Text Welcoming and Introductory Remarks

David Allison, Ph.D.

David B. Allison, Ph.D., is Dean, Distinguished Professor, and Provost Professor at Indiana University–Bloomington School of Public Health. Continuously NIH-funded as a PI for over 25 years, he has authored or co-authored more than 700 scientific publications. Awards include the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (2006); the Friends of Albert (Mickey) Stunkard Lifetime Achievement Award (The Obesity Society, 2021); and the Harry V. Roberts Statistical Advocate of the Year Award (American Statistical Association, 2018).

In 2022 he was named a Distinguished Lecturer by Sigma Xi, and received the Hoebel Prize for Creativity (Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior). He received the 2023 Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award (American Physiological Society). Thus far in 2024, he has been elected as a member of Cosmos Club and recognized for his accomplishments by Hofstra University with an Alumni Award. In 2023, he was elected as a Fellow of Sigma Xi the Scientific Honor Society, elected as member of the International Statistical Institute, and elected and inducted into the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research, the first global non-profit group focused on accelerating breakthroughs in the expansion of the human health span. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2012, he also serves as co-chair of the National Academy of Sciences’ Strategic Council on Research Excellence, Integrity and Trust. Dr. Allison is a staunch advocate for rigor in research methods and the uncompromisingly truthful communication of research findings.

Andrew Brown, Ph.D.

Andrew W Brown, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Biostatistics Core Director for the Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention with Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. He has conducted research using simulation, in vitro, ex vivo, animal, and human observational and interventional models. He conducts “research on research” through qualitative and quantitative research summaries, characterizing reporting practices that perpetuate scientific misinformation, and evaluating methodological and statistical choices that may lead to misinterpreted research.

He has received local, regional, and national recognition, including the Mead Johnson Award from the American Society for Nutrition. He is a Fellow of The Obesity Society, has served in leadership roles with the American Society for Nutrition, The Obesity Society, and the American Public Health Association, and is a member of AAAS, American Statistical Association, and Sigma Xi. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biochemistry from Iowa State University with a graduate minor in Statistics, earned his doctoral degree from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in the Interdepartmental Nutrition Program with a minor in Statistics, and completed postdoctoral training with the UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center, emphasizing meta-research, rigor, reproducibility, and transparency.

Video Lecture

Lecture Slides

Allison Brown - Comedy of Errors 2024-1.pdf