Department of Biostatistics
The Department of Biostatistics tackles pressing public health challenges by conducting cutting-edge research and translation and by offering top-quality education and training.
655 Huntington Avenue Building 2, 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02115
The Lagakos Distinguished Alumni Award
2025 Lagakos Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
Thursday, October 23, 2025
4:00 PM
Kresge G3 & Zoom
Please email : kpietrini@hsph.harvard.edu for zoom link!
We are extremely pleased to announce that alumna Dr. Bethany Hedt- Gauthier, Professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health and the Department of Biostatistics at UNC-CH Gillings School of Public Health will be the recipient of the 2025 Lagakos Distinguished Alumni Award!
Dr. Bethany Hedt-Gauthier is scheduled to give an in-person lecture at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on Thursday, October 23rd at 4:00 PM in Kresge G3 with a reception to follow in the Kresge Cafeteria.
When Ikigai Meets AI: Data-Driven Solutions for Global Health Equity
This talk reflects on the role of statistical science in advancing global health and the importance of aligning technical work with personal purpose. I will share how the Japanese concept of Ikigai—a framework for identifying meaning in one’s work—has guided my career as a biostatistician, leading to unexpected focus areas, partnerships, and methodological challenges beyond the traditional bounds of statistical consulting. Through case studies—including the development of integrated disease surveillance systems during the COVID-19 pandemic using time series modeling in Liberia, and the application of machine learning to digital triage tools for improving access to cesarean care in rural Rwanda—I will highlight how rigorous statistical methods can support timely, data-driven decision-making in low-resource settings. These examples illustrate not only methodological contributions but also the intentional strategies needed to ensure our work is interpretable, actionable, and deeply grounded in the needs of the communities we aim to serve.
Dr. Bethany Hedt-Gauthier, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health and the Department of Biostatistics at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. She earned her PhD in Biostatistics from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Trained as a biostatistician, Dr. Hedt-Gauthier brings a rare combination of statistical rigor and on-the-ground implementation expertise to global health. Early service in the U.S. Peace Corps helped crystallize the equity questions that have defined her career, and she has since built a research portfolio that bridges cutting-edge analytic methods with the realities of care delivery in low-resource settings. Her work focuses on maternal health, surgical care, and health equity—particularly in rural sub-Saharan Africa—using innovative methods to create sustainable improvements in health outcomes.
A central theme of Dr. Hedt-Gauthier’s scholarship is improving maternal health and safe peripartum care. She has led and co-authored pivotal studies on perioperative management and recovery after cesarean birth in rural Rwanda, including the design of discharge instructions tailored to the context of limited resources. Building on this foundation, she has developed and evaluated AI-enabled digital tools that empower community health workers to identify surgical-site infections and escalate care. Her team’s smartphone-based image capture and machine-learning guidance systems have demonstrated diagnostic accuracy comparable to remote clinicians and were recognized with the NIH Technology Accelerator Challenge for Maternal Health first-place award. Complementary telemedicine models further extend specialist capacity, allowing community health workers to share incision photos with clinicians for early detection of complications. She has also applied predictive modeling to forecast delivery location, enabling targeted interventions for mothers at highest risk of delivering outside health facilities.
Beyond these technical innovations, Dr. Hedt-Gauthier’s work exemplifies the principles of equitable, sustainable research partnerships. She consistently elevates local investigators and ministries of health as co-producers of knowledge, addressing power dynamics and promoting authorship equity in international collaborations. This commitment to research equity strengthens the relevance and longevity of her projects, ensuring that evidence-based improvements are locally owned and scalable. Her leadership style integrates biostatistical excellence, field-based implementation science, and mentorship, creating opportunities for students and trainees to gain hands-on experience in research that directly informs policy and practice.
Dr. Hedt-Gauthier’s contributions align directly with the purpose of the Lagakos Distinguished Alumni Award, which honors alumni whose work significantly advances statistical theory and application, demonstrates leadership in biomedical research, and shows an outstanding commitment to teaching. Her scholarship applies sophisticated statistical design and analysis to pressing global health problems, her leadership spans multi-country research teams and international health ministries, and her mentoring of students and trainees exemplifies dedication to developing future leaders in biostatistics and global health. In every dimension—scientific innovation, equitable collaboration, and the education of the next generation—Dr. Hedt-Gauthier embodies the ideals celebrated by the Lagakos Award and stands out as an exceptional recipient.
About the Award
The annual Lagakos Distinguished Alumni Award has been established in memory of Dr. Stephen Lagakos, a faculty member and former chair of the Department of Biostatistics who passed away in a tragic automobile accident in 2009.
Professor Lagakos was a leader in the Department, the School of Public Health, and more broadly, in the international community of quantitative biomedical researchers. Steve’s qualities of commitment, passion, intellectual brilliance, and personal generosity had a direct personal impact on our lives; and his contributions to biostatistics and to AIDS research were fundamental.
This award serves to honor Steve’s distinguished career, and to recognize Department alumni whose research in statistical theory and application, leadership in biomedical research, and commitment to teaching have had a major impact on the theory and practice of statistical science. The award will be open to all who have an earned degree through the department, regardless of length of time since graduation or type of degree.
The award recipient will be invited to the school to deliver a lecture on their career and life beyond the Department.
Nomination
Nominations should include contact information for yourself and your candidate, and the candidate’s curriculum vitae, if available. Please include a letter describing the contributions of the candidate, specifically highlighting the criteria for the award. Supporting letters and materials would be extremely helpful to the committee, but are not required.
Nominations are due: August 15th, 2025
Please send nominations to: kpietrini@hsph.harvard.edu
Previous Award Winners
- 2025 Bethany Hedt- Gauthier
- 2024 Lu Tian
- 2023 Rui Wang
- 2022 Andrea S. Foulkes
- 2021 Scarlett Bellamy
- 2020 Joseph Hogan
- 2019 Fong Wang Clow
- 2018 Amy Herring
- 2017 Nicholas Horton
- 2016 Judith Goldberg
- 2015 Victor DeGruttola
- 2014 Michael Daniels
- 2013 Jesse Berlin
- 2012 Melissa Begg
- – renamed The Lagakos Distinguished Alumni Award –
- 2011 Manning Feinleib
- 2010 Daniel Scharfstein
- 2009 John Simes
- 2008 Robert Strawderman
- 2007 Takeuchi Masahiro
- 2006 Daniel Siegel
- 2005 Christl Donnelly
- 2004 Stuart Baker