Michael G. Hudgens, PhD

POSITION:
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics
School of Public Health
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

EDUCATION:
Ph.D., Biostatistics, Emory University, 2000
M.S., Mathematics, University of Florida, 1996
B.S., Mathematics, University of Florida, 1994

Five million people became infected with HIV in the year 2003 ( www.unaids.org). It is a rate so staggering it is difficult to comprehend. Fourteen thousand people are infected with HIV every day, i.e., one person every 9 seconds. How do we stop this raging pandemic? With a vaccine. How is such a vaccine being developed? Through a collaborative effort involving clinicians, immunologists, vaccinologists, and biostatisticians such as myself. How did I come to be in such a position? Through a degree in Biostatistics from Emory University. could combine interests in medicine, computer programming, and statistics through a career in biostatistics.

As a doctoral student at Emory I studied under Drs. Ira Longini, Glen Satten, and M. Elizabeth Halloran, renowned biostatisticians in the field of infectious diseases. Our work focused on estimating HIV vaccine efficacy in partner-augmented clinical trials and HIV-subtype specific transmission in Thai injecting drug users. While at Emory I also collaborated with scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) on the analysis mother-to-child HIV transmission trials.

Subsequently I joined the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center as a staff scientist, which has proved to be an excellent complement to my training at Emory. Here I have focused on the design and analysis of clinical trials for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (www.hvtn.org), an international network of investigators with a mandate to develop and test HIV vaccines. Highlights of my experience working for the HVTN include (i) collaboration with prominent immunologists, vaccinologists, and clinicians in the field of HIV research, (ii) analysis of the first preventive HIV vaccine Phase III efficacy trials, and (iii) presenting methodological research at the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona.

Biostatisticians generally strive to develop and apply statistical methodology to solve important biological and public health problems. As such, biostatistics is cross-disciplinary in nature. For example, in a typical day I draw upon knowledge of mathematics, statistics, computer science, information technology, immunology, vaccinology, and epidemiology. It is this mixture that makes my career in biostatistics challenging, stimulating, and satisfying.

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Page Updated 04/1/08