Biostatistics involves the theory and application of statistical science to analyze public health problems and to further biomedical research.
The faculty includes leaders in the development of statistical methods for clinical trials and observational studies, studies on the environment, and genomics/genetics. The department’s research in statistical methods and interdisciplinary collaborations provide many opportunities for student participation.
Current departmental research on statistical and computing methods for observational studies and clinical trials includes survival analysis, missing-data problems, and causal inference. Other areas of investigation are environmental research (methods for longitudinal studies, analyses with incomplete data, and meta-analysis); statistical aspects of the study of AIDS and cancer; quantitative problems in health-risk analysis, technology assessment, and clinical decision making; statistical methodology in psychiatric research and in genetic studies; Bayesian statistics; statistical computing; statistical genetics and computational biology; and collaborative research activities with biomedical scientists in other Harvard-affiliated institutions.