This is a request for continuation of support for a training program in Biostatistics launched in 2005 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to provide support for two pre-doctoral trainees per year for a training period of 4 years. A recent NHLBI RFA-HL-09-009 stated """"""""The current demand for biostatisticians far exceeds the supply, and the gap continues to widen."""""""" Recommendations of two workshops (2001, 2003) held by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were published as a Training of the next generation of biostatisticians: a call to action in the U.S. (Statistics In Medicine 25(20): 3415-3429. 2006). The workshops examined the need to train more biostatisticians to meet the increasing opportunities in the biomedical research enterprise. The supply of new PhD graduates in biostatistics in the U.S. has been relatively steady for the past two decades while the demand has increased dramatically. These workshops concluded that a renewed effort must be made in the U.S., led in part by the NIH, to add to and expand the existing training programs to increase the supply. The Biostatistics Department at UAB is well poised to help meet the recognized need. Our department has undergone a renaissance in the past 9 years and developed significant strength in: Statistical Genetics;Clinical Trials Design &Analysis;and Design &Analysis of Epidemiologic Studies. We have a large, well-funded, ^highly active department that is evenly split between methodological and applied research. Both our university and department have evidenced strong commitments to training the next generation of biostatisticians through allocation of substantial effort and financial resources to building a vital educational program. The proposed structured training program offers pre-doctoral fellowships to prepare scientists for careers in biostatistics specifically aimed at heart, lung and blood (HLB) research. The program aims to develop independent investigative skills in the development, evaluation, and application of advanced statistical methods. To support this goal, applied experience is provided via co-mentorship by UAB's well established NHLBI-funded investigators.
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