Betsy Ogburn, PhD, MS, develops methods for causal inference with complex data, including social network data and data with unmeasured confounding or interference.
Contact Info
615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E3620
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Harvard University
2011
MS
Columbia Mailman School of Public Health
2006
Overview
My research is in causal inference and epidemiologic methods. Broadly, I am interested in developing methods for and describing the behavior of traditional statistical machinery when standard assumptions are not met. I have worked on characterizing the bias that results from misclassification, i.e. violations of the assumption that variables were measured accurately. I have also worked on semiparametric estimation of instrumental variables models, as these models are useful for certain violations of “no unmeasured confounding” assumptions. Currently, my main focus is on developing new methods for statistical and causal inference in the presence of interference (when one subject’s treatment may affect other subjects’ outcomes) and for social network data; both of these represent violations of assumptions of independence among observations.
Honors & Awards
2016 - National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow
2012 - Thomas R. Ten Have Award (Atlantic Causal Inference Conference)
Thomas R. Ten Have Award, Atlantic Causal Inference Conference. (Awarded for exceptionally creative
or skillful research on causal inference.)
2011 Student Research Award, Graybill Conference on Nonparametric Statistics.
2008 Robert Balentine Reed Prize for Excellence in Biostatistical Science. Department of Biostatistics, Harvard
University. (Awarded for the highest score on the doctoral qualifying exam.)
2005, 2006 Peter J. Sharp Scholarship, Columbia University. (Full-tuition, merit-based scholarship.)
2012 - Thomas R. Ten Have Award (Atlantic Causal Inference Conference)
Thomas R. Ten Have Award, Atlantic Causal Inference Conference. (Awarded for exceptionally creative
or skillful research on causal inference.)
2011 Student Research Award, Graybill Conference on Nonparametric Statistics.
2008 Robert Balentine Reed Prize for Excellence in Biostatistical Science. Department of Biostatistics, Harvard
University. (Awarded for the highest score on the doctoral qualifying exam.)
2005, 2006 Peter J. Sharp Scholarship, Columbia University. (Full-tuition, merit-based scholarship.)
Projects
Arsenic and immune response to influenza vaccination in pregnant women and newborns