Biostatistics Facility

University Of Pittsburgh At Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Abstract: Biostatistics Facility (BF) The Biostatistics Facility (BF) is a UPCI shared resource that provides experimental designs and data analyses for clinical, pre-clinical and translational research at UPCI. It comprises seven PhD statisticians (5.1 FTEs committed to the activities of the institute), four Master statisticians (4 FTEs), a data base administrator (1.0 FTE), systems administrator (0.4 FTEs), a financial administrator (1.0 FTEs) and a secretary (1.0 FTE), who are supported by a mixture of CCSG, external and institutional funding. Each UPCI Program has a contact statistician who oversees the support of that program?s clinical trials, grant applications, and pre-clinical and translational research. The Master statisticians support the programmatic biostatisticians? work and also function independently. In addition to traditional statistical methods, the faculty and staff are proficient in Bayesian, computationally intense and machine learning methods. The specific aims of the BF are to 1) Design, monitor and analyze clinical trials conducted at UPC, 2) Design and analyze pre-clinical and translational experiments, 3) Prepare letters of intent and grant proposals with UPCI principal investigators, 4) Analyze data from experimental or observational studies using frequentist, Bayesian, contemporary computationally-intensive and bioinformatical methods, and 5) Prepare manuscripts, presentations posters and proposals. Due to the rapidly increasing complexity of research technology for DNA sequencing and genotyping, RNA sequencing and expression, targeting and discovery proteomics, and immunoassays, programmatic statisticians work closely with biostatisticians (some who are also programmatic biostatisticians, and some outside the BF), bioinformaticians, epidemiologists and technicians who are experts in these platforms. Over 95% of the BF effort is dedicated to cancer-related research at the University of Pittsburgh. During the current project period investigators in all 10 of the UPCI Research Programs used the BF.