Layla Parast is an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. Her statistical research has focused on developing robust methods to evaluate surrogate markers, robust estimation of treatment effects, and developing and evaluating risk prediction procedures for long term survival. Her applied research has focused on measuring and comparing health care quality, and survey design and analysis for health care related surveys in a variety of settings including the emergency department, inpatient hospital, hospice, and pediatric setting. Prior to joining UT Austin, she was a senior statistician at the RAND Corporation and co-director of RAND’s Center for Causal Inference.