Since its establishment in 1978, the Biostatistics Unit has been continuously funded by the NCI Core Grant. During the current project period, the Biostatistics Unit has been fully reorganized and a number of highly experienced faculty and staff biostatisticians have been recruited. In 1996, Jesse Berlin, ScD, Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, was appointed. Facility Director to lead this reorganization and expansion. In mid-1997, J. Richard Landis, PhD, a national expert in large scale, multi-center data coordinating projects, was recruited to Penn as Director of the Division of Biostatistics and Associate Director of the Biostatistics Unit. He significantly expanded the capabilities of the Cancer Center Biostatistics Unit to include comprehensive computing resources that are required to support cancer research projects involving the collection and analysis of extensive data. Instrumental to these changes was the senior leadership provided by John H. Glick, MD, Cancer Center Director, and Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH, a long-standing Cancer Center member who was appointed the first Chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology in 1995. Considerable institutional and Cancer Center non-Core Grant resources as well as Departmental support have contributed to the recruitment of new biostatistics faculty and staff, new and expanded facilities and extensive statistical computing capabilities. Today, the research projects in multiple Cancer Center Research Programs. It plays an integral role within the Cancer Center's Clinical Trials Scientific Review and Monitoring Committee with a high degree of representation and authority. A significant number of the grant applications that received biostatistical input from the Biostatistics Unit during the current period have subsequently received peer-reviewed funding. This includes four NIH P01s. Based on internal and expert external reviews conducted by the Cancer Center since the reorganization, the new Biostatistics Unit has become an outstanding, well-utilized and respected Shared Resource that contributes significantly to the successful competition of peer-reviewed grant applications requiring high quality biostatistical support.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 1047 publications
