Aaron Boulton

Associate Professor and Biostatistics Core in the College of Health Sciences

What are you teaching this school year?

I will teach a statistics course in the spring.

Where did you previously work?

I previously worked at the University of Delaware's Center for Health Assessment Research and Translation (CHART), which is also housed within the College of Health Sciences.

What inspired you to work in your chosen profession?

I am a biostatistician, a role and area of study that has resonated with me since my very first course on the subject. I am fascinated by the underlying mathematics of statistics and the myriad ways scientists use statistics to understand data; however, the real-world relevance of my profession truly inspires me. Collaborating with others on projects that can actually improve individuals’ health and well-being has turned a mere intellectual interest in data analysis into my life’s passion and work.

What drew you to the University of Delaware?

As I approach the 10-year mark as a UD employee, what I love most about working at UD is unquestionably the people. I am extremely grateful to work with so many talented and dedicated individuals. It is easy to remain inspired and engaged when seeing the incredible work others are doing at UD, and everyone is so supportive of each other. It really is a special community, and I am thrilled to continue my journey here.

What are you most looking forward to in your new position?

There are many things I am looking forward to in this new role. At the top of the list, however, is forging new research collaborations and working directly with students to help train the next generation of researchers.

Tell us about your research program and how it became your passion.

As a collaborative biostatistician, I don’t have an independent research program, but I find it very easy to get excited about the different projects I get involved with. In fact, one of the most rewarding parts of my profession is learning a little bit about each research area I work on. In addition to the simple joy of learning a new topic, it helps me maintain a multidisciplinary mindset, and I find research most exciting when I can help someone apply concepts or methods from another field to advance their work.

What is your proudest accomplishment?

Being a dad is my proudest accomplishment. In terms of my work, I am most proud of each grant I helped secure. Biomedical research is such an important part of our society, and helping investigators bring their ideas to life as part of that enterprise is how I internalize success in my line of work.

What do you hope your students learn from you, and what have you learned from your students over the years?

To approach data critically and as objectively as possible. Modern society increasingly requires individuals to become data analysts as part of their profession, and aside from learning the tools one can use, being able to assess data quality and the strength of evidence from a dataset is an essential skill.

On the flip side of the coin, the students I have worked with over the years have taught me how important resilience is in the research process. So many times I’ve seen students hit a barrier in their work, and through sheer persistence and effort they overcome it. It is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a research mentor and a lesson I try to apply to my own work.

What do you like to do for fun?

Statistics! Okay, mostly joking on that one :). Enjoying time with family and friends and dabbling in an endless list of hobbies and interests, which at the moment includes following my favorite sports teams, native plant gardening, and reading fantasy/science fiction novels.