David DeMets, PhD

Dr. DeMets received his Bachelors in Mathematics from Gustavus Adolphus College, Sankt Peter, MN, and his Masters and PhD in biostatistics from the University of Minnesota. Early in his professional career he developed a research interest in the design, conduct, and analysis of clinical trials. Following a postdoctoral appointment at the NIH, he spent ten years at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the NIH where he became chief of the Biostatistics Research Branch. He then moved to University of Wisconsin (UW), Madison, becoming Director of the Biostatistics Center, Professor of Statistics and Biostatistics, and Associate Director of the UW Cancer Center. In 1991, he was the founding chair of the Department of Biostatistics at UW-Madison. Recognizing the importance of Informatics to Clinical Research, Dr. DeMetz led its conversion to the Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics in 2005. He recruited faculty with expertise in BioInformatics, image analysis, and clinical informatics. He also supported the founding of an NLM-funded informatics training program: Computation and Informatics in Biology and Medicine (CIBM) at UW-Madison. Dr. DeMetz has co-authored four leading texts on the design, conduct, and analysis of clinical trials. He has also been a leader in the development of Clinical Trials Management Systems. His election to the College recognizes these enduring contributions to the field.