Biostatistics Training Grant for Predoctoral Students

Dear Colleagues,

The Department of Statistics at the University of Missouri likes to call your attention that we recently received a funding from the National Institutes of Health for our Biostatistics training program titled Predoctoral Research Training in Biostatistics in University of Missouri-Columbia. We would appreciate your help to pass this information to potential students who may be interested in this training program.

Biostatistics is now a fundamental scientific component of biomedical, public health and health service research. The demand for biostatistical consulting and collaboration is exploding, with an increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary research. However, the supply of well-trained biostatisticians is greatly inadequate. The overall purpose of this biostatistics training program is to establish and provide an internationally recognized prodoctoral, interdisciplinary program that is strong in biostatistical theory and methodology, but also integrates biostatistics training with fundamentals in the biological and computational sciences. It is designed to prepare students for leadership roles in interdisciplinary research teams working on, for example, problems in bioinformatics, genetics, molecular biology, and computational biology. In other words, the program will produce young biostatisticians for the 21st century who have a high level of understanding of the biological sciences, a good knowledge of computer science and who can work effectively with scientists engaged in such problems as described above.

This NIH funding provides full support for trainees in this training program including stipend and tuition. The trainees in the program can expect training not only in general statistics but also in biostatistics as well as biology and computer science. The program faculty consist of experts in many fields such as biologists, computing scientists, psychologists and pathologists. In particular, the program offers the trainees many consulting and research opportunities with these experts.

We would be delighted to offer additional information on the training program and careers in Biostatistics to any of your students who might be interested. You and your students may contact me directly at (573) 882-6667 or email me at sunj@missouri.edu. You can also visit us on the web at www.stat.missouri.edu.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

(Tony) Jianguo Sun, Professor of Statistics Director, Biostatistics Training Program