Biostatistics is the application of statistical methods to research in biology, public health, and medicine. Biostatisticians collaborate with scientists and investigators in nearly every area related to health and science, and have made major contributions to our understanding of:

• Chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease)
• Cancer and AIDS
• Environmental monitoring and impact
• Description of human growth and development
• Relationship between genetics and the environment.

Biostatisticians also contribute to the design of scientific studies to ensure the most appropriate and most powerful scientific hypotheses are tested.

The Biostatistics program offers three graduate degree programs.

The MPH program in Biostatistics prepares individuals to work effectively as biostatisticians in a variety of public health, epidemiological and clinical research settings.

The program offers both the PhD in Biostatistics and a PhD Minor in Biostatistics. The doctoral degree program in Biostatistics has an emphasis on the foundations of statistical reasoning and requires its graduates to complete rigorous training in applied probability and statistical analyses. This program prepares students who have demonstrated excellence in mathematics and the sciences to become research biostatisticians in academia, industry, or government.

The objective of the MS in Biostatistics is to prepare individuals to work effectively as applied biostatisticians in a variety of public health, epidemiological and clinical research settings. The difference between the MS in Biostatistics and the MPH concentration in Biostatistics is that the MS provides training in probability and statistical theory with a research focus, while the MPH provides a broader background in public health.

The Biostatistics section is comprised of faculty members with expertise in:

• Clinical trials
• Survival analysis
• Categorical data
• High-dimensional data analysis
• Genomic and proteomic statistical analyses
• Public health informatics

In addition to performing their own statistical research, faculty members collaborate with investigators in cancer, respiratory sciences, chronic diseases and AIDS research.

The section supports the PhD and MS programs in Biostatistics, and the Biostatistics concentration in the MPH. Many section faculty also are members of the Statistics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program that offer both MS and PhD degrees in Statistics.