Biostatistics
The Department of Biostatistics helps to ensure that findings in biomedicine and public health are supported by reliable evidence, not fiction or fashion. As statisticians, we know that the numbers from any one study are not the immutable truth, and that public health research needs to take into account the roles of chance, variability, and uncertainty. By putting a dose of realism and skepticism in our search for the truth, biostatistics enables us to make decisions in the face of uncertainty.
The three pillars of biostatistics - methodological research, collaboration, and teaching - are all integrated into the Department. Our faculty focus on developing new theories and mathematical applications that tease out the signal from the noise, collaborate with scientists from a wide range of disciplines, and take pride in their work in the classroom.
Student Perspective
Emma Benn, MPH ’07, PhD ’12, talks about Biostatistics, the School, and her doctoral research on health disparities in the U.S.
Department Contacts
Our faculty are engaged in research projects and applied programs that touch on nearly every aspect of human health. See some examples below. View a complete list of Biostatistics faculty.
Dr. Vaughan’s statistical expertise is distributed across both the design and analysis of group (or cluster) randomized trials, and in clinical education.
Pioneering Bayesian model-based estimation methods, Dr. Chen works at the forefront of mental health, exposure science, and environmental and occupational epidemiology.
Dr. Stewart develops innovative statistical methods that identify genetic patterns in related and unrelated individuals to help pinpoint genetic factors influencing complex diseases.
- Analysis of Longitudinal Data
- Colloquium on Patient Oriented Research
- Design of Medical Experiments
- Generalized Linear Models
- Randomized Clinical Trials
- Research Data Coordination: Principles and Practices
- Statistical Aspects of Human Population Genetics
- Survival Analysis
- Theory of Statistical Inference
- Topics in Advanced Statistical Computing
One semester of practical experience is required of all MPH and MS/Theory and Methods students. Students have found practicum opportunities working in the pharmaceutical industry, local and state departments of health, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health.
Graduates of the Biostatistics Department serve as primary investigators, collaborators, consultants, and teachers. Recent positions of master’s and doctoral graduates include:
- Staff Associate, Columbia University Earth Institute
- Teacher, Friends Seminary
- Doctoral Student, Harvard University
- Postdoctoral Fellow, HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies
- Rheumatology Research Fellow, Hospital for Special Surgery
- Senior Biostatistician, Johnson & Johnson
- Senior Biostatistician, Mount Sinai Medical Center
- Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University Medical Center
- Medical Fellow, Stanford University School of Medicine
- Statistical Reviewer, Taiwan Center for Drug Evaluation
- Statistician, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals