Main
Laura Acion Resume
I am a tenured Associate Researcher at Argentina’s National Research Council (CONICET) working at the Calculus Institute, University of Buenos Aires (UBA). I lead a health data science research group in formation. One of the main goals of the group is to transition from pay-wall to open science.
Another of my main career goals is to improve data analysis teaching and practice. One of the roles I enjoy most is mentoring and teaching others. I am active in international collaborative teaching and programming communities with high diversity standards. These communities help me give back to open source, particularly in Latin America.
Selected Education
PhD Biostatistics
University of Iowa
Iowa, USA
2011 - 2002
Licentiate Molecular Biology
University of Buenos Aires (UBA)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
2002 - 1995
Selected Research Experience
Tenured Associate Researcher
Calculus Institute, UBA-CONICET
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Currently - Nov, 2018
Associate Research Scientist
University of Iowa
Iowa, USA
Currently - 2011
- Biostatistical consultant for various research groups working in psychiatry research. Remote work
Selected Teaching Experience
Instructor and Trainer
Data Carpentry & The Carpentries
Around the world
Currently - 2018
Instructor for DataCamp
www.datacamp.com
Online
2018
- Left the course “Longitudinal Analysis in R” halfway into its development due to concerns about the company’s ethics
Various instructor positions
UBA, Italian Hospital Universitary Institute
Buenos Aires, Argentina
2018 - 2016
- Lead instructor of introductory data analysis courses for undergraduate and graduate health and biological sciences students
Selected Community Developments
R-Ladies Leadership Team
N/A
Online
Currently - 2019
- Onboarding of new chapters, non-profit administration, liaison to external events featuring R-Ladies activities
Founder and organizer of R-Ladies Buenos Aires and R en Buenos Aires, the two R user groups in Buenos Aires
N/A
Buenos Aires, Argentina
2019 - 2017
- Event organization, funding administration, community development, content development, Slack management
Selected Editorial Experience
Founding Associate Editor
Methods in Addiction Research Section, The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
N/A
Currently - 2017
- Development of a brand new section for a well-established journal. Rapidly went from one paper per issue to two papers per issue
Editorial Board Member
Revista Liberabit
N/A
Currently - 2017
Reviewer for several academic journals
Verified records can be found clicking in: my Publons profile
N/A
Currently - 2004
Selected Professional Activities
Project evaluator
US Dept of Veteran Affairs, National Institutes of Mental Health
Washington DC, USA
Currently - 2017
- Grant proposal evaluation (VA)
- Member of Data Safety Monitoring Board (NIMH)
useR 2020 organization committee member
N/A
online
currently - 2019
Founding Chair
LatinR <- Latin American Conference about the Use of R for Research + Development
Rotating Latin American Cities
2019 - 2017
Selected Talks and Presentations
Using open science to advance addiction research
Research Society on Alcoholism (accepted)
New Orleans, USA
2020
- Symposium chair and organizer. Authors: A Heath, J Salvatore, G Chan, S Kuo, D Falk, K Witkiewitz, L Acion
Analytical alphabetization for research in times of big data
Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, Argentina
2019
Insights from the recent R community development and growth in Latin America
useR 2019
Toulouse, France
2019
Healthy communities of practice for an inclusive AI in LatAm
Royal Holloway
London, United Kingdom
2019
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Selected Awards and Scholarships
Open Bioinformatics Foundation Fellowship
N/A
N/A
2020
useR 2019 Diversity Scholarship
N/A
Toulouse, France
2019
rOpenSci Unconf Travel Award
N/A
Seattle, USA
2018