Thursdays 1:30 – 2:50PM Li Ka Shing Center (Room: LKSC 120)

This weekly workshop (running during Fall, Winter and Spring quarters) offers the opportunity to explore in depth the quantitative challenges that emerge from the analysis of biomedical data.

The seminar has been running continuously since the School of Medicine moved to the Stanford campus at the end of the 50s, facilitating the research interactions between medical doctors and faculty in the Schools of Humanities and Science and of Engineering. Known as “Biostatistics workshop,” and run with dedication by faculty as Richard Olshen, it established a culture that strongly values inquisitiveness and rigor as a basis for cross-disciplinary interactions. This is reflected in the format, which reserves 20 minutes for robust discussion, around coffee and cookies.

The workshop doubles as a class (BMDS 280A,B,C). Enrolled students need to document attendance and, if they wish to receive two unit credits, they must write an essay summarizing one of the seminars and discussing it critically in the context of the background readings.

Suggestions and self-nominations for seminar speakers and topics are welcome: please contact Natalie La Mariana at nlamaria@stanford.edu.

Robert Tibshirani and Jason Fries will teach the fall 2026 course.