Shafi Chowdhury has been programming in SAS for over 15 years. He has worked for CROs and Pharmaceutical companies across Europe before turning to SAS consultancy. He founded Shafi Consultancy Limited in 2001, and in 2006 he opened the office in Bangladesh.

In pursuit of efficiency is what drives Shafi Chowdhury. Efficiency in process, efficiency in thought and efficiency in action. Just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a task can only be done as efficiently as the process allows, and as the thoughts of the person or persons planning the task, and as the ability and tools of the person carrying out the task allows.

Over the many years of experience he has seen the same tasks being done in many different ways. This has allowed him to form his opinion on the best approaches and the most efficient process for different tasks in different circumstances. His success over the many years of consultancy means that his opinion is trusted, has credibility and brings results to his clients.

Education:

• > M.Sc. Statistics
• > B.Sc. (Hons.) Mathematics

Experiences:

• > Rescuing studies where the teams are struggling by identifying the problems, providing appropriate solutions and completing the studies on time
• > Reporting large registry studies, mega trials and ISS
• > Reporting phase 1 to phase 4 data in many therapeutic areas
• > Assessing training needs of individuals and groups, and then providing tailor made training solutions to meet their needs
• > Leading large team of programmers and working with statisticians to complete multiple studies within a project on time
• > Validating programs for analysis datasets, tables, listings and figures
• > Producing datasets for use with NONMEM and WinNonLin software to analyse PK data
• > Presented at multiple PhUse conferences

Example solutions provided in the past:

• > Template programs to help inexperienced data managers and programmers complete their tasks on time
• > Produce generic macros for international usage
• > Develop a standard process and programs for identifying and reporting data issues
• > Develop a standard process and programs for assigning titles and footnotes with full flexibility to update them easily by non-programmers, for use in tables, listings and figures
• > Set up and implement Good Programming Practices