The Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics is planning to offer a masters degree (MS) program in Biostatistics.  This program will train quantitatively inclined individuals to creatively and appropriately implement biostatistical methodologies for medical research, and provide the necessary skills for effective medical research collaboration.  Depending on the timing of the various approvals, we anticipate that the program will begin in either the fall of 2010 or the fall of 2011.

 

Biostatistics underlies the process of medical research, playing a key role in each step of scientific inquiry from the research bench to the hospital bedside to the community.  Biostatistics is concerned with the development and proper application of methods for study design, data measurement, data generation, and data analysis, these latter methods being used to help understand biomedical data by quantifying variation and/or separating signal from noise.  An intellectually stimulating feature of biostatistics is that its fundamental elements of data and variation are ubiquitous, being found in the areas of cell regulation, gene expression, genetic susceptibility, pharmacokinetics, response to therapy,  assessment of medical treatments and new technology, adherence to guidelines, and program evaluation, to name just a few. 

 

Masters-trained biostatisticians are in great demand in academia, industry and government.  Their day-to-day roles span the entire scientific process.  They assist in the design and interpretation of studies, and usually have primary responsibility for implementing protocols for data management, data analysis and quality assurance.  Demand is particularly high for high-functioning masters-trained biostatisticians with excellent programming skills who also understand and communicate the broader biological context within which their projects are embedded.  The goal of our program is to develop such high-functioning masters-trained biostatisticians.

 

To make the maximum possible contribution to biomedical research, biostatisticians must master three core competencies: (a) biology; (b) analysis; and (c) communication.  The biological competency requires a sufficient foundation in biology and related sciences to understand the principles and the nuances of the statistical application.  The analytic competency focuses on the theoretical and applied techniques of statistical science, statistical modeling, software development and application, and study design. The communication competency focuses on understanding and being understood – for example, by facilitating effective interdisciplinary interaction by explaining study design, analytical techniques and results in a fashion that is understandable to various collaborators. 

 

Our Duke B&B program will be unique in that it will be based on an integrated focus on all three core competencies.