Women in Data Science: Sarah Yang, M.D.

Sarah Yang, M.D.
Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Data Hub Program Director
Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS)

Bridging the gap:

I was trained in medicine and did many years medical research in the laboratory. I also had training in bioinformatics and have over 16 years of genomic data analysis experience through collaboration with many biomedical investigators. Having a diverse background, I see myself as an effective “hub” communicator in the data science community. I want to contribute more to bridging the gap between basic biomedical research, clinical research, and computer science in the biomedical research community.

Broadening the professional spectrum:

The biomedical workforce has done well at closing the gender gap in general. However, in the computational biology and data science fields, there is still quite a significant gender gap. I would encourage the younger generation of biomedical researchers, especially women scientists, to learn more computational skills and broaden the professional spectrum. Biomedical research is data-driven, and biomedical science is becoming data science. We need more women in data science and more women in leadership roles in the data science community.

Dr. Yang received her M.D. from Shandong Medical University. She was featured in a lecture Dr. Susan Gregurick, ODSS director, delivered in March 2021 titled "Women Leading the Way: Stories of the Women (and Men) Making an Impact on Data Science at NIH."

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