Overview
Samantha is the manager of the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) Biostatistics Shared Resource. Collaboratively, she primarily works with physicians in DCI, specifically in research of Endocrine Neoplasia and Breast Cancer. She is also the director of the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Research, and Design Methods (BERD) Core Training and Internship Program (BCTIP). Her professional experience involves study design, analysis, and reporting of clinical trials and observational studies. Her specific areas of interest include training of collaborative biostatisticians, modeling of non-linear associations, and application of partitioning analyses to identify homogeneous patient groups.
Office Hours
DCI members who are interested in collaborating with a biostatistician should contact Samantha directly, or the Director of the DCI Biostatistics Shared Resource, Donna Niedzwiecki.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Biostatistician, Principal
Biostatistics & Bioinformatics,
Basic Science Departments
Recent Publications
Exploring actionable targets to address disparities in thyroid cancer survival: A study of patients with aggressive variants of papillary thyroid cancer.
Journal Article Am J Surg · October 2025 BACKGROUND: Despite compromised survival, disparities studies on aggressive variants of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) are sparse. METHODS: Using the NCDB (2004-20), adult Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), Non-Hispanic Asians or Pacific Islanders (NHAPI), Hispani ... Full text Link to item CiteThe association of race and ethnicity with risk-reducing mastectomies in patients with non-BRCA mutations.
Journal Article Am J Surg · September 2025 INTRODUCTION: We compared rates of risk reducing mastectomies (RRM) in patients with breast cancer (BC)-related pathogenic variants. METHODS: Female patients ages ≥18 with a BC-related pathogenic variant, without a concurrent or prior BC diagnosis, were id ... Full text Link to item CiteRisk Stratification for Sentinel Lymph Node Positivity in Older Women With Early-Stage Estrogen Receptor-Positive/Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 Neu-Negative Invasive Breast Cancer.
Journal Article JCO Clin Cancer Inform · March 2025 PURPOSE: Guidelines recommend omission of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for axillary staging in select patients age 70 years and older with early-stage estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 neu-negative (HER2-) inva ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Development and pilot testing of a behavioral intervention to improve pelvic dilator therapy use among cancer survivors who received pelvic radiation
ResearchBiostatistician · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2025 - 2030Symptom Management and Transitioning to Engagement with Post-treatment Care for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors (AYA STEPS)
ResearchBiostatistician · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029Planning grant for Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) for African American (AA) Cancer Survivors
ResearchBiostatistician III · Awarded by National Cancer Institute · 2024 - 2027View All Grants