Overview

The Department of Biostatistics was one of the original departments in the Graduate School of Public Health when it was formed in 1949. Practical research training and problems likely to be of vital significance for future public health policy making have been emphasized throughout the department's history as an important adjunct to instruction in basic statistical theory. Under the leadership of Dr. Antonio Ciocco, professor and first chair of the department, the initial focus of the departmental research involved the development of methodologies for field investigations of chronic illness and disability and their effects on the individual, the family and community. Special emphasis was given in the development of research to the study of health problems affecting industrial population groups.

The second chair, Dr. C.C. Li, was one of the founders of the field of population genetics and both the Human Genetics Program and the Biometry Program were in the Department of Biostatistics. Because of this historical proximity to the Human Genetics Program students often have selected electives from the discipline of human genetics. Although the Human Genetics Program is now a separate department, students in biostatistics have the option of conducting their research in statistical genetics by taking appropriately selected electives in genetics and by forming a dissertation committee that includes faculty members in Biostatistics and Human Genetics. Under the next chair, Dr. Philip Enterline, the department further developed their interest in the study of health problems affecting industrial populations and attained an international reputation in the development and application of statistical methods to evaluate the affect of occupational exposure on health outcomes for large industrial populations.Under the chairmanship of Dr. Carol Redmond, the department expanded into statistical methods and applications associated with the conduct of large-scale clinical trials. Dr. Redmond developed a Biostatistical Center for the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), which has become an internationally recognized group in the conduct of large-scale randomized clinical trials for breast and colo-rectal cancer. The NSABP was one of the first groups to demonstrate the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy for the treatment of operable breast cancer, one of the first to demonstrate the appropriateness of conservative breast preserving surgery for women with operable breast cancer, and the first to demonstrate that tamoxifen is effective in the treatment of breast cancer. More recently, the group has conducted prevention trials for breast cancer and has demonstrated in a large double-blinded randomized clinical trial that tamoxifen reduces by more than fifty percent the incidence of breast cancer among women who are at high risk. Presently, the Department continues its efforts in the areas of assessment of occupational and environmental risk and its participation in the development of methodology and conduct of large-scale randomized clinical trials. The clinical trials for which the department serves as the primary biostatistical component has expanded into trials evaluating the treatment and prevention of ear disease in children, psychiatric treatments, and organ transplantation. In addition, the department has developed strong research ties with the department of radiology to evaluate the effectiveness of different imaging systems, with Western Psychiatric to determine the cause of behavioral problems in young adolescents to evaluate efficacies of maintenance therapies in mood disorders and sleep disorders, with the epidemiology department to evaluate the affect of risk factors related to obesity and diabetes.

The public health and biomedical problems for which the department supplies the quantitative components also provide the motivation for research in the development of biostatistical methods. These research efforts have included methodological contributions in survival analysis, longitudinal data analysis, errors in measurement, models for carcinogenesis, missing data analysis, ROC methodology, and stochastic modeling.

The objectives of the Department are to:

Foster an understanding of statistical logic as it applies to the quantitative study of problems in public health and medicine.Develop new and innovative methodological techniques that contribute to the field of biostatistics.Apply biostatistical methods to the study of new and pressing biomedical and public health problems through research and service.
Train biostatisticians capable of assuming and exercising leadership in the fields of public health and medicine.

The Department of Biostatistics currently has 26 full-time faculty with primary appointments: seven full professors, eight associate professors, and 11 assistant professors. In addition, one research associate has faculty status in the school. Members of the graduate faculty have responsibility for teaching courses and advising graduate students as well as involvement in major independent and/or collaborative research. There are also 19 secondary appointments: ten with primary appointments in the School of Medicine, two with primary appointments in the School of Nursing, one with a primary appointment in the Department of Bioinformatics, two with a primary appointments in the Department of Epidemiology, two with primary appointments in the Department of Human Genetics, and two with primary appointments in the Department of Statistics. There are two visiting professors. In addition, there are two adjunct faculty.

The biostatistics program provides for concentrations in two areas: biostatistics (M.S., Ph.D.) and public health statistics (M.P.H., Dr.P.H). The Biostatistics Program is an academic degree program for students with a background in mathematics and strong interest in biology and public health. The program emphasizes statistical theory and methods so that students are prepared to: (1) be effective statistical collaborators in interdisciplinary studies, (2) take leadership roles in the design and execution of studies, and (3) contribute to the methodological development of biostatistics. The Public Health Statistics Program is a professional degree program that prepares students with a prior professional degree and/or background in health (physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, veterinarians, or health administrators) to understand and apply statistical methods to health problems in their field. The public health track has somewhat less emphasis on statistical theory than the biostatistics track and more emphasis on the appropriate application of statistical methods to health problems, and administrative aspects of health science organizations.

Upon completion of the MS degree, the graduate will be able to:

Quantitatively address health problems by appropriate problem definition, study design, data collection, data management, statistical analysis (including statistical computing), and interpretation of results.
Demonstrate mastery of the theory and concepts underlying various statistical methods.
To understand and implement innovative statistical approaches emerging in the literature to health and public health issues.
Communicate the results of biostatistical analyses to individuals with varying degrees of statistical knowledge.
Apply the basic principles of research design to address problems in public health.
Recognize strengths and weaknesses of proposed approaches, including alternative designs, data sources, and analytic methods.
Determine and identify the necessary data and data structures that are best suited to address public health issues, program planning, and program evaluation.

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Upon completion of the MPH degree, the graduate will be able to:

Quantitatively address health problems in their field of expertise by appropriate definition, study design, data collection, data management, statistical analysis (including statistical computing), and interpretation of results.
Communicate the results of biostatistical analyses to public health leaders and practitioners with varying degrees of statistical knowledge.
Apply the basic principles of research design to address problems in public health.
Recognize strengths and weaknesses of proposed approaches, including alternative designs, data sources, and analytic methods.
Determine and identify the necessary data and data structures that are best suited to address public health issues, program planning, and program evaluation.

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Upon completion of the PhD degree, the graduate will have competency in the same areas as the MS student, and in addition be able to:

Develop new statistical methods and/or adapt existing methods to new problems.
Contribute to the body of knowledge in the field of biostatistics.

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Upon completion of the DrPH degree, the graduate will have competency in the same areas as the MS student, and in addition be able to:

Plan and execute an innovative study of an important problem in their area of professional expertise.
Contribute to the body of knowledge and/or the methodological rigor in their professional field.
Describe relevant issues to public health, including the biological, environmental, behavioral, and policy factors that affect the health of populations.

For all students, data analysis, computing skills and methodologic understanding are routinely assessed through data analyses and projects completed as part of the coursework. The primary assessment of the integrative problem solving skills, methodologic contributions, and communications skills is the graduate committee's evaluation of the written master's thesis or doctoral dissertation and the student's oral defense.

In the 1990s the average number of graduates per year was 7 and there were 45-50 in the department working towards a degree either part-time or full-time. In recent years the number of students has continued to increase and there are currently more than 80 students enrolled. Approximately 60% of these students are enrolled in the doctoral program. The Department of Biostatistics attempts to maintain a balance between statistical theory and their application to real-world problems. An important part of the training of students is their interaction with faculty on research projects. Research training is often facilitated by a Graduate Student Research award (GSR) where a student while working for a degree works on a research project with a faculty member 20 hours a week. For working on the GSR the student receives a stipend, health coverage and a tuition waiver. There are approximately 30 students on GSR's in the Department of Biostatistics.

Webmaster:
Susan Grasky, BSIS

Department of Biostatistics, 130 Desoto Street, 311 Parran Hall,
Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Phone: (412) 624-3022 Fax: (412) 624-2183

Revised on August 27, 2009