PSI Career Young Face-to-Face Event at GSK
Date: Friday 2nd October 2026
Location: GSK HQ, 79 New Oxford Street, London, WC1A 1DG, United Kingdom
Who is this event intended for? Early careers, apprentices, and PhD students.
What is the benefit of attending? Attending this event offers a valuable opportunity to network with fellow early-career statisticians and professionals from both academia and industry. You'll gain insights into diverse career paths as a medical statistician, enhance your knowledge of current hot topics—such as Bayesian analysis—and develop key skills relevant to the field.
The event is planned to take place on the 2nd of October at GSK in London, UK. It is planned to be a whole day event starting at 11am and going on till 4/5pm.
Planned Agenda
11am-12pm: Statistics-themed ice breaker(s)
12pm-1pm: Lunch
1pm-2pm: Bayesian analysis workshop
2pm-3pm: Careers panel
3pm-4pm: Debate tables
4pm – late: Proposed afterwork networking event
Event Abstract
This one-day event is tailored for early-career medical statisticians, including graduate students and PhD candidates or those in the first few years of their career, seeking to expand their professional network and explore future career pathways. The morning will be dedicated to networking activities, providing attendees with the opportunity to connect with peers and professionals from both academia and industry.
The afternoon program features a variety of talks and workshops, including a panel discussion on careers in medical statistics, where speakers will share their experiences and answer any questions attendees may have. A hands-on statistical workshop will address a current important topic in the medical statistics field—Bayesian analysis—offering attendees the chance to upskill and gain practical experience on how Bayesian methods are applied in real-world clinical trial settings. And finally, an interactive debate tables session providing attendees with the opportunity to explore, discuss, and challenge perspectives on some of the hot topics shaping the medical statistics field today.
Bayesian Analysis Workshop Abstract
This session will introduce the principles of Bayesian thinking in a practical and accessible way. We'll explore the key concepts in plain English, how Bayesian approaches differ from traditional frequentist methods, and how they are being applied across pharmaceutical development. The session will include real-world examples and an interactive case study, providing attendees with the opportunity to apply Bayesian thinking to a realistic decision-making scenario.
To close the day, we're gauging interest in an informal after-work networking event to continue conversations in a relaxed setting.
Registration
Registration closes on 18th September.
PSI Members: £10+VAT
Non-PSI Members: £10+VAT
Spaces are limited - click here to register now!
Speaker details
| Speaker | Biography |
Misbah Ahmed, Statistics Director, GSK | Misbah joined the CMC Statistics group at GSK in 2009 and spent much of her career supporting the development of medicines from early development through to post-registration within Respiratory. Around five years ago, Misbah joined the Clinical Statistics organisation, where she leads a team of statisticians within the Early Development Statistics group, primarily supporting assets from very early development through to and including Ph2. In her current role, she is both a team leader and the Respiratory (COPD) Disease Area Lead. She also serves as the project statistician for a Ph2 study.
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Annie Wright, PhD Candidate, ICTU | Annie Wright is a PhD candidate at the Imperial Clinical Trials Unit (ICTU), funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Digital Health theme. Her research focuses on clinical trial methodology, with a particular interest in decentralised clinical trials (DCTs) and how digital health technologies can be used to improve the efficiency of clinical trials. As part of her PhD, Annie has conducted a systematic review of decentralised clinical trials, explored public perspectives on the use of digital technologies for data collection in trials through Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE), and contributed to research investigating barriers and facilitators to efficient trial design in digital health. Her current work focuses on simulation studies evaluating statistical methods for analysing longitudinal trial data under different trial designs and visit schedules. Before starting her PhD, Annie worked as a clinical trials statistician at ICTU, contributing to a range of clinical trials including the COV-Boost trial. She previously worked as a trials and research statistician at Queen Mary University of London’s Women’s Health Research Unit, where she used large-scale datasets, including UK Biobank and Scottish maternity data, to investigate research questions in women’s health. Annie holds a BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Dundee and an MSc in Applied Statistics in Health Sciences. |
Emily Howard, Statistical Programmer, Veramed | Emily studied BSc Mathematical Sciences at the University of Bath, including a placement year in the Statistical Sciences department at UCB. Having enjoyed this initial industry experience, she joined Veramed as a Statistical Programmer and has spent the last two years there, based in the Twickenham office and primarily working on paediatric rare disease studies. This next academic year, she is excited to begin her MSc in Medical Statistics at the University of Strathclyde, which she will be studying for part-time alongside her role at Veramed. She looks forward to sharing her experience of transitioning from university into industry and how she has found the first couple of years. |
Naomi Givens, Statistics Director, GSK | Naomi Givens is a Statistics Director at GSK with more than 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical drug development. She currently supports the HIV portfolio and has held a variety of technical, strategic and leadership roles across her career, contributing to programmes from Phase II development through regulatory submission and beyond. Whilst the majority of her career has been in the HIV therapy area, during the pandemic, she played a leadership role on the development program for a COVID-19 treatment which remains a career highlight. Alongside her technical responsibilities, Naomi is passionate about developing people and helping others navigate their careers. She has spent much of her career mentoring statisticians, building capability within teams and creating opportunities for growth and development, and particularly enjoys seeing individuals progress into leadership roles of their own. As Chair of PSI (Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry), following many years of volunteering in committee and board positions, she is a strong advocate for professional development and community building across the profession. |
Sudhir Venkatesan, GSK | Sudhir Venkatesan is a statistician with over a decade of experience spanning causal inference, real-world evidence, and statistical strategy across industry and academia.
Sudhir is currently Director, Statistics at GSK where he is the project statistician for Shingrix. Prior to GSK, he worked at AstraZeneca where he spent the past five years as Director, Evidence Statistics, supporting the Vaccines & Immune Therapies unit. He served as lead statistician on medical evidence studies for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine and monoclonal antibody programmes, the FluMist live attenuated influenza vaccine, and more recently the RSV/hMPV programme. Before that, he spent two and a half years at IQVIA, and before that, seven years at the University of Nottingham's WHO Collaborating Centre for Pandemic Influenza, where he also completed an interdisciplinary PhD in computer science and epidemiology.
He holds an honorary affiliation with the Department of Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where he has taught on the MSc in Health Data Science for the past six years. |
