We request support for a new 3-year NHLBI/NCRR undergraduate training grant T-15 designed to encourage advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students to consider careers in biostatistics. We propose a 6-week residential summer training program in collaborative biostatistics for quantitatively- oriented undergraduate and beginning graduate students who are interested in the health sciences. This program highlights the collaborative nature of biostatistics within the context of multidisciplinary research studies in cardiovascular health and minority populations.
The specific aims are to (1) introduce trainees to basic biostatistical methods in the context of compelling scientific questions and real data;(2) teach trainees the analytic and computer skills necessary to address these questions themselves;(3) actively involve trainees in individual projects within a collaborative group setting;and (4) educate trainees about the role of biostatistical thinking in collaborative research in addition to opportunities for further training and employment in the field of biostatistics. We anticipate training 20 students in Year 1 and 24 students each in years 2 and 3 (a total of 68 trainees in 3 years). We propose a 4-credit program comprised of an integrated 3-credit course in Introductory Biostatistics and a 1-credit Collaborative Biostatistics Seminar. This program is taught by collaborative biostatisticians with expertise in the areas of population-based studies, clinical trials, adaptive designs, medication safety, health services research, risk factor reduction, minority health, genetics, demography, survey sampling, geocoding, and bioinformatics. Our collaborators on several large NHLBI-funded trials in cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, and pulmonary embolism as well as registry and population-based studies participate as clinical mentors. Students will create their own case study notebooks in the computer laboratory. In the seminar, students will interact in collaborative teams and develop individual poster presentations based on cardiovascular datasets from NHLBI-funded studies, the Healthy Black Family project, or the Allegheny County Health Department. The program will be evaluated using focus groups at the end of each year, and revised according to suggestions of the Advisory Committee. This program will highlight the role of statistical thinking in important cardiovascular projects and, if successful, expand the population of students who might consider further training in biostatistics 7
By focusing on compelling biomedical examples drawn from our own research, and intuitive, hands-on activities, this program could attract prospective students to the field of biostatistics by (1) concrete examples demonstrating that biostatistics is an interesting component of biomedical research;(2) clinical collaborators reinforcing the value of biostatistical contributions;and (3) students seeing themselves doing such work.
