Sarah C. Lotspeich, Ph.D.

About Me

I'm an Assistant Professor at Wake Forest University in the Department of Statistical Sciences, where I hold a secondary appointment in the Department of Biostatistics and Data Science and co-lead the Spatial and Environmental Statistics in Health (SESH) Lab. I also co-organize Florence Nightingale Day, welcoming local middle and high schools to explore statistics and data science at Wake.  

Before coming to Wake Forest, I completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of Biostatistics, working with Dr. Tanya Garcia. 

Previously, I enjoyed tons of live music in Nashville, Tennessee... and worked toward my Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University in the Department of Biostatistics under the mentorship of Drs. Bryan Shepherd and Ran Tao. In April 2021, I was thrilled to defend my dissertation: "Using observational data in healthcare research: New methods to design, conduct, and analyze efficient two-phase designs."

In May 2016,  I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida with B.S. in Statistics. This was my first taste of research and teaching, both of which propelled me on to the Ph.D. and, ultimately, to becoming a faculty member. 

I'm originally from Florida, having grown up in a family of rocket scientists minutes from Kennedy Space Center. My weaknesses are bubble tea, a cute yarn shop, and a cheap airplane ticket.