The role of a statistical programmer can be challenging and rewarding, with opportunities for technically minded people.

PHUSE conducted an interview with Stine Ross, Senior Statistical Programmer at Novo Nordisk, to share their story and illustrate the wide spectrum of profiles finding their way into the role of a statistical programmer in the pharmaceutical industry.

1. What made you want to be a statistical programmer?

A former colleague from university told me about Novo Nordisk, where he worked in Biostatistics as a statistical programmer. He told me about his position and invited me to see his workplace and to tell me more about his responsibilities. I had a very positive time there; I thought the atmosphere and environment was nice and that he performed some interesting tasks. I could see the possibility of working there myself.

2. Can you provide us with an insight into your career journey so far?

I studied my PhD at the Technical University of Denmark, Institute of Aquatic Resources. After my PhD, I was in doubt about what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to work with data and that it had to have a useful purpose, as compared to the more theoretical approach at university. Collaboration was also key to me. I wanted to be part of a team where close collaboration and sharing of knowledge was encouraged. Biostatistics seemed to fulfil all three requirements. After speaking with my former colleague who worked at Novo Nordisk, I got in contact with one of the managers to find out if they had any open positions at the time, which they didn’t until a few months later, when I took up the opportunity to become a statistical programmer.

3. What were some of the challenges you faced when starting out in the industry?

First of all – one very practical thing – I did not know SAS beforehand. At university, I worked I in R, so I had to learn SAS from scratch. The manager who I spoke with before I applied for the role suggested that I do an introductory course in SAS, but that was all I brought with me. Once I started as a statistical programmer, it was a steep learning curve. I had some very helpful colleagues and a great mentor, who always had time to answer questions. Another challenge was having to learn about the pharmaceutical industry and the clinical set-up, which was completely new to me. The last thing to mention is the way of working. Having been used to doing all the work myself, from data collection to analysis and reporting, I had to get used to having a very minor, though important, part of the process. It reminded me of an assembly line, where a product is passed through different steps and processes.

4. How does your role add value to the drug development process?

You provide the programming and are responsible for building the core datasets based on the source data and knowledge about the protocol endpoints and overall setup. Understanding of the data and the data flow from source (sites, labs) to final outputs, going into the clinical trial report, is key. So, it’s not at all just about programming.

5. What excites you the most about the future of your career?

There are a lot of opportunities in Biostatistics and within Novo Nordisk. There are different roles, new therapy areas come up all the time and you can also move into other skill areas. The set-up of the industry is ever-moving. Now, we use CDISC, which is really nice and standardised but in the future who knows what will happen – the CDISC standards are also developing continuously. We might also use R over SAS, or both with a more dynamic output. So, there are a lot of things changing over time, and you are constantly learning and developing new skills.

6. Where can a career as a statistical programmer take you?

Where can’t it take you? There is a lot more to it than programming. It’s a lot about the collaborations and the understanding of the industry and the data. I think you can use it in so many places. It opens up a lot of opportunities. You just have to figure out what you want to do, which direction you want to go in and then pursue these interests.

7. What do you think are the key skills you need to be successful in in your role?

Its all about being a good collaborator and communicator, interacting with key stakeholders and understanding the data itself, the trials, the entire set-up around it and also the regulatory requirements. I think the job title ‘statistical programmer’ is often misleading, because it's so much more than programming.

8. And what skills other than technical skills do you think are important?

I think you must be extremely adaptable and ready to learn new methods, ways of working and programming languages. If you like change and to be challenged, this is the right place to be.

9. What advice would you give to someone starting in your industry?

I think its really important to ask a lot of questions and seek knowledge, whether that’s from your closest colleagues or other programmers, so you can build on your own knowledge. It’s also important to know what the data is used for and what is required to achieve solid, reliable results. You have to keep in mind the aim or the outcome of the trial. Sometimes its not so straightforward and you might need to seek knowledge from other skill areas.

10. What is one interesting fact about statistical programmers that people on the outside may not know?

I think, on average, only 50% of your time is spent on programming and the rest, you find yourself immersed in other areas related to the data and your daily work. You spend a lot of time continuously building on your understanding of clinical trials. Another interesting thing is that statistical programmers come from so many different backgrounds – which you really come to appreciate.

If you enjoyed Stine’s blog and would like to connect with them further on LinkedIn, do so here.