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Denise McLean

    • About Me:

      I live with my Husband and 8 year old boy:girl twins in North Yorkshire – near Skipton. I enjoy spending time with my family and when I am lucky enough to get some “Me Time” I love disappearing into art and crafts and reading.

    • My pronouns are:

      She/Her

    • How I use Maths in my work:

      Medical statisticians use mathematics and statistics to present and make sense of data in healthcare, biomedical research, and clinical trials.

      Medical statisticians use maths to decide:

      • How many patients are needed (sample size calculations).
      • How long a study should run.
      • How to randomise patients into treatment groups.
      • What outcomes will be measured and when.

      Once the trial is running, Medical statisticians use statistical models to answer questions like:

      • Does the new drug work better than placebo?
      • Is the difference big enough to matter clinically?
      • How certain are we about the results?

    • My Work:

      My role currently is Portfolio Oversight Director which means I provide oversight for a portfolio of studies for one specific company.
      My role sits at the strategic intersection of science, statistics, and decision‑making across multiple programmes.
      Instead of working deeply on one study, I support many programmes, identify risks, ensure scientific rigour, and guide teams toward evidence‑based decisions. I also support the teams on the costing and budgeting for the studies.

    • My Typical Day:

      My typical day starts at 6:30am where I am helping get my twins ready for school. My son departs at 7:45 and my daughter at 8:45. I am then free to make my morning breakfast smoothie and cup of the great Yorkshire Tea ready to turn my work laptop on at 9am.

      The majority of my day is spent in meetings – supporting and helping study leads. So whilst I work from home – on my own in my office – it is very social as I am always talking to someone.

      Other tasks that I may get involved with would be:

      • Reviewing programme dashboards (timelines, risks, budgets, milestones)
      • Assessing study progress (enrolment, data flow, analysis timelines)
      • Identifying emerging risks and escalating them early
      • Preparing updates for governance committees
      • Tracking dependencies across programmes

      Once my children have finished school I have a juggle of getting them to their different after school clubs while at the same time navigating any ongoing meetings.

      I usually manage to finish work at 6pm.

       

    • What I'd do with the prize money:

      I would use the money to run interactive sessions in local schools to highlight the role and work of Medical Statisticians to increase the understanding of the job and encourage interest in Maths/Stats.

    CV

    • Education:

      Matthew Arnold School, Oxford – A-levels – Maths and French

      Oxford College of FE – A-Level – Art

      Masters of Science (MSc), Medical Statistics, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

      Bachelor of Science (BSc), Applied Statistics, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

    • Qualifications:

      3 A-levels – Art, Maths and French

      9 GCSEs

      BSc Applied Statistics,

      MSc Medical Statistics

    • Work History:

      LifeGuard – various locations while studying 1991-2000

      Hospitality – Pub Kitchen Hand – 1991 – 1995

      Medical Statistician – British Biotech (Vernalis), Oxford, UK –  Jul 2000

      Medical Statistician – GlaxoSmithKline, Stockley Park, Middlesex, UK – Oct 2001 – Oct 2004

      Medical Statistician – GlaxoSmithKline, Harlow, Essex, UK – Oct 2004 – Dec 2008

       

    • Current Job:

      Associate Director Portfolio Oversight Biostatistics

      Provides portfolio management, planning, oversight and coordination of statistical and programming activities for a specific designated client.

      Provides support as an expert in the Statistics and Programming area and facilitates the running of fully outsourced clinical trials in the client strategic models. Employs knowledge and experience to streamline processes and handoffs to effectively deliver the business model.

    • Employer:

      Fortrea (Formerly Covance and Labcorp), Leeds, UK – Jan 2009 – Present

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        Strategically Analytical and Collaborative Vegetarian

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        Graphic Designer

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        Occassionally

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

        Something to do with protecting wildlife - maybe Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Chris Stapleton

        What's your favourite food?

        Fajitas

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

        To never be tired in the mornings, to always know the right thing to say and to rid the work of war

        Tell us a joke.

        Why do mathematicians like parks?.........Because of all the natural logs.

Questions answered by Denise

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