Sarah Anoke PhD
Doctor of Philosophy in Biostatistics
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Minors in Computational Science and Global Epidemiology
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Minors in Computational Science and Global Epidemiology
Dissertation
Practicable Characterization of Systematic Heterogeneity
Advisor
Cory Zigler PhD
Committee
Marcello Pagano PhD, Giovanni Parmigiani PhD, Sherri Rose PhD
May 2017
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Master of Arts in Biostatistics
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
May 2014
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Mathematics
Smith College
Smith College
Jan 2013
Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry
Harvard College
Harvard College
Mar 2011
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Coaching Advisor
Insight Fellows
Insight Fellows
- Specifically selected by program staff to provide professional development support to current cohort of Fellows
- Edited industry-focused résumés and professional correspondence used in job applications
- Led 1:1 sessions to provide personalized feedback on behavioral interview communication
Sep 2020 - Oct 2020
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
Data Engineering Fellow,
bit.ly/federalSpend-slides
Insight Fellows
User interface for FedSpend app.
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Insight Fellows
- Devised Flask platform to provide federal spending statistics with flexible aggregation by federal legislator and geography, for use in investment planning or general accountability
- Constructed batch-processing pipeline to migrate 1TB PostgreSQL database to more performant CockroachDB, ingest other contextual data from multiple sources, and pre-calculate summary tables in PySpark
- Automated pipeline with Airflow scheduling, decreased pipeline runtime by 20% and query runtime by 15% with CockroachDB migration
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Jan 2020 - Jul 2020
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
Senior Data Scientist, Studio & Creative Production
Netflix
Netflix
- Demonstrated 30% efficiency gain in the subtitle localization process through A/B test analysis and designed experimentation program for further process optimization
- Built pipelines to construct clean analytic datasets from terabytes of JSON payloads and application log data
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams as the data 'spokesperson' to Globalization organization, to understand business needs and connect to data requirements and actionable analysis plans
- Pioneered stakeholder-facing Tableau dashboards that exposed analytics for the first time in this business area
Oct 2018 - Sept 2019
Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos, California
Scientific Director, McGoldrick Professional Development Program in Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
- Developed graduate-level course on use of descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and study design for program monitoring and evaluation, and accompanying instructor training-of-trainers program for course implementation
- Orchestrated five one-week pilot course offerings in Rwanda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Botswana, and South Africa and provided on-site administrative and instructional assistance
- Achieved 100% student recommendation rating (20-70 students/course across five countries)
Jun 2017 - Sept 2018
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Biostatistics
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
- Investigated use of visualization techniques towards determination of treatment effect heterogeneity through empirical identification & characterization of subgroups in high-dimensional settings
- Identified cultural and environmental effect modifiers of the causal relationship between blended learning and graduate-level biostatistical knowledge uptake outcomes, comparing the United States context to the context in five African countries
- Identified practical adjustments to instructional public health materials created in the United States in order to equalize or improve knowledge uptake when ported to other cultural and environmental contexts
Jul 2017 - Sept 2018
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Graduate Research Fellow, Department of Biostatistics
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
- Developed statistical benchmarking procedure to compare classical, Bayesian, and tree-based approaches to causal modeling through simulation
- Designed and programmed visualization application in R and JavaScript to facilitate data mining for treatment effect heterogeneity and empirical identification & characterization of subgroups in high-dimensional settings
- Reviewed statistical evidence and assessed extant Rwandan health data quantity and quality towards demonstration of changes in mortality attributable to noncommunicable disease reduction
- Evaluated survey methodologies on statistical and logistical efficiency as they relate to health system monitoring and evaluation in Africa
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Contributed to proof-of-concept Python project to apply simulated annealing optimization technique on spatial data to calculate optimal placement for a new bike lane, and created expository website.
Poster summarizing research project and results.
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Sept 2012 - May 2017
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Biostatistician, Department of Biostatistics
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
- Analyzed data from disadvantaged post-conflict communities in Acholi subregion of northern Uganda
- Evaluated results-based financing (RBF) health and wealth improvement program funded by United Kingdom government, as statistical support to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Sept 2013
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Research Assistant, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Smith College
Smith College
- Coauthored xgrid, R statistical package to facilitate the parallelization of large statistical computations
- First-authored instructional manuscript on use of xgrid
- Created and maintained Center for Women in Mathematics website, including writing and stylizing content
May 2011 - Feb 2013
Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
Research Assistant, Department of Biostatistics
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
- Conducted analyses on hospital admissions data to determine association between cardiovascular health and presence of smoking ban in older Americans
- Presented research at Women In Mathematics In New England (WiMiN) conference in 2011
Jun 2011
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Statistical Consultant, Department of Biostatistics, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Smith College
Smith College
- Selected appropriate model for analysis of correlated data generated by Biological Sciences lab
- Researched approaches to mitigate the impact of missing data using multiple imputation
Jan - Apr, Sep - Dec 2011
Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
Presidential Instructional Technology Fellow
Initiative for Learning & Teaching, Harvard University
Initiative for Learning & Teaching, Harvard University
- Programmed graphical user interface for MATLAB-based disease transmission model program
- Developed Google Maps application and accompanying course website for advanced Italian course
Jun 2010 - Jan 2011
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Research Assistant, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Harvard University
Harvard University
- Designed experiments to quantify collagen fibril alignment in presence of magnetic field, for further development into scaffolds for human embryonic stem cell differentiation
- Presented research at Harvard College Program for Research in Science and Engineering (PRISE) conference in August 2008
Sep 2007 - Dec 2008
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Amgen Scholar / Research Assistant, Department of Biochemistry
Stanford University School of Medicine
Poster presented at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in November 2007.
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Stanford University School of Medicine
- One of fifteen undergraduates selected nationally to participate in biomedical research program
- Analyzed mutant phenotypes of Drosophila embryos to investigate genes that could be implicated in early tracheal development
- Fixed mutant Drosophila embryos at particular developmental stages for qualitative analysis of tracheal morphogenetic phenotype using fluorescent microscopy
- Presented research at conclusion of program,and presented poster at Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in November 2007 (below)
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Jun - Aug 2007
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Research Assistant, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- Used 4D NMR techniques to research structure of Gag protein of the simian immunodeficiency virus
- Transformed bacteria with Gag protein gene, harvested protein via cell lysis, and purified lysate via ion-exchange chromatography
- Presented poster at University of Maryland ResearchFest in August 2006
Jun - Aug 2006
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Instructor, Department of Epidemiology
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
- Designed introductory biostatistics course for twenty undergraduate students with very heterogenous prior experience
- Delivered twelve lectures; prepared and graded three homework assignments and a final exam
- Average post-course knowledge assessment score was 65% higher than average pre-course knowledge assessment
Summer 2017
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Instructor, Department of Biostatistics
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
- Designed introductory epidemiology course for fourteen undergraduate and two post-baccalaureate students
- Delivered nine lectures; prepared and graded in-class assignments
Summer 2017
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Teaching Assistant, Department of Biostatistics
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
- Prepared lecture materials for online course "Principles, Statistical and Computational Tools for Reproducible Science"
Summer 2017
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Teaching Fellow, Department of Biostatistics
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
- For listed courses: instructed bi/weekly problem sessions, held individual meetings with students on course material and remedial mathematics, graded exams and weekly homework assignments
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Introduction to Quantitative Methods in Monitoring & Evaluation
Summer: 2012, 2013, 2014; Spring 2017
Led the video recording, editing, and uploading of course content onto edX online course platform -
Principles of Biostatistics
Spring 2015; Fall: 2015, 2016
Led problem sessions through live video conferencing with students enrolled in Master of Public Health program at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia. -
Core Principles of Biostatistics and Epidemiology for Public Health Practice
Fall 2015 -
Statistical Methods II
Spring 2015 -
Principles of Biostatistics
Fall: 2013, 2014
Served as head TF over course of 137 students, during fall 2014 offering.
Additional responsibilities as head TF included writing weekly homework and practicum assignments and solutions, organization and distribution of work amongst other four TFs. - Across all courses, average student rating of 4.60/5.
Jul 2012 - Mar 2017
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Teaching Assistant
Summer School on Modern Methods in Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Summer School on Modern Methods in Biostatistics and Epidemiology
- Led daily problem sessions for two graduate-level one-week courses, Introductory Biostatistics and Monitoring & Evaluation of Public Health Programs, to classes of international health professionals
- Prepared problem session materials and held individual meetings with students as needed
Jun: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Treviso, Italy
Treviso, Italy
Instructor, Department of Biostatistics
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
- Prepared materials for and instructed three introductory Stata sessions to incoming graduate students
Aug 2013
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Grader, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Smith College
Smith College
- Created solution sets and graded homework for an introductory probability course of 32 students
Fall 2011
Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
Course Assistant, Department of Mathematics
Harvard College
Harvard College
- For listed courses: instructed weekly problem sessions, held individual meetings with students on course material and remedial mathematics, graded exams and weekly homework assignments
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Modeling and Differential Equations for the Life Sciences
Fall: 2006, 2007 -
Calculus II
Spring 2007
Received highest rating of any course assistant or teaching fellow -
Calculus I
Spring 2008 - Across all courses, average student rating of 4.60/5.
Sept 2006 - Dec 2008
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Focus Group Facilitator, Diversity & Inclusion Working Group
Harvard College
Harvard College
Spring 2015
Member of Board of Freshman Advisors
Harvard College
Harvard College
Aug 2014 - May 2018
Co-Chair, Department of Biostatistics Student Committee
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Apr 2015 - Apr 2016
Coordinator, Department of Biostatistics HIV Working Group
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Aug 2014 - Aug 2016
Webmaster, Treasurer, Secretary
Harvard College Black Students’ Association
Harvard College Black Students’ Association
- Created and maintained organization website
- Raised over $35,000 during Treasurer tenure
- Curated historical materials for the Harvard University Archives, "The Sarah Anoke Collection"
May 2006 - Aug 2010
Proctor and Resident Advisor
Freshman Dean’s Office, Harvard College
Freshman Dean’s Office, Harvard College
- Cultivated academic and social community as in-residence College staff that lived with ~30 first-year students
- Mentored 10 students/year on course selection and academic progress as formal academic advisor
- Collaborated with supervisory deans and proctor colleagues in high-level decision making as Senior Proctor
- Earned average student rating of 3.8/4 and nominated for Star Family Prize for Excellence in Advising all years
Aug 2014 - May 2018
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Data Engineering
PostgreSQL, CockroachDB, Spark, Airflow, AWS
Languages
SQL, Python, R, HTML/CSS, LaTeX
Frameworks & Tools
Git, Bash, Flask, Tableau, shiny, Jupyter Notebooks
Skillset
statistical analysis, causal inference, data wrangling and visualization
- International Biometric Society (Eastern North American Region)
- American Statistical Association
- Institute of Mathematical Statistics
- Association for Women in Mathematics
Winter 2020
July 2017 - Oct 2018
Certificate of Distinction in Teaching
Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Fall 2014, Spring 2017
Nominee, Star Family Prize for Excellence in Advising
Harvard College
Harvard College
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Rose Traveling Fellow in Chronic Disease Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Summer 2014
Fellow, Biostatistics/Epidemiology Training Grant in AIDS
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
2012-2014, 2016-2017
Fellow, Herschel Smith Summer Undergraduate Research Program
Harvard College
Harvard College
Summer 2008
Fellow, Program for Research in Science and Engineering
Harvard College
Harvard College
Summer 2008
Fall 2007, Spring 2008
Christensen Prize for Outstanding Research Achievement
Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Harvard College
Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Harvard College
Spring 2008
Award for Research Excellence
Society of Black Scientists and Engineers, Harvard College
Society of Black Scientists and Engineers, Harvard College
Fall 2007
Anoke S, Normand S-L, Zigler C. Approaches to treatment effect heterogeneity in the presence of confounding. Statistics in Medicine, DOI 10.1002/sim.8143.
Anoke S, Bukhman G, Muhimpundu MA, Hedt-Gauthier B, Uwaliraye P. Demonstrating NCD mortality rate reduction for the poor in sub-Saharan Africa: the measurement gap. Drafted.
Tapela N, Habineza H, Anoke S, Harerimana E, Mutabazi F, Mutumbira C, Ngoga G, Ndagijimana D, Bukhman G, Rusingiza E, Bavuma C, Gauthier-Hedt B (2016). Diabetes in rural Rwanda: High retention and positive outcomes after 24 months of follow-up in the setting of chronic care integration. International Journal of Diabetes and Clinical Research, 3:058.
Anoke S, Mwai P, Jeffery C, Valadez J, Pagano M (2015). Comparing two survey methods of mea- suring health related indicators: LQAS and DHS. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 20(12):1756-1770.
Anoke S, Zhao Y, Jaeger R, Horton NJ (2012). xgrid and R: Parallel Distributed Processing Using Heterogeneous Groups of Apple Computers. R Journal, 4(1):45-55.
Lot Quality Assurance Sampling: Background and Applications.
Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
July 2018.
Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
July 2018.
Biostatistical Capacity Building in Sub-Saharan Africa.
HIV Working Group in the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Boston.
February 2018.
HIV Working Group in the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Boston.
February 2018.
Algorithms for Sampling from Probability Distributions.
Probability Theory and Applications (course), Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Boston.
November 2017.
Probability Theory and Applications (course), Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Boston.
November 2017.
Causal Inference: Identifying Subgroups by their Response to Treatment.
Amherst College, Amherst.
October 2015.
Amherst College, Amherst.
October 2015.
Is There an Association Between Smoking Bans and Improved Cardiovascular Health Among Older Americans?
WiMiN Conference, Smith College, Northampton.
September 2011.
WiMiN Conference, Smith College, Northampton.
September 2011.