PSI Student Newsletter Autumn 2025

"We are a community dedicated to leading and promoting the use of statistics within the healthcare industry for the benefit of patients"

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PSI Events

See what's happening in 2025.

PSI Medical Statistics MSc Grant

Funding Opportunity

PSI apprenticeship

Great news from universities.

SIG Spotlight: AI and ML

Learn their objectives.

Placement Students in Medical Research

Hear about their experiences.

Undergraduate Prizes

Meet our undergraduate prize winners.

PSI Conference 2025

Highlights from this years conference.

The impact of Statisticians

How statistics improves patients’ lives.

WELCOME

Welcome to our Autumn 2025 student newsletter aimed at providing you useful information and links to resources while you study a maths-related degree at University and start to think about future career options. PSI is a non-profit organisation run voluntarily by statisticians from industry. Our PSI Careers website can be found here.

Just For Fun

This is known as the Birthday Paradox: in a group of just 23 people, there is a greater than 50% chance that at least two of them share the same birthday.

If you increase the group size to 70 people, the probability jumps to 99.9%!

Events

PSI Events

PSI offers a range of opportunities to learn about statistical techniques used in the Pharmaceutical industry, as well as valuable personable skills. Sessions range from a couple of hours to all day events. Upcoming events and how to register can be found on our Events page.

Open-Source Lunch Bites

Date and time: The first Friday of every Month | 12:00-12:30 GMT/BST

Location: Online via Zoom

Costs: Free

Who is this event intended for? Anyone seeking practical guidance and skill development in R and open-source software.

What is the benefit of attending? An opportunity to enhance your open-source knowledge through convenient, bite-sized learning sessions that deliver practical demonstrations and provide access to recorded resources for ongoing learning.

To register for this event, please click here.

Stability Modelling: New Tools and Approaches

Date and time: Tuesday 21st October 2025 | 14:00-15:30 BST

Location: Online via Zoom

Cost: Free

Who is this event intended for?: Statisticians and interested parties who work in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

What is the benefit of attending?: Presentation and active discussion of technical statistical topics in this field.

To register for this event, please click here.

PSI Careers - MEDMathS: Medicine Empowered by Data, Maths and Statistics

Date and time: Wednesday 5th November 2025 | 13:00-14:00 GMT

Location: Online

Costs: Free

Who is this event intended for? Students studying towards a BSc/MSc degree in Mathematics, Statistics, or high numerical content.

What is the benefit of attending? Be introduced to the world of medical statistics. Learn how you can apply your numerical degree to a career in this field & take the opportunity to have your questions answered by those working in the field.

To register for this event, please click here.

PSI Medical Statistics Careers Event

Date and time: Wednesday 19th November 2025 | 12:00-17:00 BST

Location: The Discovery Centre (DISC), Cambridge

Cost: Free (transport reimbursement available)

Who is this event intended for?: Undergraduate and Postgraduate students intending to pursue a career in medical statistics. Note that interested graduates who have not yet started working in the industry may also be eligible to attend and should contact the organisers.

What is the benefit of attending?: Learn more about a career in medical statistics from people with a range of medical statistics roles. Gain tips for making the next step in your career. Meet people from a variety of pharmaceutical companies, clinical trials units, contract research organisations (CROs) and universities and learn about possible career options.

To register for this event, please click here.

PSI Medical Statistics MSc Grant

PSI are delighted to announce we will offer one student sponsorship towards course fees for an MSc in Medical Statistics (or highly related course) starting in Autumn 2026.

The sponsorship is for a full time or part time, home student who has demonstrated a passion for medical statistics and aspires to join the industry after their MSc. The funding will only be available to students who have not been awarded any other funding. Applications should describe your motivation and prior experience of medical statistics, and your career aspirations for after the MSc.

Keep an eye on PSI LinkedIn and eNEWS for further information and key dates!

Elsbeth, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

We are pleased to share this testimonial from one of the individuals who received funding:

"Hi, my name is Elsbeth and I’m beginning a part-time MSc in Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine this autumn. I chose this MSc because I wanted my love of maths to make a real difference in people’s lives. A data science module during my degree first sparked my interest in statistics, and I went on to build my skills independently after graduating whilst working in finance.

What excites me most about becoming a medical statistician is the challenge of transforming complex trial data into reliable evidence that can improve patient outcomes. For anyone who values curiosity, collaboration and patient care, it is such a rewarding path. I’m very grateful for PSI’s support, which has made this next step possible, and I hope my path reassures other students that it’s never too late to find the right career."

Updates from the PSI Medical Statistics Apprenticeship scheme

Help Protect a Key Pathway into Medical Statistics!

The Medical Statistician Level 7 Apprenticeship is a vital route into the profession, allowing graduates to earn an MSc while working. Visit our website to learn more about this scheme.

Unfortunately, from 2026, government funding for this scheme will be cut for anyone over the age of 21, meaning employers or individuals would be expected to pay instead. This will make it unaffordable for many aspiring medical statisticians.

PSI is launching a petition to fight this change, and we need your support. Please watch for the petition on our website and social media. Signing it is a quick and powerful way to help protect future career opportunities for everyone.

Visit our Website

SIG Spotlight: AI and Machine Learning

The Special Interest Groups (SIGs) provide a forum for members to discuss topics of mutual interest, keep updated on developments in a particular area of industry, to organise events on their specialist field and/or to collaborate on developing the science of that field.

This newsletter introduces the new AI and Machine Learning (ML) SIG, who work to align various ML initiatives across all groups. A key focus for this SIG is to address critical questions for clinical research statisticians regarding the practical applications and limitations of AI/ML within regulatory frameworks, delivering these insights back to industry colleagues through webinars.

For more information about the use of AI in the pharmaceutical industry, or to find out how you can get involved, please visit the webpage.

Placement Students in Medical Research

Many companies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry offer placement and internship opportunities – the majority of these are for students taking undergraduate degrees with the option of a year in industry, with some also offering short-term assignments for PhD students. These placements are a fantastic opportunity for students to gain confidence, build professional skills and apply their theoretical knowledge in the real world. The company and industry knowledge gained over the year makes a great addition to any CV, giving placement students a boost when applying for graduate roles after completion of their studies.

PSI have spoken to a number of students about their experiences of completing a placement year in 2023/24; view the video and written testimonials on the PSI website to find out a bit more about the benefits of completing a year in industry, what the students enjoyed most and tips for those looking to do a placement. We also spoke to supervisors about the key benefits of employing placement students and the support provided during placements – again see the page linked above!

Thanks to all the students who provided feedback on their year, PSI wishes them the best of luck for their final year and beyond!

Undergraduate Prizes

In July 2025 PSI awarded cash prizes to undergraduate students who were nominated by their University. Each University can only nominate one student and the PSI Careers team were very impressed with the nominations received. This is an annual award so if you are interested in being considered for the award, remember to discuss with your tutor for next year.

Below are highlights of what the winners wrote about their path in studying medical statistics.

"My passion for statistics began during my second year when I realised that I was drawn to the statistical modules I had taken due to their applicability to the real world. I had found all the standard post-maths degree careers very uninspiring, so after attending a careers talk from medical statisticians, I had a sudden realisation that this was the perfect career path for me. Being able to use the problem-solving skills gained from my degree to help people seemed so rewarding! ..."

Becca, University of Lancaster

"I have always been interested in medical statistics. The way in which statistics can be used to combat significant global challenges has always fascinated me, particularly in areas like disease prevention, public health policy, and medical research. This inspired me to pursue modules with stronger medical relevance to tackle today's pressing issues. In my final year of university all of my modules were connected to medical applications of statistics..."

Alaister, Queen's University Belfast

"Our impact as statisticians on public health interventions and resource planning has come a long way since John Snow and Thomas Shapter’s accounts of the cholera outbreak. With average life expectancy continuing to increase, I believe we’re increasingly responsible for helping ensure those extra years are healthy and equitable, especially for groups or regions that risk being left behind.

Winning the PSI Undergruate Prize is a great honour. It’s a reminder that efforts to connect innovation with practical public health impact are noticed and valued, however small they might be. It motivates me to continue developing my skills in medical statistics, to contribute to improving public health decision-making in a time with frequent global health challenges.

I am grateful to PSI for this recognition and look forward to contributing actively to the field of public health in the years ahead..."

Lap Chow, University of Warwick

"I have adored learning mathematics and solving problems. University has shown me many different applications of mathematics and future pathways I never knew were out there. From this I've discovered that one of the most important traits for what I want to learn is the real world benefits and application.

I've particularly seen this with Medical Statistics, where the application of complex mathematics can create new findings and improve the lives of many. Be that in discovery and development all the way to clinical review. All these sides of Medical Stats I have loved and I am ready to dive into industry and learn even more..."

Angus, University of Sheffield

PSI Conference 2025

In June 2025, PSI held its annual conference in Wembley stadium, London. We have a review from Katie Dixon (Phastar) below:

"PSI 2025 was the first industry conference I’ve ever attended, so naturally I was unsure of what to expect. The networking events were a great way to settle in and ease the nerves. There were a wide variety of statistical talks, but I had not expected such a range of non-technical sessions and workshops too. The two keynotes ‘Communicating the magic of maths’ by Alex Bellos and ‘Bridging the Divide - How Academia/Industry collaborations have the power to transform clinical development’ by Jennifer Visser-Rogers were both engaging and insightful.

As well as attending the conference, I also presented a leadership TED talk. It was great to collaborate with the other 5 presenters from my session and learn from others who were passionate about the same things as I am. The PSI team were also super supportive throughout the entire process. Whilst it might be daunting, I’d really encourage those who are new to the industry to engage with events like these - it’s a fantastic way to build your knowledge base, whilst making new industry connections and friends."

More sessions from the conference are also available to watch on the video-on-demand page. Look for the videos with PSI Conference 2025 in the title. Don't miss out on these informative sessions! You can also catch up on the Pre-Clinical SIG's webinar "AI in Medicinal Products" for relevant insights, or explore career opportunities with " Maths Meets Medicine: Exploring Careers in the Pharmaceutical Industry.".

If you're interested in attending next year's PSI conference, which will be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 15th-17th June 2026, click here to find out more.

How Statisticians are valued by non-Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry

As a Statistician in the Pharmaceutical industry, you get to work with different people with different areas of expertise. Here, a Senior Medical Officer expresses the importance of the Statistician's role...

“Haematology is a rapidly changing specialty that relies heavily on statistical methods to understand the incidence, risks and patterns of haematological conditions, malignant and non-malignant. It is vital in the analysis and development of new drugs and treatment pathways in different patient populations and in understanding how these can be implemented effectively.

The role of the statistician is crucial in the development of clinical trials which improve outcomes for patients with blood disorders. They are a vital member of trial steering groups, contributing to the study design and sample size calculations at the development stage of trials. They prepare the statistical analysis plan, ensuring that the data collected and the methods used will obtain the statistically significant results required. They are highly involved in the analysis of the results and in the production and presentation of outcomes.

As a doctor, I particularly appreciate the input of statisticians in the analysis and presentation of our research and in advising and guiding me in the methods used. Together we can produce reliable and accurate outcomes which can be used to further scientific knowledge in the specialty and ultimately improve outcomes for our patients."

Dr Tania Dexter, Senior Medical Officer

Anthony Nolan Research Institute

Reminders

PSI student membership

PSI student membership is free to join and has many benefits during your journey to becoming a statistician in the pharmaceutical industry: Join PSI (psiweb.org)

PSI run many webinars which are free to members (but cost for non-members), so as a free PSI Student member you can also join these events for free.

Keep your contact details up to date

If you are finishing your studies at the end of this academic year, please remember to change your email address to a personal one on your PSI account, so you don’t miss important updates and continue to receive our regular emails. To edit your contact details, you can log into Glue Up and go to “My profile”: https://app.glueup.com/my/profile/.

Job Vacancies

Many companies employing statisticians advertise their job vacancies on the PSI website. Career Opportunities are updated on a regular basis, and is always worth a look to see what options are available.