“Navigating Perpetual Change: A Framework for Flexible Thinking”

Presented by: Dr. Gideon K.D. Zamba, professor of biostatistics, and director of the Iowa Summer Institute in Biostatistics

When: Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 12:30 to 1:20 p.m.

Where: Callaghan Auditorium (N110 CPHB) and Zoom for those outside of Iowa City (link will be available upon request closer to the date of the event)

Reception to follow in the CPHB atrium.

System change is the continual process of adjusting how people, processes, and resources work together to address new challenges and improve outcomes. In health science and medicine, change can be driven proactively through planned improvements or reactively in response to unexpected events. These two approaches can be illustrated by the concepts of elective surgery (planned change) and emergency trauma response (reactive change). Just as health systems must constantly adapt, health science and medical professionals must remain flexible in how they think and work. In this non-technical presentation, Dr. Zamba will introduce a practical framework for understanding change and show how analysis, diagnosis, and strategic alignment can help individuals and organizations successfully navigate an ever-evolving health science environment.

About Dr. Zamba

Dr. Zamba received a combined BS/MS in applied mathematics from the Université du Bénin, Lomé-Togo, West Africa, in 1995 and an MS and PhD in statistics from the University of Minnesota in 2003. He came to the University of Iowa as a visiting assistant professor in biostatistics in 2003 and joined the biostatistics faculty as a clinical assistant professor in 2004. He also holds appointments in UI’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine,  the Applied Mathematics and Computational Science program, and has served as director of the Iowa Summer Institute in Biostatistics (ISIB) since 2008.

Over his career, Dr. Zamba has made important contributions to the fields of sequential analysis, change point detection, recurrent events, disease monitoring, and syndromic surveillance, helping develop statistical approaches that can identify patterns and changes in health data in real-time. His collaborative research has advanced understanding of a wide range of health issues, including cancer, glaucoma, emphysema, influenza, and neuroendocrine tumors. As a lead biostatistician and collaborator on numerous federally funded projects, Dr. Zamba works with researchers across disciplines to design studies, analyze complex data, and translate findings into meaningful public health and clinical applications.

Equally committed to education and mentorship, Dr. Zamba has played a key role in training future generations of biostatisticians and public health researchers. He co-founded the Biostatistics Summer Initiative and the Iowa Summer Institute in Biostatistics and currently serves as principal investigator and director of the NIH-funded Iowa Summer Institute for Research Education in Biostatistics (ISIREB). Throughout his career, he has mentored graduate students, doctoral candidates, and summer research scholars, many of whom have gone on to successful research careers and publications. His dedication to teaching and service has earned numerous honors, including teaching awards from both the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa, recognition as a Carver College of Medicine Teaching Scholar, and the University of Iowa College of Public Health Faculty Service Award.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the College of Public Health in advance at 319-384-1500.