The Importance of Data Science in the Organization of MSF

Hugo speaks with Derek Johnson, an epidemiologist with Doctors without Borders. Derek leverages statistical methods, experimental design and data scientific techniques to investigate the barriers impeding people from accessing health care in Lahe Township, Myanmar. If you thought data science was all machine learning, SQL databases and convolutional neural nets, this is gonna be a wild ride as to get the data for their baseline health assessments, Derek and his team ride motorcycles into villages in northern Myanmar for weeks on end to perform in person surveys, equipped with translators and pens and paper because they can’t be guaranteed of electricity. Derek also researches the factors associated with the transmission of hepatitis C between family members and has helped to conduct studies in Uganda, Nepal, and India. All this and more.