Ben Harrap

Ben Harrap

Biostatistician

The University of Melbourne

Biography

I’m a PhD candidate and research assistant at the University of Melbourne. My research interests revolve around improving health outcomes, in particular for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

I see myself as an applied biostatistician; I love thinking about data in the real-world - how it’s collected and how you can interpret and use it in research. At the end of the day, I want to contribute to research that ends up improving the lives of others.

Interests

  • Linked Data
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
  • Science communication
  • Data literacy

Education

  • PhD in Indigenous Epidemiology and Health, in progress

    The University of Melbourne

  • Master of Biostatistics, 2018

    The University of Melbourne

  • Bachelor of Arts, 2015

    The University of Western Australia

Skills

R and Stata

Data Visualisation

Googling

Experience

 
 
 
 
 

Biostatistician

The Peter Doherty Institute

Nov 2019 – Present Melbourne, Australia
As part of the International and Immigrant Health Group I have been contributing my statistical expertise to the research team. As part of a randomised trial in a remote Indigenous community I created a flexible implementation of a REDCap database, including the use of tablets for data collection, travelled to the community to deliver training to our local research team and assist with the first week of data collection, and continue to troubleshoot statistical and practical issues that arise.
 
 
 
 
 

Research Assistant

The University of Melbourne

May 2018 – Jan 2022 Melbourne, Australia
Having worked across multiple faculties and departments, my roles have always been data-focused. Some highlights from my positions include the preparation of Wave 11 of the MABEL survey for public release (including data cleaning and documentation), sourcing multiple datasets to examine trends in skilled migration to Australia, publishing my first first-author paper, and writing nicely commented code.
 
 
 
 
 

Biostatistician

The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Nov 2017 – May 2019 Melbourne, Australia
The Melbourne EpiCentre was a statistical consulting centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. While working there I provided statistical support to medical professionals engaged in research and set up a REDCap database for a multi-centre randomised clinical trial.

Volunteering

Wearer of Many Hats

Statistical Society of Australia

Dec 2018 – Present Melbourne, Australia
I’ve had a variety of roles while volunteering for the SSA, including Secretary for the Victorian branch and the Early Career and Student Statistician 2021 conference, member of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee, and creator of a local Ballarat statistics group. I also helped with the transition to the new website, wrote contributions for the Inferential Interests publication, and developed policies, procedures, and strategic plans.
 
 
 
 
 

Data Volunteer

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

Feb 2018 – May 2019 Melbourne, Australia
The Asylum seeker Resource Centre is a proudly independent not-for-profit that supports people seeking asylum. During my time there I helped out with data management and reporting, testing and documenting internal systems, and contributed to their roadmap for data management into the future
 
 
 
 
 

Contact

  • 207 Bouverie St, Carlton, Victoria 3053
  • I’m in the Indigenous Health and Epidemiology Unit on Level 3
  • Monday to Friday 09:00 to 17:00
  • DM Me