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Why Statisticians are in High Demand…. Statistics Career Day March 12, 2011

Why Statisticians are in High Demand…. Statistics Career Day March 12, 2011. Lisa M. Sullivan Associate Dean for Education Professor and Chair, Department of Biostatistics Boston University School of Public Health. Opportunities in Biostatistics.

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Why Statisticians are in High Demand…. Statistics Career Day March 12, 2011

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  1. Why Statisticians are in High Demand….Statistics Career DayMarch 12, 2011 Lisa M. Sullivan Associate Dean for Education Professor and Chair, Department of Biostatistics Boston University School of Public Health

  2. Opportunities in Biostatistics • Demand for qualified biostatisticians currently exceeds supply and this is expected to grow • Career options offer flexibility, exciting and rewarding work, opportunities to work with professionals in other disciplines, high job satisfaction, competitive salaries

  3. For Today’s Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics By Steve Lohr, Published: NY Times, August 5, 2009 At Harvard, Carrie Grimes majored in anthropology and archaeology and ventured to places like Honduras, where she studied Mayan settlement patterns by mapping where artifacts were found. But she was drawn to what she calls “all the computer and math stuff” that was part of the job. Carrie Grimes, senior staff engineer at Google, uses statistical analysis of data to help improve the company's search engine. “People think of field archaeology as Indiana Jones, but much of what you really do is data analysis,” she said. She uses statistical analysis of mounds of data to come up with ways to improve its search engine.

  4. For Today’s Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics Ms. Grimes is an Internet-age statistician, one of many who are changing the image of the profession as a place for dronish number nerds. They are finding themselves increasingly in demand — and even cool. “I keep saying that the sexy job in the next 10 years will be statisticians,” said Hal Varian, chief economist at Google. “And I’m not kidding.” The rising stature of statisticians, who can earn $125,000 at top companies in their first year after getting a doctorate, is a byproduct of the recent explosion of digital data

  5. For Today’s Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics In field after field, computing and the Web are creating new realms of data to explore — sensor signals, surveillance tapes, social network chatter, public records and more. And the digital data surge only promises to accelerate, rising fivefold by 2012, according to a projection by IDC, a research firm. The new breed of statisticians tackle these problem. They use powerful computers and sophisticated mathematical models to hunt for meaningful patterns and insights in vast troves of data. The applications are as diverse as improving Internet search and online advertising, culling gene sequencing information for cancer research and analyzing sensor and location data to optimize the handling of food shipments.

  6. What is Biostatistics? • Application of statistical principles to medical, public health and biological applications • Collecting, summarizing, interpreting information and making inferences that appropriately account for uncertainty

  7. Important Questions • What are the causes, prevention and treatment of autism, childhood obesity, asthma, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease? • Is disease preventable with behavior change and modification of risk factors? • Are new drugs safe and effective? • How do genes affect health and longevity?

  8. Biostatisticians are Critical • Design studies • Consider ethical implications • Work effectively in interdisciplinary teams • Analyze data • Interpret results

  9. Understanding Data

  10. Issues for Biostatisticians • Children - Obesity, Immunizations, Asthma, Autism….. • Adolescents – Alcohol & Tobacco Use, Depression, STDs, Traffic Accidents…. • Adults – Cancer, CVD, Substance Abuse, HIV/AIDS, Mental Health… • What is #1 killer of men and women in US? • What are the risk factors?

  11. The Framingham Heart Study • 5000+ men and women enrolled in 1948 • Longitudinal cohort study • Exams every 2 years for cardiovascular risk factors - surveillance • Ancillary studies – hearing, exercise, nutrition, neurological studies • 5000+ offspring & spouses enrolled in 1976 • Third generation enrolled in 2002

  12. Framingham Heart Study

  13. Framingham Study Risk Functions • Risk prediction models • Predict likelihood that a person will have coronary heart disease in the next 10 years • Models designed to include risk factors that are readily available • Age, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, treatment for hypertension & high cholesterol, obesity Risk Calculator

  14. Boston University Biostatistics

  15. Boston University Biostatistics

  16. Clinical Trial in Children with Autism • Autism-brain disorder usually diagnosed before age 3 that affects communication, social interaction, and creative play. • Trial to assess the efficacy of drug treatment in reducing repetitive behaviors • Children randomized to receive study drug or placebo

  17. Clinical Trial in Children with Autism • 144 children with autism aged 5-17 years followed every 2 weeks for 12 weeks for improvements in repetitive behaviors • Issues • Medication compliance • Measurement of outcome (child, parent, teacher) • Ethical issues

  18. Effect of Alcohol Exposure in Pregnancy on SIDS • Assess relationship between alcohol and SIDS • Issues • Measuring alcohol exposure • Measuring other environmental risk factors • Ethical Issues – e.g., Autopsies • Study of 12,000 pregnant women in Northern Plains and Cape Town

  19. SIDS – Unexplained infant death before 1 year of life • SIDS – 0.57/1000 in US 3.4/1000 in Northern Plains 3.5/1000 in Cape Town • In US – 13% of women report drinking alcohol in pregnancy 58% in Northern Plains 41% in Cape Town

  20. Study Team • Obstetricians • Dysmorphologists • Psychologists Biostatisticians • Physiologists • Pathologists

  21. Difficult Issues • Recruiting participants • Getting reliable information • Managing data • Understanding the link between alcohol and SIDS

  22. Biostatisticians at Work • Work with environmental health specialists to identify the health effects of exposure to pollutants and hazardous waste

  23. Biostatisticians at Work • Work with physicians and epidemiologists to find disease “clusters” and to determine causes of disease Women with breast cancer,Women free of breast cancer

  24. Biostatisticians at Work • Work with pharmaceutical companies to determine whether drugs are safe and effective

  25. Biostatisticians at Work • Work with obstetricians to determine risk factors for poor perinatal outcomes • Preterm delivery • Low birth weight

  26. South Africa: Cape Point

  27. Safari

  28. Careers • Pharmaceutical Industry – Clinical Trials • Medical Research Studies • Biotechnology • Government • Academia • Health Insurance

  29. Training/Skills • Mathematics-Statistics-Biostatistics • Public Health/Biology • Computer Skills • Communication Skills • Analytic Skills • Organizational Skills • Attention to Detail • Desire to Work on Important Health Problems

  30. Academic Programs at BU (www.bu.edu) • BA in Mathematics/Statistics • Minor in Applied Statistics • Summer Institute for Training in Biostatistics (http://sph.bu.edu/sibs) • MA in Biostatistics • PhD in Biostatistics

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