Celebrating fantastic BSU presence and achievements at ISBA 2026

The World Meeting is one of the most significant events in the Bayesian statistics calendar, providing a global forum for researchers to exchange ideas and showcase innovations that are shaping the future of statistical science. It brought together leading Bayesian statisticians from around the world to share methodological advances, applications and emerging challenges across statistics and health research.

Staff and students from the BSU played an active role throughout the meeting, presenting research, participating in scientific discussions and strengthening international collaborations. Their contributions reflected the breadth of Bayesian research undertaken across the Unit, spanning methodological development and applied biostatistics.

Among the many fantastic contributions from the Unit, Group Leader, Robert Goudie, gave an invited talk on "A more flexible framework for cutting feedback in Bayesian models". In addition, early career researchers at the BSU - Matilda Pitt, Yixuan Liu, Craig Dunipace, Yiran Li, Connor Fitchett and Luke Hardcastle, all gave poster presentations about their work. This strong BSU presence highlighted the Unit's continued reputation for developing and disseminating Bayesian methods.

A particular highlight of the conference was the recognition of BSU Emeritus Director, Sylvia Richardson, who was awarded the 2026 Zellner Medal. Named in honour of the pioneering Bayesian statistician Arnold Zellner, the medal recognises Sylvia's numerous and deep contributions to Bayesian statistics and biostatistics throughout her extensive career, and her substantial service to ISBA, including her presidency in 2005 that saw the launch of 'Bayesian Analysis', and her leadership of the Royal Statistical Society COVID-19 Taskforce, which provided rational and crucial support during the pandemic. Sylvia also delivered the ISBA Foundational Lecture on "Statistics and Flexibility: A modelling journey in biostatistics". The Foundational Lectures celebrate distinguished researchers who have made notable and substantial contributions to the Bayesian community throughout their careers.

In addition, PhD student, Jackie Rao was awarded the Best Poster Prize. Jackie presented a poster about her work on federated variational inference for Bayesian mixture models. Poster prizes at ISBA are highly competitive, attracting submissions from doctoral researchers and early career statisticians across the globe. Jackie's award is testament to the strength of the research being undertaken by PhD students at the BSU.

Congratulations to all.