Biostatistics

From schizophrenia to epilepsy, genetic data offers new avenues of exploration to develop prevention and treatment models. But the explosion of genetic research in the last decades has required biostatisticians to develop new techniques to handle these datasets. The Division of Statistical Genetics was designed to provide such assistance in all phases of genetic studies – from design to storage to analysis.

Under the direction of Dr. David A. Greenberg and in collaboration with Dr. Susan E. Hodge and Dr. Sudhir Marathe, the Division has developed a software/hardware facility to store and analyze genetic data using current analysis techniques that simplify the testing of genetic hypotheses.

The quest to better understand the human genome has also led the Department of Biostatistics to launch the MS track in Statistical Genetics. Students in this program receive a rigorous training in a number of areas relating to genetics research including study design, clinical aspects, phenotype definition, laboratory issues, and statistical analysis.