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Biostatistics involves the development and application of statistical techniques to scientific research in health-related fields, including medicine, epidemiology, and public health. From the beginning of this century, the field of biostatistics has become an indispensable tool in improving health and reducing illness. More widely, biostatistics (sometimes called biometrics or biometry) involves statistical work in areas of environmental study, agricultural research and biology generally. For an overwhelmingly good view of what biostatistics is, you could consult the Encyclopedia of Biostatistics, a 6 Vol. Set with Editors-in-Chief: Peter Armitage (Univ. of Oxford, UK) and Theodore Colton (Boston Univ. ) published by Wiley in 1998 [go to the Life Sciences/Biology area in this WWW site]. The Role of the Biostatistician Biostatisticians play essential roles in designing studies and analyzing data from research problems. We help formulate the scientific questions to be answered, determine the appropriate sampling techniques, coordinate data collection procedures, and carry out statistical analyses to answer those scientific questions. Within the University of Minnesota Division of Biostatistics, these problems are as diverse as the study of factors affecting heart and lung disease, testing of new drugs to combat AIDS, assessment of indoor air quality in schools, working with various different cancer studies, the evaluation of dental health and dental procedures, evaluation of psychiatric symptoms and drug and alcohol use, organ transplants and bone marrow transplants, and national studies of inner ear infection. For more details browse through our Research pages. Biostatisticians also help develop new statistical techniques. The most active areas of research in our Division at present include Bayesian methods, high-speed computing and simulation, survival analysis, analysis of geographical patterns of disease, longitudinal data analysis, and methods for analyzing data from epidemiologic studies and clinical trials. Opportunities for Graduates Biostatisticians with advanced degrees can look forward to excellent career opportunities in government, industry, and academia. The shortage of biostatisticians is noted in The Seventh Report to the President and Congress on the Status of Health Personnel in the United States and Objectives for the Nation. Job prospects for new Masters and PhD graduates in biostatistics are excellent. Typical starting salaries range from $35,000 to $65,000 for Master's degrees and from $55,000 to $85,000 for PhD degrees. Recent graduates from the University of Minnesota Division of Biostatistics have found positions with employers as diverse as
Many biostatisticians belong to the International Biometric Society, and this site allows you to browse through the various current activities, conferences and so on. Some biostatisticians also belong to more statistical societies such as the American Statistical Association, or more public health or medically oriented societies such as the American Public Health Association or the Society for Clinical Trials. Journals for Biostatistical Research To see what current researchers in biostatistics write papers on, you might visit sites for some of the major international journals in the field, published by the societies above and others:
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