WNAR is the Western North American Region of The International Biometric Society, an international professional and academic society promoting the development and application of statistical and mathematical  theory and methods in the biosciences.  IBS was founded in 1947 and WNAR was founded in 1948.

WNAR Territorial Acknowledgement: We acknowledge that the lands and waters where WNAR members work and gather are the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples. We are committed to building respectful and collaborative relationships with these communities. 

Released April 2021: A Joint Statement Condemning Anti-Asian Racism from the COPSS Societies: ASA, ENAR, IMS, SSC, and WNAR

Recipient of 2023 WNAR Outstanding Impact Award and LectureshipCongratulations to Dr. Steve Horvath, Altos Labs! More information about the award can be found on the award's website.



About WNAR

WNAR is the Western North American Region of The International Biometric Society, an international professional and academic society promoting the development and application of statistical and mathematical  theory and methods in the biosciences.  IBS was founded in 1947 and WNAR was founded in 1948.


IBS has several premier publications.  It publishes the journal Biometrics, the Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics (JABES) jointly with the American Statistical Association, the quarterly newsletter Biometric Bulletin and the Biometrical Journal.  It sponsors the International Biometric Conference, held every two years.


Membership in WNAR is open to all scientists with an interest in biostatistics, biometrics and quantitative biology, whether primarily statisticians, mathematicians or biologists, and who reside west of approximately 104 degrees west longitude in the US or Canada.  This includes the western-most 13 U.S. states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming) and 3 Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon Territory).


Our major activities include our annual scientific conference.  Our conference is typically held in June on a college campus and attended by about 200 people.  The program includes invited and contributed talks as well as other activities. The relatively small size of the conference provides a great opportunity to meet and network with other researchers in the West. It is especially accessible to students and the region offers reduced registration fees to students.


One of WNAR’s most popular activities for students is the student paper competition. In addition to providing  recognition for high quality research, this competition gives students valuable experience in presenting their research in a friendly environment, and allows them to meet other new researchers.

The meeting is jointly sponsored by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS).  WNAR and IMS organizers of this meeting are volunteers, despite the time and effort required. This keeps the registration fee low compared to the cost of a conference using hired professional organizers.


We also meet jointly with the American Statistical Association (ASA) and IMS in early August each year at the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM), and with other Regions and Groups of the IBS in even-numbered years.





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