Biostatistics and Epidemiology Core
The Biostatistics and Epidemiology Core is responsible for all statistical, data management and epidemiological aspects of studies in the O'Brien Urology Research Center. The core serves all our major research projects and pilot projects.
The core is staffed by members of the Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics and the Division of Epidemiology, who have expertise in statistical analysis, data management and study design. Investigators in the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Core have extensive experience in the application of quantitative methods to urologic and kidney problems, including nephrolithiasis.
The objectives of the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Core are to:
- Provide high-quality consultation to project investigators about study design, data analysis and interpretation of results
- Develop additional high-quality, linkable databases and quality control procedures for our research grant studies
- Foster and develop junior faculty in the statistical and epidemiological approach to clinical questions in nephrolithiasis
The Biostatistics and Epidemiology Core provides our center investigators with uniform and efficient plans for protocol design, data management, quality control and statistical analysis. Core investigators also have a broad view of our goals and functions, which allows them to identify potential new interdisciplinary hypotheses and projects to pursue.
The directors of the core are lead statistician Felicity T. Enders, Ph.D., (biostatistics) and physician-scientist Andrew D. Rule, M.D., (epidemiology), a nephrologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.