The objective of the Biostatistics Resource is to be strategically involved in the design, implementation, and analysis of clinical and scientific data generated by CCSG program members. This includes the articulation of study objectives, characterization of hypotheses, the derivation of appropriate designs and models to cost-effectively achieve a study's objectives, the assurance that modern and appropriate statistical and mathematical data analytic methods are used, monitoring interim and final analyses, and assisting in the writing of abstracts and manuscripts. The expertise provided by the staff ensures that the yield of useful information from the scientific studies conducted at Roswell Park Cancer Institute is maximized while the costs are minimized. Concepts and tools from the disciplines of statistics, mathematics, engineering science, and computer science are used to accomplish these goals. Most projects require the use of standard and commercially available tools. Occasionally, a particular laboratory or clinical problem requires an innovative solution for which the Resource develops the novel methodology. The Biostatistics Resource fosters intra-, inter- and extra-programmatic creativity and productivity, and provides objective and critical feedback to RPCI researchers as they seek answers to complex problems, when the numbers of experimental subjects must be kept small, when ethical concerns are critical, and when the goals of a research project demand the integrated participation of multiple scientific groups. With the appointment of James Kepner, PhD, a distinguished biostatistician, as Director in August 2002, the Resource is being restructured with input from the Resource's Advisory Committee and the CCSG Steering Committee, of which Dr. Kepner is a member. Some of the ways in which the Resource's expanded and enhanced capabilities are being made known to program leaders are through referrals, by the Scientific Review Committee's insistence that protocols and grant applications have input from a biostatistician, formal seminars given by Resource staff, and Dr. Kepner's presentations at program meetings.
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