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New Bio Chair Hopes to Measure Departmental Progress
"Biostatistics," explains Stephen Lagakos, Henry Pickering Walcott professor of biostatistics and newly appointed chair of the department, "is the application of mathematics and statistics to medical and biological sciences. It's one of the foundation sciences of public health, combining the beauty of mathematics with the relevance of public health."
The department, with more than 45 faculty members, is one of the school's largest. Lagakos remembers when it was much smaller: "I arrived in 1978," he says, "with Marvin Zelen and ten or eleven others. We were all working on cancer research at that time. When we arrived, the size of the department tripled."
Stephen Lagakos is
the new chair of the Department of Biostatistics.
The growth continued into the 1980s when the department immersed itself in AIDS research. Lagakos founded the Statistical Data Analysis Center, and later, the Center for Biostatistics in AIDS Research, to analyze AIDS information for government and academic research.
His own research currently focuses on AIDS problems. One example is an attempt to use mathematical models to pinpoint the moment at which an HIV-infected pregnant woman transmits HIV to her unborn baby. "There are antiviral drugs that will help prevent transmission of HIV from mother to baby," says Lagakos. "But we don't want to give them to the mother sooner than necessary for reasons of safety and cost. On the other hand, if we wait until an infection has taken place, then it's too late. This is a biostatistics problem because it can only be answered statistically--there is no way to actually see or measure when the infection occurs."
To resolve problems like this one, biostatisticians use math and sets of data to model disease behavior. When existing math models can't provide answers to the questions, then the biostatistician must develop new models.
"Biostatistics is both methodology and application," reiterates Lagakos. "At its core, it's sophisticated mathematics. But the math exists to serve applications in public health and medicine." In addition to AIDS and cancer, areas under investigation in the school's Department of Biostatistics include infectious diseases, psychiatric statistics, environmental statistics, and statistical genetics.
As chair, Lagakos's responsibilities include insuring that the department functions administratively and that it fulfills its teaching mission. "Becoming chair has forced me to think about the larger picture and the longer-term issues of our department--such as the quality of our curriculum and the types of students and faculty we attract. As chair, I'm responsible for making sure that we, as a faculty, come to a consensus about where to go and how to get there."
One of his goals is to further diversify the department. "In terms of students, I'd like to be able to enroll more international students and more US students from underrepre-sented minority groups." Finances are the chief barrier to enrolling international students; the department administers five training grants, but only US citizens or permanent residents are eligible for this type of funding. "Dean Barry Bloom has helped us find some funds to allow international students to enroll," says Lagakos. "But we want to do more."
Once he gets this increasingly diverse group of new students into the department, Lagakos would like to keep them longer. The biostatistics doctoral program is currently designed to be four years in duration. "I think there is a need to make this a five-year program," says Lagakos. "We have to provide our students a strong foundation in mathematics, probability, and statistics. At the same time, they need to obtain a solid understanding of the other fields within public health. To avoid compromising one area or the other, we need to extend the program."
Lagakos also plans to expand and diversify the faculty: "As a faculty, we have enormous strength in many areas. However, I'd like to see more expertise in computational biology, statistical genetics, and community-health-related research." A search for a senior professor is underway now, and searches for several junior faculty positions will begin in the fall.
Lagakos succeeds Professor Nan Laird, who served as chair from 1990 to 1999, with the exception of a sabbatical year. Under Laird's guidance, the department prospered. Lagakos plans to continue this trend: "We've got a great department, and I hope I can help to make it even better!"
