Project Summary (2014-2020)

The primary function of the Penn SRP Center’s Biostatistics Research Support Core (Biostatistics Core) is to enhance the productivity of SRP investigators by providing them with access to a team of biostatisticians who have experience with biostatistical methodology and their application to biomedical and environmental research studies. Through the specific aims described below, the Biostatistics Core insures that SRP-related studies have high quality study designs and statistical analysis plans that provide a solid foundation for their statistical inferences. The specific aims for the Biostatistical Research Support Core are:

1. To provide biostatistical expertise in the design, data collection, data management and data analysis needs of the proposed projects. Members of the Biostatistics Core have been actively interacting with project investigators in each project to select efficient study designs and sample sizes that are adequate to address study objectives, and to establish the protocols necessary to guarantee data quality, security, appropriate approaches to the statistical analysis, and interpretation of study results. Statistical analysis critical in the evaluation of research hypotheses will be performed and appropriate statistical models will be developed as specified by the research objectives of the superfund studies.
2. To support with investigators to prepare tables and graphs, to draft statistical sections of project manuscripts, and consult on research designs for subsequent studies generated by the current projects. To improve the quality of reporting and maximize the scientific and community impact of the research findings generated in this superfund proposal, Core researchers will follow the recommended research reporting guidelines for animal, genomics, or biomarkers study to ensure completeness and transparency.
3. To support the education goals set by the Training Core in this SRP. The director of the Biostatistics Core will work with the leaders in the Training Core to identify key training areas in biostatistics and provide resources such as lectures or courses that facilitate basic training in biostatistics among trainees. When appropriate, the Biostatistics Core will participate in journal clubs, lab meetings, and provide general biostatistical consultation services for the trainees in this Superfund Center.