Why Biostats?

Biostatisticians play a unique role in safeguarding public health and improving lives through quantitative research.

By combining across quantitative disciplines, biostatisticians are able to collaborate with other biomedical researchers to identify and solve problems that pose threats to health and to quality of life.

From assessing the health consequences of air quality to designing and evaluating new cancer studies, biostatisticians develop new methods to ensure that policies are based on evidence of benefit—whether targeted to populations or to individuals in need of care.

Biostatistics Ranked #1

Forbes named Biostatistics as the #1 best Master’s degree for jobs

Transformative Research

Our students work alongside faculty who are leaders in both statistical theory and its application to health research, in collaboration with laboratory and clinical scientists around the globe.

Examples of Faculty Research Projects

Secrets of Sound Health

Professor Francesca Dominici is a renowned expert in analyzing huge data sets to ferret out hidden environmental causes of disease. Her latest study is the first to analyze noise exposure  near airports and its impact on cardiovascular disease.

Cell Phones & Mood Disorders

Associate Professor JP Onnela is developing methods for analyzing and modeling social and biological networks. His group uses cell phone communication and sensor data to investigate social and behavioral functioning of individuals with mood disorders.

Human Microbiome Project

Associate Professor Curtis Huttenhower received a Presidential Early Career Award from the White House in part for his work on the Human Microbiome Project – analyzing role that microbes play in maintaining health and immune function, as well as in disease.

Digging for Research Gold in EMRs

Professor Tianxi Cai has worked on the development of an algorithm that enabled her team to scan Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) – they are working to create a framework to help researchers use large datasets to better understand the genetic basis of complex diseases.

Birth Defects Related to Antiretrovirals

Director of Graduate Studies Paige Williams is working on a study about the safety of antiretroviral (ARV) medications use during pregnancy.

 

The Next Step

Our graduates are thriving in a wide range of careers in academia, industry, the government, and beyond. See where a degree in Biostatistics has taken them.

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Miguel Marino PhD ’11
Associate Professor at the Oregon Health & Science University

 

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Lynne Peeples  SM ’04
Freelance Science Journalist for Nature, The Huffington Post, NBC News, etc.

 

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Michael Wu  PhD ’09
Faculty Member at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

 

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Sunni Mumford  SM ’06
Investigator at the National Institutes of Health

 

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Melody Goodman  PhD ’06
Associate Dean for Research & Associate Professor of Biostatistics at New York University 

 

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James Signorovitch  PhD ’07
Managing Principal at The Analysis Group