Dr. Polley’s primary research involves the design, conduct, and analysis of all phases of cancer clinical trials. She is the Head of the Statistics Division of NRG Oncology Statistics and Data Management Center (SDMC) as well as the Lead Statistician for the Brain Tumor Committee of NRG Oncology, a National Cancer Institute sponsored member of the national clinical trials network group. Previously, Dr. Polley held positions as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at UCSF, a mathematical statistician in the Biometric Research Program at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and an Associate Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Polley has nearly two decades of experience as a cancer clinical trial biostatistician. Her statistical methods research has spanned a variety of areas including early-phase clinical trial designs, biomarker reproducibility, innovative group sequential methods for biomarker validation, prognostic and predictive modeling, and design and analysis of biomarker-based clinical trials. Her expertise has led to invitations to influential positions as a statistical advisor including the Federal Advisory Committee of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Scientific Committee of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the Scientific Committee of the CNS Clinical Trials conference, among many others. She has been competitively elected to numerous national scientific governing or advisory bodies including the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) Steering Committees for trials in lymphoma and head and neck cancer.
Columbia University
New York, New York
PhD - Biostatistics
2006
Columbia University
New York, New York
MS - Biostatistics
2001
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
MA - Statistics
1999
The evolution of RTOG and NRG Oncology CNS tumors clinical trials.
The evolution of RTOG and NRG Oncology CNS tumors clinical trials. J Neurooncol. 2026 Sep 15; 179(2).
PMID: 42742640
Long-Term Analysis of NRG Oncology RTOG 0539: A Phase II Trial of Observation for Low-Risk Meningioma and Radiotherapy for Intermediate- and High-Risk Meningioma.
Long-Term Analysis of NRG Oncology RTOG 0539: A Phase II Trial of Observation for Low-Risk Meningioma and Radiotherapy for Intermediate- and High-Risk Meningioma. J Clin Oncol. 2026 Aug 10; 44(23):2169-2175.
PMID: 42202246
Treatment Effect Reanalysis of the Randomized Individual Screening Trial of Innovative Glioblastoma Therapy in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma With External Control Data.
Treatment Effect Reanalysis of the Randomized Individual Screening Trial of Innovative Glioblastoma Therapy in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma With External Control Data. J Clin Oncol. 2026 Jul 20; 44(21):2048-2058.
PMID: 42172567
Multicenter randomized phase II study of R-MPV-A chemoimmunotherapy with or without low-dose whole-brain radiotherapy for newly-diagnosed primary CNS lymphoma.
Multicenter randomized phase II study of R-MPV-A chemoimmunotherapy with or without low-dose whole-brain radiotherapy for newly-diagnosed primary CNS lymphoma. Neuro Oncol. 2026 Feb 01; 28(2):371-382.
PMID: 41189315
"TREAT"ing seizures as an important endpoint.
"TREAT"ing seizures as an important endpoint. Neuro Oncol. 2026 Feb 01; 28(2):467-469.
PMID: 41234037
Reply to: Blood-Brain Barrier Heterogeneity in NRG BN007: Implications for Immunotherapy Delivery.
Reply to: Blood-Brain Barrier Heterogeneity in NRG BN007: Implications for Immunotherapy Delivery. J Clin Oncol. 2026 May; 44(13):1267-1268.
PMID: 41632520
Integrative Proteogenomics and Forward Genetics Reveal a Novel Mitotic Vulnerability in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.
Integrative Proteogenomics and Forward Genetics Reveal a Novel Mitotic Vulnerability in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Cancer Discov. 2025 Nov 03; 15(11):2326-2343.
PMID: 40778818
Dual Immune Check Point Blockade in MGMT-Unmethylated Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma: NRG Oncology BN007, a Randomized Phase II/III Clinical Trial.
Dual Immune Check Point Blockade in MGMT-Unmethylated Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma: NRG Oncology BN007, a Randomized Phase II/III Clinical Trial. J Clin Oncol. 2025 09 20; 43(27):3032-3040.
PMID: 40779733
Leveraging external control data in the design and analysis of neuro-oncology trials: Pearls and perils.
Leveraging external control data in the design and analysis of neuro-oncology trials: Pearls and perils. Neuro Oncol. 2024 05 03; 26(5):796-810.
PMID: 38254183
Targeted gene expression profiling predicts meningioma outcomes and radiotherapy responses.
Targeted gene expression profiling predicts meningioma outcomes and radiotherapy responses. Nat Med. 2023 12; 29(12):3067-3076.
PMID: 37944590
Appointee - Special Government Employee (SGE) member, Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)
US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
2021 - 2025
Breast Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence - Developmental Research Program Award
Mayo Clinic
2018
The Fraternal Order of Eagles Cancer Research Award
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
2017
Distinguished Achievement Award
Kelly Government Solutions, National Cancer Institute
2012
Award for Excellence in Clinical Research
The American Brain Tumor Association
2009
REAC Pilot Research Award in Basic and Clinical/Translational Sciences
University of California San Francisco
2009
Travel Award - Biostatistics Workshop
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
2008
The Joseph L. Fleiss Memorial Prize in Biostatistics for an Outstanding Dissertation
Columbia University
2006
Merck & Co., Inc. Fellowship
Columbia University
2001 - 2004