Donald Stablein, PhD ’72

Donald Stablein attended Illinois Benedictine College in suburban Chicago and earned a BS in Mathematics in 1975. After receiving his MS (1977) and PhD (1979) in Biostatistics from the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, he began his career there as an assistant professor of biostatistics. He joined the Emmes Corporation in Rockville, MD, as a staff statistician in 1980. By 1985, he had advanced to vice president, and by 1992, he became president of the company. He remained in this role through 2013. When he joined the company, there were just a few employees, and during his time as president, he grew the staff to more than 400. Emmes supports clinical trials and epidemiologic studies of human health and disease. Don currently directs a statistical coordinating center studying the natural history of myelodysplastic syndromes, a set of clonal bone marrow failure disorders.

In addition, Don is a fellow of the American Statistical Society (1996) and past statistical editor of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. He serves as a member of multiple data and safety monitoring boards, including the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal Fetal Medicine Network, a role he has held since 1996. In addition, he is past chair of the National Cancer Institute Intramural Data and Safety Monitoring Board. He was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the National Advisory Commission on Organ Transplantation and has participated in multiple conferences on AIDS vaccine issues sponsored by the World Health Organization. In addition to clinical trial methods, his research interests include survival analysis and response surface methods, and he has more than 200 publications to his credit.

All of Don’s six siblings (Ralph ’71, deceased; Marie ’74, deceased; Larry ’76; Tony ’77; Jeanne ’78; and Robert ’81) are PVI alumni. Don remembers his Paul VI instructors and his educational experience with deeper appreciation as the years advance. He is married to Denise (Costello) Stablein ’72, and they have four children—Philip, Karen, Claire, and Rebecca—as well as five grandchildren.

Recently, Don and Denise spent a volunteer year teaching school on a Navajo reservation. Don continues to serve on the St. Michael Indian School Board, working to upgrade their facilities. While working part-time, Don spends time with family in Maryland, Austin, TX, and Sea Isle City, NJ.