Profile

Photo:

Roz Baverstock

    • About Me:

      I live with my partner near Manchester. I am a statistician in the day 📊and spend most of my free time playing sport, watching sport, or playing boardgames! ⚽🏃‍♀️🎲

    • Read more

      I studied Maths and Chemistry at Durham uni, including a year in industry where I worked for a biotech company as a statistician/data scientist 👩‍🎓 Since graduating, I have worked for a pharmaceutical company as a statistician.

      I love sports. I play a lot of frisbee, playing tournaments all over the country (and sometimes abroad!).  I also play netball 3 times a week in the local leagues. I support Portsmouth FC 💙, and go to away games as often as I can! My partner is a Man City fan, so we often go to their home games too. I like following women’s sports, particularly football and rugby.

      I’m also a big boardgame fan, especially of big co-operative (where you work together) games or ones which have pretty artwork. And finally, I love dogs! 🐶 I don’t own one (yet), but love visiting and looking after my parents’ border terrier, Zebedee.

    • My pronouns are:

      she/her

    • How I use Science in my work:

      We look at the chemistry and biology in the human body and how it is affected by a new drug.

    • My Work:

      I work with clinical trial data to understand how well a new drug is working and making someone feel better. This is usually using some programming code, and then presenting data to the clinical study team.

    • Read more

      I work on oncology (cancer) clinical trials. These are studies in which people with cancer have signed up to be involved and try new drugs to try and treat their cancer. A typical trial would have people taking the new drug, and also people taking an existing approved drug, so that we can make comparisons. I am usually looking at the numbers and data we collect, presenting these in tables and graphs.

      It’s important to see how these new drugs are performing compared to the existing standard treatment. We want to see that the new drug is better, usually by helping to slow down or cure the cancer. It can also be that the new drug helps people to feel better day to day than an existing one, for example one drug may make someone feel sick or dizzy, but a different drug does not.

      I will also help to look into the quality of the data – is it reliable, is there any missing information, anything that looks unusual.

    • My Typical Day:

      I start work around 9am, where I first catch up on emails with a cup of tea or coffee. I will then get started on investigating some data, using programming and spreadsheets. At lunchtime, I like to try and take a walk for some fresh air and to move away from my desk. The afternoons are usually busy with meetings, as my colleagues in the USA will have logged on for the day. I finish at about 5pm, ready to go play some sport.

    • Read more

      The job isn’t all numbers! I spend a lot of time in cross-functional meetings, talking to medical doctors, programmers, project managers etc.

      I am responsible for the data presentation, so it’s important that I have also documented how the analysis and statistics will be carried out so that anyone can understand what has happened ‘behind the scenes’ to get to these graphs and tables. This means I write clear instructions in documents which are kept in a safe record.

    • What I'd do with the prize money:

      I would love to promote placement years in STEM degrees to universities in the north of England, particularly for mathematicians and the pharmaceutical industry.

    CV

    • Education:

      Where my love for maths and sciences started: GCSEs – Woolmer Hill, Surrey

      These were important for having a good foundation of skills and knowledge, as well as learning how to study.

      Where I figured out my favourite bits of science: A-Levels – Godalming College, Surrey

      A Levels were the stepping stone to university, something I knew I wanted to do.

      Opportunity to explore high level maths and science, and discovered the statistician in clinical trial job career through a year in industry: MSci Natural Sciences degree – Durham University

      I was set on getting a masters degree as I believed that would open up the most graduate roles to me after finishing education. I think my placement year was the most beneficial thing: it gave me experience of a career which I ended up deciding I’d like to pursue, as well as experiencing a taste of the working life, which is very different from being a student! Getting involved in clubs and societies also built my confidence and communication skills, ready for the workplace.

    • Qualifications:

      GCSEs – English, Maths, Further Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, French, Photography, Music, Religious Studies

      A Levels – Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry, Physics (4 A*s)

      MSci Natural Sciences, Maths and Chemistry, with a year in industry – 2:1

    • Work History:

      2016-2021 Maths tutor, KS1 to A Level

      2020-2021 Statistician in Data Science team, Amgen

       

    • Current Job:

      Statistician, Oncology Biometrics

    • Employer:

      AstraZeneca

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        frisbee playing statistician

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        Zookeeper

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        Only for rolling up my blazer sleeves!

        If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

        Sailing instructor somewhere hot and sunny

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Too hard to choose!

        What's your favourite food?

        Cinnamon buns

        If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

        To have a german shepherd puppy, be the best I can be at my sports, happiness for my friends and family

        Tell us a joke.

        How much do rainbows weigh? Not much, they're actually pretty light 🌈

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