Finding her field

Connor Jo Lewis was born with an aptitude for math, and that has helped her to better understand something else she was born with: cystic fibrosis.

“I’ve always wanted to use my skills and knowledge in math to help find a cure or advance treatment for CF,” says Lewis, who graduated in spring 2017 from the U’s School of Public Health (SPH) with a master’s degree in biostatistics.

A graduate of the University of Minnesota Morris, Lewis took part in SPH’s Summer Institute in Biostatistics. She worked with Antoinette Moran, an expert in CF-related diabetes, which Lewis also has. The opportunity to keep working with Moran figured prominently in her decision to choose SPH as her graduate school.

“The School of Public Health was willing to work with me so I could keep doing CF research and experiment with that field,” says Lewis.

Not only did she find her niche, but the former UMM pole vaulter and basketball player found a spot in the starting lineup of the Minnesota Vixens professional football team. Now she’s ready to further explore the biostatistics field, which offers opportunities in numerous areas.

“There are so many options and everyone—from farmers to business owners to environmentalists—wants to know what’s going on with their data,” she says.

“Statisticians like me can help them.”