Data science · Epidemiology
Hi, my name is Pia.
Welcome to my website.
I am a data scientist and epidemiologist working in the field of neurology and neuroimmunology. Outside of work, I love fine arts, architecture, and the outdoors, and I share my life with a wonderful partner and two daughters.
Researchers interested in collaborating are warmly invited to get in touch.
About
I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Endres group at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Trained as a physician, I now work primarily as a data scientist and epidemiologist. From October 2026, I will spend a year in the Topiwala group at the Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, to broaden my methodological repertoire, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, project number 586624228).
My research sits within the field of neuroimmunology, though I am also interested in neuropsychological outcomes in general and lifestyle factors as modifiers of health and disease. For the past ten years, a central focus of my work has been the role of circulating anti-neuronal autoantibodies across diseases. Using clinical observational data, I try to estimate what these antibodies actually mean for patients by triangulating different data sources and methodological approaches.
I mainly write R markdown files with git version control for project implementation. However, I am also comfortable with Stata or SPSS. I use SQL for query tasks in large registry type data sources and have developed electronic data capture and electronic case report forms using REDCap with customized html and CSS adaptions. I prioritize reproducibility and readability and my analytical frameworks are founded in conceptual considerations of data science tasks as defined e.g. by Hernan et al, a second chance to get causal inference right, 2019 (i.e. description, prediction, causal inference). I value reporting standards such as STROBE and treat transparent, reproducible reporting as a core part of good methodology.
I also teach statistics for medical students in the MSM (Modulstudiengang Medizin) programme at the Institute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin with great pleasure.
Feel free to checkout my CV for further details.
Beyond my research, I am the proud mother of two wonderful daughters. I have a deep interest in fine arts and paint myself. My family’s home base is in culturally rich and vibrating Berlin, and we love it <3
Email web-inquiry@piasophiesperber.comResearch profiles
Publications, identifiers, and professional work across the web.