Sharon-Lise Normand, PhD, a professor of health care policy (biostatistics) at HCP, was elected to the Society as an associate member. Dr. Normand was one of only 13 who were elected out of some 500 nominees. According to the Society, the category of Associate Member is “for scientists at the doctorate level conducting research in the field of thoracic surgery. An applicant must possess ethical and moral fitness, as well as professional proficiency, as determined in part on the basis of reports from members consulted as references, reports from other references, and other information."

Dr. Normand’s research focuses on the development of statistical methods for health services research. She is the director of Mass-DAC, the data-coordinating center responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting on the quality of care for adults discharged following cardiac surgery from all hospitals in Massachusetts. Dr. Normand and colleagues annually report on hospital performance as well as physicians using medical-record data. She is also the senior statistician in a 6,000-patient randomized trial in Massachusetts to compare the effectiveness and safety of performing elective angioplasty at hospitals without surgery on-site with that performed at hospitals with surgery on-site.