PSI Training Course: R for Clinical Trial Statisticians

Joint PSI/EFSPI Visualisation SIG 'Wonderful Wednesday' Webinars

Our monthly webinar explores examples of innovative data visualisations relevant to our day to day work. Each month a new dataset is provided from a clinical trial or other relevant example, and participants are invited to submit a graphic that communicates interesting and relevant characteristics of the data.

AIMS SIG - Open-Source Lunch Bites

Topic: R Package Basics. Our monthly webinar series allows attendees to gain practical knowledge and skills in open-source coding and tools, with a focus on applications in the pharmaceutical industry. This month’s session, “R Package Basics,” will introduce the fundamentals of working with R packages—covering how to install, load, and manage them effectively to support data analysis and reproducible research. The session will provide a solid starting point, clarify common misconceptions, and offer valuable resources for continued learning.

PSI Mentoring 2026

Date: Ongoing 6 month cycle beginning late April/early May 2026 Are you a member of PSI looking to further your career or help develop others - why not sign up to the PSI Mentoring scheme? You can expand your network, improve your leadership skills and learn from more senior colleagues in the industry.

PSI Book Club Lunch and Learn: Communicating with Clarity and Confidence

If you have read Ros Atkins’ book The Art of Explanation or want to listen to the BBC’s ‘Communicator in Chief’, you are invited to join the PSI Book Club Lunch and Learn, to discuss the content and application with the author, Ros Atkins. Having written the book within the context of the news industry, Ros is keen to hear how we have applied the ideas as statisticians within drug development and clinical trials. There will be dedicated time during the webinar to ASK THE AUTHOR any questions – don’t miss out on this exclusive PSI Book Club event! Haven’t read the book yet? Pick up a copy today and join us. Explanation - identifying and communicating what we want to say - is described as an art, in the title of his book. However, the creativity comes from Ros’ discernment in identifying and describing a clear step-by-step process to follow and practice. Readers can learn Ros’ rules, developed and polished throughout his career as a journalist, to help communicate complex written or spoken information clearly.

PSI Training Course: Effective Leadership – the keys to growing your leadership capabilities

This course will consist of three online half-day workshops. The first will be aimed at building trust, the backbone of leadership and a key to becoming effective. This is key to building a solid foundation. The second will be on improving communication as a technical leader. This workshop will focus on communication strategies for different stakeholders and will involve tips on effective communication and how to develop the skills of active listening, coaching and what improv can teach us about good communication. The final workshop will bring these two components together to help leaders become more influential. This will also focus on how to use Steven Covey’s 7-Habits, in particular Habits 4, 5 and 6, which are called the habits of communication. The workshops will be interactive, allowing you to practice the concepts discussed. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion. There will also be reflective time where you can think about what you are learning and how you might experiment with it.

Speaker	Biography
Andrew Nicholls	Andy Nicholls has been an R user and advocate for over 15 years. He is currently Head of Data Science within GSK’s Biostatistics function and responsible for driving R adoption, with a remit covering systems, tools and training. As part of this role, Andy developed GSK’s internal original world-wide R training programme which forms the backbone of this PSI course. Andy’s professional background includes 6 years working for Mango Solutions, a niche Statistics and Data Science consultancy that specialised in R. During his time at Mango, Andy taught several hundred face to face and virtual R training courses. And in 2015 he co-authored, “R in 24 Hours” with two Mango colleagues. Andy has an MMath Mathematics from University of Bath and MSc Statistics with Applications in Medicine from University of Southampton.
Alanah Jonas	Alanah attended the University of Nottingham, where she earned her integrated master’s degree in Mathematics with Statistics in 2018. Upon completing her degree, she secured a graduate position at Amadeus Software. During her tenure there, she underwent three months of intensive SAS training before being placed at GSK. Her journey at GSK began in the Biostatistics department, specifically in Clinical Programming. Over the course of three years, she honed her expertise in this specialized field. She seized the opportunity for a secondment in the Statistical Data Science and Innovation Hub, serving as a Principal Data Scientist. During her time at GSK, Alanah has had first-hand experience in both delivering and participating in various R training methods. Most recently, she has been working on the AccelerateR initiative where she provides small group, tailored, just in time training for study teams with mentoring and support.

Speaker	Biography
Andrew Nicholls	Andy Nicholls has been an R user and advocate for over 15 years. He is currently Head of Data Science within GSK’s Biostatistics function and responsible for driving R adoption, with a remit covering systems, tools and training. As part of this role, Andy developed GSK’s internal original world-wide R training programme which forms the backbone of this PSI course. Andy’s professional background includes 6 years working for Mango Solutions, a niche Statistics and Data Science consultancy that specialised in R. During his time at Mango, Andy taught several hundred face to face and virtual R training courses. And in 2015 he co-authored, “R in 24 Hours” with two Mango colleagues. Andy has an MMath Mathematics from University of Bath and MSc Statistics with Applications in Medicine from University of Southampton.
Alanah Jonas	Alanah attended the University of Nottingham, where she earned her integrated master’s degree in Mathematics with Statistics in 2018. Upon completing her degree, she secured a graduate position at Amadeus Software. During her tenure there, she underwent three months of intensive SAS training before being placed at GSK. Her journey at GSK began in the Biostatistics department, specifically in Clinical Programming. Over the course of three years, she honed her expertise in this specialized field. She seized the opportunity for a secondment in the Statistical Data Science and Innovation Hub, serving as a Principal Data Scientist. During her time at GSK, Alanah has had first-hand experience in both delivering and participating in various R training methods. Most recently, she has been working on the AccelerateR initiative where she provides small group, tailored, just in time training for study teams with mentoring and support.

Speaker	Biography
Andrew Nicholls	Andy Nicholls has been an R user and advocate for over 15 years. He is currently Head of Data Science within GSK’s Biostatistics function and responsible for driving R adoption, with a remit covering systems, tools and training. As part of this role, Andy developed GSK’s internal original world-wide R training programme which forms the backbone of this PSI course. Andy’s professional background includes 6 years working for Mango Solutions, a niche Statistics and Data Science consultancy that specialised in R. During his time at Mango, Andy taught several hundred face to face and virtual R training courses. And in 2015 he co-authored, “R in 24 Hours” with two Mango colleagues. Andy has an MMath Mathematics from University of Bath and MSc Statistics with Applications in Medicine from University of Southampton.
Alanah Jonas	Alanah attended the University of Nottingham, where she earned her integrated master’s degree in Mathematics with Statistics in 2018. Upon completing her degree, she secured a graduate position at Amadeus Software. During her tenure there, she underwent three months of intensive SAS training before being placed at GSK. Her journey at GSK began in the Biostatistics department, specifically in Clinical Programming. Over the course of three years, she honed her expertise in this specialized field. She seized the opportunity for a secondment in the Statistical Data Science and Innovation Hub, serving as a Principal Data Scientist. During her time at GSK, Alanah has had first-hand experience in both delivering and participating in various R training methods. Most recently, she has been working on the AccelerateR initiative where she provides small group, tailored, just in time training for study teams with mentoring and support.

Speaker	Biography
Andrew Nicholls	Andy Nicholls has been an R user and advocate for over 15 years. He is currently Head of Data Science within GSK’s Biostatistics function and responsible for driving R adoption, with a remit covering systems, tools and training. As part of this role, Andy developed GSK’s internal original world-wide R training programme which forms the backbone of this PSI course. Andy’s professional background includes 6 years working for Mango Solutions, a niche Statistics and Data Science consultancy that specialised in R. During his time at Mango, Andy taught several hundred face to face and virtual R training courses. And in 2015 he co-authored, “R in 24 Hours” with two Mango colleagues. Andy has an MMath Mathematics from University of Bath and MSc Statistics with Applications in Medicine from University of Southampton.
Alanah Jonas	Alanah attended the University of Nottingham, where she earned her integrated master’s degree in Mathematics with Statistics in 2018. Upon completing her degree, she secured a graduate position at Amadeus Software. During her tenure there, she underwent three months of intensive SAS training before being placed at GSK. Her journey at GSK began in the Biostatistics department, specifically in Clinical Programming. Over the course of three years, she honed her expertise in this specialized field. She seized the opportunity for a secondment in the Statistical Data Science and Innovation Hub, serving as a Principal Data Scientist. During her time at GSK, Alanah has had first-hand experience in both delivering and participating in various R training methods. Most recently, she has been working on the AccelerateR initiative where she provides small group, tailored, just in time training for study teams with mentoring and support.

Speaker	Biography
Andrew Nicholls	Andy Nicholls has been an R user and advocate for over 15 years. He is currently Head of Data Science within GSK’s Biostatistics function and responsible for driving R adoption, with a remit covering systems, tools and training. As part of this role, Andy developed GSK’s internal original world-wide R training programme which forms the backbone of this PSI course. Andy’s professional background includes 6 years working for Mango Solutions, a niche Statistics and Data Science consultancy that specialised in R. During his time at Mango, Andy taught several hundred face to face and virtual R training courses. And in 2015 he co-authored, “R in 24 Hours” with two Mango colleagues. Andy has an MMath Mathematics from University of Bath and MSc Statistics with Applications in Medicine from University of Southampton.
Alanah Jonas	Alanah attended the University of Nottingham, where she earned her integrated master’s degree in Mathematics with Statistics in 2018. Upon completing her degree, she secured a graduate position at Amadeus Software. During her tenure there, she underwent three months of intensive SAS training before being placed at GSK. Her journey at GSK began in the Biostatistics department, specifically in Clinical Programming. Over the course of three years, she honed her expertise in this specialized field. She seized the opportunity for a secondment in the Statistical Data Science and Innovation Hub, serving as a Principal Data Scientist. During her time at GSK, Alanah has had first-hand experience in both delivering and participating in various R training methods. Most recently, she has been working on the AccelerateR initiative where she provides small group, tailored, just in time training for study teams with mentoring and support.

Past PSI Events

On this page:

Conferences