The Statistical Consulting Laboratory Dr. Joan G. Staniswalis UTEP BBRC

1. The Statistical Consulting Laboratory Dr. Joan G. Staniswalis UTEP BBRC ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING March 5, 2001

2. SPECIFIC AIMS As a major component of the BBRC, the Statistical Consulting Laboratory (SCL) is charged with providing statistical and computing support to the BBRC participants and to the new Ph.D. program in the Biological Sciences. Statistical support is provided to the BBRC by way of seminars, design of experiments, statistical analysis of data, and interpretation of the results. Computingsupport is provided to the BBRC by way of software and hardware selection and maintenance, spread sheet design for creation of electronic databases, database management, and homepage design and maintenance for recruitment of students to careers in the biological and health sciences.

3. Close, long-term working relationships between the SCL statisticians and BBRC researchers on projects likely to lead to competitive grant submissions are encouraged. New developments in biotechnology typically result in the collection of data which are not amenable to methods available in commercially available statistical software packages such as SAS. For this reason, research collaborations with BBRC participants often require the development of statistical models or the development of specialized software for the analyses of data.

4. Another goal of the SCL is to make progress towards financial self-sufficiency. A steadily increasing stream of income revenue is to be generated using an hourly fee-for-service structure. Outreach activities within the El Paso region are to be conducted to attract contracts to help defray the operating costs of the SCL, which are not covered by the BBRC. Projects which help UTEP meet its research, teaching and service missions on the border will be sought and given highest priority. This ensures continued institutional support for the Statistical Consulting Laboratory beyond the proposed budget period.

8. Grants, Contracts, Manuscripts and Theses from August 1997 to January 2001 • 37 grant submissions included the SCL as a line item in the budget • 3 contract submissions • 42 manuscripts and theses receiving assistance from SCL and authors instructed to acknowledge BBRC-NIH-RCMI support

9. BBRC Statistical Consultations • Dr. Stephen Aley- Former resource statistician Dr. Eugene Schuster and staff statistician Dr. Julia Bader worked with Dr. Aley on a research study involving the use of an atomic force microscope to visualize strands of DNA containing paired enzymes. Karen Katz completed her M.S. thesis under the direction of Dr. Aley in July 2000.

10. 2.Dr. Rafael Cabeza- Resource statistician Dr. Gavin Gregory used a novel time series approach to model the effect of pharmacological agents on the timing and duration of REM sleep. A joint paper has been submitted for publication entitled “A Markovian model for REM sleep architecture in the rat” and is given in Appendix 7. Dr. Cabeza’s project is a BBRC developmental project.

11. 3. Dr. Joanne Ellzey- The staff statistician Dr. Bader with the assistance of the SCL director Dr. Staniswalis worked on issues of experimental design and data analysis. Dr. Ellzey studied the effect of alcohol on hepatocytes from ADH-positive and ADH-negative mice. Dr. Ellzey has submitted a paper for publication. In addition, the staff statistician has assisted with the statistical analyses for the Aeromycology project of Dr. Ellzey, comparing the characteristic fungi from outside and inside buildings at UTEP.

12. 4. Dr. Louis Irwin- Dr. Staniswalis, director of the Statistical Consulting Laboratory, worked with Dr. Irwin on developing quantitative methods for analyzing thin layer chromatography plates (TLC) obtained from brain samples of rodents. Dr. Staniswalis used a novel functional data analysis approach to analyze the intensity profiles from the TLC. Yolanda Muñoz Maldonado, an M.S. Statistics student under the direction of Dr. Staniswalis, completed her M.S. Thesis in July 2000. A manuscript entitled “A similarity analysis of curves: A comparison of the distribution of gangliosides in brains of old and young rats” has been submitted by Ms. Muñoz Maldonado, Dr. Staniswalis, Dr. Irwin and Ms. Byers for review and publication. This is given in Appendix 8.

13. 5. Dr. Lillian Mayberry- Staff statistician Dr. Bader provided statistical analysis for the study on the effects of primary and challenge infections by nematodes and parasites on blood parameters in rats. David Lopez completed his M.S. thesis under the direction of Dr. Mayberry in July 2000.

14. 6. Dr. Donald Moss- Staff statistician Dr. Bader provided statistical analysis on a study of the effect of light and drugs on the bar test for rats in a crossover design.

15. 7. Dr. Elizabeth Walsh- Staff statistician Dr. Bader provided statistical support for a study on the effects of toxicants on rotifer population characteristics.

16. 8.Dr. Barbara Washburn- The SCL director Dr. Staniswalis, resource statistician Dr. Gregory and staff statistician Dr. Bader provided statistical support for various studies: a study on the effect of copper on fish, a study on of the effect of air pollution on the enzyme activity of the cells of mice and a study on the associations between DNA damage and variables such as genotype, age, sex, dietary practice and contaminant exposure in Hispanics.

17. RESEARCH PLANS The SCL has now established a track record of collaboration with biomedical researchers. Several pilot projects have been completed with BBRC faculty (Drs. Cabeza, Aley, and Irwin) and other researchers funded by The Paso del Norte Health Foundation, Center for Border Health Research (Drs. Park, Patten, Fullerton). This coming BBRC budget period will be used to develop extramural grant applications building upon the track record of these collaborations.