Thoughtful study design, data collection, statistical analysis, and tool development are essential to high quality HIV/AIDS research. The over-arching goal of the Tennessee Center for AIDS Research (TN-CFAR) Biostatistics and Biomedical Informatics Core (BBIC) is to elevate the quality of HIV/AIDS research. The BBIC will provide statistical and biomedical informatics support to HIV/AIDS investigators at Meharry Medical College (MMC), Vanderbilt University (VU), and the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH). Specific support includes a weekly biostatistics/biomedical informatics walk-in clinic rotating its location between the 3 institutions to maximize exposure and usage, consultation for all Development Core Award applicants prior to submission and guaranteed statistics/biomedical informatics coverage for award recipients, and active collaboration with TN-CFAR investigators. We also propose to develop novel resources, tools, and methods to enhance HIV/AIDS research at the participating institutions and beyond. As a major initiative, the BBIC will link databases at TDH, create a research-ready clinical database at MMC, and harmonize these databases with existing databases at Vanderbilt that will permit integrated HIV research across the TN-CFAR. The BBIC will also develop tools for data harmonization and record counting to allow efficient real-time queries across distributed databases, and develop statistical methods that incorporate subsets of validated data into estimation. Finally, the BBIC will support training by actively participating in seminars and journal clubs, sponsoring biostatistics/biomedical informatics seminars, and providing topic- specific instruction at walk-in clinics. The BBIC team has broad HIV research experience, including leadership roles in coordinating centers for large cohorts of HIV-infected patients, extensive collaborations with HIV investigators, and proven track records of developing novel methods and tools motivated by and beneficial to HIV research.
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