Biostatistics Center
Who We Are
The Biostatistics Center (BSC) is the statistical coordinating center for large-scale multicenter clinical trials and epidemiological studies. The Biostatistics Center provides statistical leadership in the design, execution and analysis of multi-center clinical trials and epidemiologic medical investigations, ensuring that study results are of the highest scientific integrity and meet rigorous biostatistical standards. These investigations include major medical research programs, especially multi-institutional studies of national and international scope, in both the public and private sectors. Such research provides a testing ground for new and developing statistical methods, frequently leading to major advances in the field of statistical methodology.
The Biostatistics Center was established within the Department of Statistics at the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences within The George Washington University in 1972. The Center is currently a chartered research center at the University level. Its faculty have had affiliations with the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at GW's School of Public Health and Health Services since 2002. Support for the BSC comes primarily from faculty-awarded NIH grants, and currently exceeds $48 million per year. Faculty and staff of the BSC have published more than 500 articles related to statistical methodology, clinical trials, epidemiologic methods and biomedical findings.
What We Do
Among the activities of the Biostatistics Center in its role of coordinating center for collaborative studies:
- Statistical methods. State-of-the-art statistical methods are required to insure that collaborative clinical trials and epidemiologic studies meet rigorous scientific and biostatistical standards. An important activity of the BSC is to evaluate and develop new statistical methods to meet the unique needs of planned or ongoing investigations.
- Study design. A carefully designed study plan is essential to conducting any scientific investigation successfully. The BSC participates in the statistical design of all types of medical investigations, including multicenter therapeutic and intervention clinical trials, and epidemiologic cohort and case-control studies. Principal activities include preparing protocols, evaluating sample sizes, generating randomization sequences and implementing quality assurance programs.
- Data management. The Center has established procedures for all aspects of data management to insure that the data which is analyzed and reported in scientific publications is of the highest quality. This technologically demanding task includes forms design; centralized and distributed data entry procedures; extensive computerized data editing; computerized updating of corrections to master files; and organization of summary data files for specific statistical analyses.
- Statistical analyses and publication. State-of-the-art statistical analyses of study results allow the scientific objectives of each study to be met. The results of these analyses are usually summarized in a report that becomes the basis for developing scientific manuscripts for publication. Periodically during each study, interim analyses are also performed to protect the welfare of patient participants.
- Administration. BSC's administrative division assumes various responsibilities associated with managing a university-based research organization. Direct on-site support services include financial management, business administration, contract and grant administration and personnel services.
Faculty
Contact Us
The Biostatistics Center
6110 Executive Blvd., Suite 750
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
School of Public Health and Health Services
The George Washington University
Rockville, MD 20852
Phone: (301) 881-9260
Fax: (301) 881-3742
Website: http://www.bsc.gwu.edu
Center Director: Sarah Fowler, PhD, MS
Center Co-Director: John Lachin, ScD
Research Activities
