Biostatistics
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Biostatistics As one of the nation’s premier centers of biostatistical research, the Department of Biostatistics is dedicated to addressing high priority public health and biomedical issues and driving scientific discovery through specialized analytic techniques and catalyzing interdisciplinary research. Our world-renowned experts are engaged in developing novel statistical methods to break new ground in current research frontiers. The Department has become a leader in mission the analysis and interpretation of complex data in genetics, brain science, clinical trials, and personalized medicine. Our mission is to improve disease prevention, In these and other areas, our faculty play key roles in diagnosis, treatment, and the public’s health by public health, mental health, social science, and biomedical developing new theoretical results and applied research as collaborators and conveners. Current research statistical methods, collaborating with scientists in is wide-ranging. designing informative experiments and analyzing their data to weigh evidence and obtain valid Examples of our work: findings, and educating the next generation of biostatisticians through an innovative and relevant • Researching efficient statistical methods using large-scale curriculum, hands-on experience, and exposure biomarker data for disease risk prediction, informing to the latest in research findings and methods. clinical trial designs, discovery of personalized treatment regimes, and guiding new and more effective interventions history • Analyzing data to link cancer risk to specific environmental, behavioral, or biological exposures over the lifecourse Founded in 1940 as the Division of Biostatistics, one of the first of its kind in the nation, the • Developing statistical methods for summarizing toxicity Mailman School’s Department of Biostatistics was burden and toxicity trajectories to incorporate the informa- established to meet the growing need for bio- tion in the design of early phase clinical trials statistical expertise in the fields of public health, • Developing and applying statistical methods to analyze medicine, and the population sciences. Today, complex survey data and data with missing values, we continue our mission by collaborating with providing important support to biomedical research partners at Columbia University Medical Center across a number of disciplines, including epidemiology, as well as outside agencies and institutions environmental health sciences, and health policy around the world. and management BIOSTATISTICS faculty, leadership and education The Department of Biostatistics offers an intellectually stimulating Number of and collegial environment. Our faculty work at the frontier of full-time faculty public health and medicine, leading research teams that investigate 32 members some of today’s most pressing health issues. Recruited from the top universities from around the world, the faculty bring to the School a wealth of experience that serves to inform their research Number of academic and teaching. The Department lays claim to three winners of the 9 programs Columbia University Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence, several winners of the Mailman School Teaching Excellence Award, and consistent top rankings in course evaluations. Under the leadership of Dr. DuBois Bowman, the department continues its long tradition of cultivating the next generation of biostatisticians who will drive new discoveries and offer pathbreaking capabilities Our students to formulate evidence-based decisions. Graduates go on to leadership positions in government, healthcare, Select projects and research universities, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. • Novel statistical methods are being • Investigations are focused on dis- Our alumni hold posts at Eli Lilly and investigated for rigorous analysis covering biomarkers for Parkinson’s Co., Population Council, Memorial of high-throughput genetics data. disease from a combination of These methods have led to the massive brain imaging datasets Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, discovery of new genes, which influ- reflecting various properties of brain Accenture, Novartis Pharmaceuticals ence risk to schizophrenia and au- function and structure, clinical data, Corporation, NBC Universal, Boston tism, and are being used to uncover and biologic data. Biomedical Associates, New York additional genes. • The development of two complex State Psychiatric Institute, Quantcast, • Faculty develop statistical methods methods – quantile regression and countless international and for growth trajectories, inference for methods to investigate genetic domestic organizations. optimal treatment rules in personal- association with secondary quantita- ized medicine, tests of hazard rate tive human traits in genome-wide ordering using empirical likelihood, association studies and statistical BY THE NUMBERS 2016–2017 and marginal screening of predic- methods for sequencing studies tors in high-dimensional regression – have been applied to chronic ob- 152 40 problems. structive pulmonary disease, stroke, Master’s Students Doctoral Students and breast cancer research. • Research into stroke’s impact on motor control have uncovered • The department is researching valuable trends across patients in sequential methods for selecting person-level control deficits related subsets of promising new therapies 20–39 26 to stroke severity. in phase II clinical trials controlling Age Range Average Entry Age the probability of false declarations • Studies have quantified the effects while maintaining high probability of of aging on daily physical activity acceptable subset selections. intensity patterns, furthering under- 14 10 standing that older age is primarily States Nations associated with decreasing activity Represented Represented in the late afternoon but not in the morning. 722 West 168th Street | New York, NY 10032 mailman.columbia.edu.