Biostatistics

All BEST students complete a research project under the supervision of an experienced faculty mentor. For both students and faculty, the research project and final capstone presentation serve as the highlight of the program.

With the opportunity to learn about topics ranging from computer simulation of genetic disorders, to classification trees, to models for clinical decision making, students go far beyond traditional classroom education in order to synthesize and integrate all they learn. In doing so, students are able to demonstrate and better appreciate the importance of statistical methods in biomedical research.

Schedule

The program allocates 6-8 hours per week over about 6 weeks to trainee-mentor research time. To help identify appropriate mentors, faculty members present some of their research to students during the first two weeks of the program. Based on their feedback, students are then assigned mentors by the end of the second week.

From weeks two through seven, students work intensively with their mentors on their research projects. During the eighth and final week, students, faculty, coordinators, and mentors gather for a capstone symposium, where students present a 10-15-minute PowerPoint summary of their summer projects.

A Sample of Past Project Titles

• Physical Activity and Race in the Northern Manhattan Stroke Study, Shelley R., 2010
• Obesity Prevention, Kaizhong Huang, 2010
• Socioeconomic Status and Depression Major Adverse Cardiovascular Event Patients, A. Justin R., 2010
• Sandwiches and Stats: An Analysis of Predictor Variables Associated with Cardiac Arrest, Ashley B., 2009
• Community Health in Brazil, Miguel T., 2009
• Penetrance Estimation for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), Jodi-Ann Y., 2009