Statisticians at RAND
“RAND, America's original think tank, earns its money fishing truths out of murky political and social waters. The quantitative conscience of RAND, often the final arbiter of what constitutes the true story, is its small but powerful Statistics Group.”
Bradley Efron, Stanford University, from the Foreword to
Public Policy and Statistics: Case Studies from RAND, Springer-Verlag, 2000.
Who We Are
RAND is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world About RAND. The RAND Statistics Group was established in 1976 to “enhance the quality of RAND research by making statistical expertise easily available to all members of the research staff.”
The RAND Statistics Group currently has 15 Ph.D. and 16 Master's-level statisticians. Group members are based in all of the RAND United States locations: Santa Monica, CA; Washington, D.C.; Pittsburgh, PA; and Boston, MA.
The head of the group is Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar.
What We Do
Group members contribute as full collaborators to projects and also lead projects across RAND's many research areas. Motivated by real-world policy questions, RAND research projects provide diverse, stimulating, and challenging research opportunities for statisticians. RAND's research teams are often interdisciplinary, drawing upon methods from statistics and other fields to tackle the most pressing policy problems.
Statisticians conduct research and development of statistical methodology that is essential for RAND to remain at the cutting edge of policy analysis. In addition, the group provides short-term statistical consulting for all RAND projects, especially those without a statistician on the team. The group also provides a seminar series with internal and external speakers.
Statistics Group members publish on statistical methods and applied problems in academic journals, edited volumes, books, and reports refereed and published by RAND. They serve on national panels and committees, assume leadership roles in many of the American Statistical Association, and participate in editorial boards for leading journals such as The Annals of Applied Statistics, Statistics and Public Policy, and Statistics in Medicine.
More about statistician positions at RANDAchievements
Members of RAND’s Statistics Group are actively engaged in the broader statistical community through their leadership and service with the American Statistical Association (ASA). We’re proud to have group members contributing their expertise and helping advance health policy and statistical research through these important roles:
- Beth Ann Griffin and Lane Burgette: Co-Chairs, International Conference on Health Policy Statistics (January 2025)
- Elizabeth Chase: Program Chair-Elect (2026–2027), ASA Health Policy Statistics Section
- Marika Booth: Chair (2026), ASA Bob Riffenburgh Award Committee
- Lane Burgette: Council of Sections Representative (2026–2028), ASA Health Policy Statistics Section
Marc Elliot and Denis Agniel were named in BMJ Quality and Safety's Top 5 journal articles of 2024. Articles were selected based on engagement metrics and scores assigned by the editorial board. The editors noted the importance of accurately measuring organizational performance and the study’s compelling evidence that reliability should be considered when selecting measures of performance.
Congratulations to Beth Ann Griffin on her RAND Innovation Bronze Medal Award for developing an innovative method to understand the financial and community drivers of suicide among service members. The findings will guide the military’s suicide prevention strategies.
Anagha Tolpadi was recognized as a 2025 Spotlight Award winner for mentorship within the department. Anagha is making a lasting impact on the professional growth and success of many at RAND.
