Peter Dawson, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President, Biostatistics

Why I joined Emmes

Near the end of graduate school, I interviewed back to back at Emmes and another clinical research organization (CRO). During the Emmes interview, I was struck by the passion and dedication of everyone I met. Here was a place where people truly enjoyed what they did. When the time came to make a choice, it was an easy one.

How I describe our firm to other people

Emmes is a CRO that takes pride in providing high quality support for complex clinical research that addresses important unanswered human health problems. Whether it's launching a clinical trial during a global pandemic or designing a study evaluating a novel cellular therapy, Emmes is there to help navigate challenges and successfully execute.

A bit about me

I spend most of my free time chasing 3 kids around.

How I chose my career

Biostatistics provided the opportunity to combine my background in math with my interest in medicine and applied research. Since joining Emmes, I've been able to expand beyond my biostatistics "roots" into leading full scope clinical trials across diverse therapeutic areas.

The best part about working here

The opportunity to work on important and impactful clinical trials addressing unmet medical needs. I've been fortunate to work on trials encompassing novel food allergy treatments, Zika and Ebola vaccines, as well as cellular therapy and acute graft versus host disease treatments. To be able to do work that makes me proud alongside people I truly enjoy working with makes all the difference.

My background

My parents are both college professors who emphasized the importance of education and worked to instill a deep appreciation for learning. After graduating from Washington and Lee University, I taught high school for a year before starting graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania where I obtained my PhD in biostatistics. I joined Emmes in 2012 and immediately began working on food allergy, HIV vaccine, and stem cell therapy trials.

Education

PhD Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania 2012
MS Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania 2009
BS Mathematics, Washington and Lee University, 2006

Selected papers and presentations
Associated projects