The ovarian SPORE Biostatistics Core will provide the statistical and computational support for all three Ovarian Cancer SPORE Projects. This core will also provide support for the Pathology Core, Organoids, Model Systems, and Biomarkers Core and Developmental Projects. This Core will be jointly based at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Biostatistics Center and Dana-Farber Cancer the Department of Data Sciences at Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). The Core Directors, Dr. Nabihah Tayob and Dr. Steven Skates, will bring in statistical expertise required for experimental design, pre-clinical and clinical studies, as well as data collection, management, integration, and quality control. The core has identified five key areas where the members of the core will collaborate with project investigators and core leaders to ensure integrated and comprehensive biostatistical support to the entire Ovarian SPORE. The primary role of the Biostatistics Core is to provide biostatistics expertise for the design, conduct, monitoring, analysis, and reporting of laboratory, animal, translational, clinical studies, including associated correlative studies for SPORE Projects, Developmental Research and Career Enhancement Projects, and other Cores. The Biostatistics Core will also provide input on data collection and assist SPORE investigators in coordinating laboratory results with outcomes from clinical studies or clinical/translational research databases, provide short-term biostatistics consulting to the entire group of SPORE researchers, assist in the evaluation of Developmental Research and Career Enhancement Programs and work with SPORE investigators to develop new statistical methods to address problems arising in ovarian cancer research for which no standard methodologies are available.
The Biostatistics Core will provide statistical and computational consultation and in depth collaboration to the ovarian cancer SPORE research program in the areas of planning, design, conduct, analysis, and reporting of laboratory experiments, and clinical trials. In addition, the biostatistics core will help train SPORE personnel in data forms design, data management, and data quality control.