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I am an Assistant Professor in the Mathematics & Statistics Department at Vassar College. I have a PhD in biostatistics—focusing on study designs for infectious diseases—from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. While there, I also worked on many COVID-19 research projects with the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics.

You can learn a bit more about me on this page. Please use the tabs at the top of the page for more information on my research, teaching, and writing, or to see my CV.

I was born in Brooklyn, NY, to a family full of teachers. At the age of 6, my family moved to the small town of Mechanicsburg, PA. After graduating high school, I spent four years at Yale, studying math and playing intramural sports for Ezra Stiles College.

After college, I returned to New York City, spending three years between Manhattan and Queens. I worked in health policy research at the Medicaid Institute of the United Hospital Fund, which sparked my interest in the intersection of statistics and public health. This led me to graduate school and to biostatistics. During grad school, I was a proud member of the Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW Local 5118). I served on the bargaining committee, and our union won a first contract in June 2020 after a month-long strike in December 2019.

Outside of school, I enjoy playing sports and enjoying the nature of the Hudson Valley and beyond. I also watch great TV and follow my hometown New York Mets and Knicks.

You can contact me at lkennedyshaffer (at) vassar (dot) edu.