March 15-18, 2026

Welcome!

Bhramar Mukherjee
Bhramar Mukherjee
ENAR 2026 President

Welcome to the 2026 ENAR Spring Meeting to be held on March 15-18, 2026, in Indianapolis!! Our meeting theme is “The Role of Statistics in an AI-augmented World,” reflecting the crossroads that we are at in our discipline. In a seminal paper in 1950, pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing asked the question “Can Machines Think?” Seventy-five years later, generative AI and Large Language Models are revolutionizing how humans are making decisions in real and virtual environments. With this permeation of new machinery and techniques in quantitative data sciences and domain sciences (particularly in biology and medicine), it is important to reflect on how our roles as statisticians have changed.

This moment is also underscoring the importance of classical concepts such as sampling, study design, representativeness, selection bias, information bias, causality, generalizability. Who are in the training corpora these models are being built on and who is being left out? Are the performances of AI tools across specific vulnerable sub-groups being assessed? New theories of prediction-powered inference, privacy preserving methods and assumption-lean causal inference are emerging that leverage the beauty of both stochastic and algorithmic modeling. The ENAR 2026 education program and a significant part of the invited program will give us an immersive learning experience of the intersection and infusion of modern machine learning, AI and statistics. However, we will have many sessions that are foundational to the discipline of Biostatistics. So, this ENAR is for everyone, whether you are actively working on AI, want to learn AI or want to learn more about the broader field of Biostatistics.

I am particularly excited about:

The 2026 Presidential Invited Address will take the form of a Presidential Invited Debate. Dr. Tianxi Cai from Harvard University and Dr. Marylyn Ritchie from the University of Pennsylvania are going to debate for and against the motion: AI Alone Is Not Enough: Advancing EHR Research Demands Statistical Rigor.

To learn more about Dr. Cai, Dr. Ritchie, and, their Invited Debate, please see the Presidential Invited Debate.

The four-day meeting, March 15-18, 2026, showcases diverse opportunities for professional development and networking through tutorials, roundtables, contributed and invited sessions, the student paper awards, the Fostering Diversity in Biostatistics Workshop, the Early Career Professionals’ Workshop, the meeting’s career placement services, breaks, and mixers. We are working hard to put together a program attractive to a broad range of biostatisticians and quantitative scientists at various stages in their career from government, industry, academia and beyond. The scientific and educational programs provide opportunities to learn about new areas and strengthen foundations in artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistical methods, applications, computational advances and software as well as to discuss topics important for professional development.

ENAR is committed to cultivating a culture of inclusion, professionalism, and civil discourse, which facilitates an environment where ideas are exchanged openly and freely with mutual respect and trust. ENAR has adopted a Meeting Conduct Policy that outlines expectations for all attendees and participants. All attendees must agree to abide by the policy when registering.

I am grateful to each person who supported the planning and implementation of this spring meeting, including the volunteers who serve on the planning, program, and educational advisory committees; the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) committee; the Council of Emerging and New Statisticians (CENS); the Social Media Committee; Student Paper Award Committee; Fostering Diversity in Biostatistics Workshop committee; poster judges; students who help run the short courses; webinar committee; RAB; RECOM; and our partners at Virtual, Inc. who manage meeting logistics. My deepest gratitude to Dr. Tanya Garcia and Dr. Linda Valeri for serving as program chair and program co-chair for the ENAR 2026 program. I am also thankful to the local organizing committee co-chairs Dr. Yi Zhao from Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Boran Gao from Purdue University and Dr. Zhangchen Zhao from Eli Lilly & Co.

It is a great honor to be the ENAR President for 2026. ENAR has been my professional home for two decades. As I transitioned from a Statistics to a Biostatistics department, the ENAR Junior researchers’ workshop in 2007 introduced me to professional peers and friends I still regularly communicate with. I have served as ENAR program chair for JSM, in RAB/RECOM, and have been an engaged attendee of almost all the last twenty ENAR meetings. I have truly enjoyed putting the program together for the spring meeting!

I look forward to seeing you all in Indianapolis next spring!

Bhramar Mukherjee
ENAR 2026 President