Using statistical analysis to find rheumatological cures
MSSP students partner with healthcare organizations to understand how patients behave and what treatments work
By Caitlin Reidy (COM`25)
A group of Boston University graduate students are working to find a cure for rheumatoid diseases like Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis—not through lab research, but through pharmaceutical partnerships and statistics.
The students are part of the Masters in Statistical Practice Program (MSSP) practicum course, an intensive hands-on experience where students learn about statistical theory, methods, computation, and data analysis, while simultaneously applying their classroom learning in the real world—through consulting projects with industry partners.
For the lupus disease project, the students have been analyzing statistical data for Alira Health—a global health firm that aims to humanize healthcare through technology—using records from FORWARD—a non-profit patient-reported databank for rheumatic disorders—to understand how patients behave, what types of treatments do and do not work, what side effects patients encounter, and more.
“We dig into the data comprised of various datasets and provide any insights we can find,” said Mingrui Du (GRS`25), a third-semester student in the MSSP program who got involved in the project during her first-year practicum and now works as an intern for FORWARD. “I’m applying the skills I’ve developed to solve real-world problems.”
The students are mentored by Fotios Kokkotos, a professor of practice in Mathematics & Statistics who spent 30 years as a statistical consultant for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. He says this hands-on learning enables students to develop a portfolio of research projects, build contacts and connections, and develop the skills they’ll need after graduation, while also giving industry partners access to free problem-solving sessions and statistical application consulting.
The students are mentored by Fotios Kokkotos, a professor of practice in Mathematics & Statistics who spent 30 years as a statistical consultant for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. He says this hands-on learning enables students to develop a portfolio of research projects, build contacts and connections, and develop the skills they’ll need after graduation, while also giving industry partners access to free problem-solving sessions and statistical application consulting.
Kokkotos said that Alira and Forward were so pleased with the MSSP Consulting team’s work that renewed their contract with BU for a second year. They also hired two students for the summer and kept them on as interns during the fall semester.
Du, one of the interns, says she is grateful for “every chance to accept requests, absorb new knowledge, analyze data, and adopt applicable solutions,” and feels that she is growing as a statistician as she delves into the data.
“The database I’m now working on has a very long history—it’s much older than my age. So, it feels like it has a process, has growth, almost like a human. There’s a phase when the data bank grows, and then it thrives, just like young people, like it can provide a lot of insight.”