This experience has not only deepened my passion for research at the intersection of statistics and healthcare but also solidified my aspiration to pursue a PhD in the future."

Olivia Ortileb

"Interning at the BSU was a fantastic opportunity to contribute to a meaningful project while gaining a deeper understanding of what research in biostatistics is like. My assigned project was both challenging and rewarding, and together with the excellent mentorship I received, it was very helpful in refining my statistical and research skills. The regular career talks and meetings with members of the Unit were inspiring and provided a lot of insight into the field and the variety of career paths within it. I also really appreciated how welcoming and supportive the environment is."

Special thanks to the brilliant Early Career Researchers at the BSU for supervising and mentoring each intern - Folarin Oyebolu, Solon Karapanagiotis, Gianmarco Caruso, Stina Zetterstrom, James Willard, Stef Baas, Libby Daniells and Luis Vargas-Mieles.