Georgetown University Medical Center

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Section: About Us

Get to know The Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Biomathematics better!

About The Department

The Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Biomathematics is both a shared resource for the Georgetown community and an academic department. As a shared resource, the department provides a Masters of Science program in biostatistics, teaches service courses to Georgetown Medical students and offers consulting to the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) and university departments’ research investigators with expertise in the biostatistical, bioinformatical and biomathematical aspects of clinical, basic science, and population science research projects. Faculty of the department also conduct their own research and publications in biostatistical methodologies as well as collaborative research on a variety of grants with organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and Children’s National Medical Center.

About the Masters of Science in Biostatistics with tracks in Bioinformatics or Epidemiology

In this program students first build a solid knowledge in biostatistics and then choose to specialize either in epidemiology or bioinformatics. We aim to train individuals who will bring their biostatistical expertise to these related fields and who will be able collaborate on a wide range of biomedical projects.

Our M.S. program provides integrated training in computational, quantitative, and biomedical sciences to support health-related research performed in academia, government, and industry. Students will not only acquire the quantitative and computational tools that underpin epidemiology and bioinformatics, but also gain substantive exposure to applications of these tools to biological and health sciences. In-class instruction is supplemented with opportunities for practical training. The emphasis is on practical implementation of newly-acquired knowledge via daily homework, the consulting course and a capstone paper. Today's life-science research demands a wider synthesis of skills from multiple disciplines than ever before. To address this need, it is essential to train individuals who focus on data-analysis and informatics tools and exploit databases for broad-based biomedical information. Individuals so educated will be invaluable members of the kinds of interdisciplinary teams required to solve many current and future problems in health sciences.

Our program brings together faculty from the Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, and Biomathematics and from Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) Basic Science and Clinical Departments, many of whom are members of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC). The LCCC is one of only approximately forty NIH-designated comprehensive cancer centers, combining excellence in basic and clinical cancer research, as well as research in cancer prevention and control. GUMC Basic Science Departments and the LCCC provide an excellent environment for students for emerging theoretical research and the application of their quantitative skills.

The successful training of biostatisticians depends on the acquisition of core knowledge in statistics, biostatistics, bioinformatics, and epidemiology. The curriculum for our Master’s program provides students with a clear understanding of the roles of the core disciplines in data analysis, with sufficient knowledge of statistical theory and contextual terminology to allow effective participation in interdisciplinary research efforts, and with specialized skills in bioinformatics and epidemiology.

The discipline of biostatistics emphasizes concepts underlying the scientific method, and applications in biomedical data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Applicants to the program should have a strong aptitude for quantitative thinking and interest in biomedical and public-health applications. Students are encouraged to work closely with faculty and to attend seminars concerning current problems and issues in empirical research.

With an MS in Biostatistics, individuals can go on to hold research associate positions in academic research centers or the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, join a private sector consulting firm, or begin a Ph.D. program in Biostatistics or many medical or scientific fields. More detailed information about the program available HERE.

About Consulting

In our consulting work, statistical issues are considered at all levels of investigation from the design to the conduct of experiments, maintenance of data quality, and the analysis and interpretation of results. Bioinformatics pertains mainly to database construction and management as well as to the development of tools for data analysis and annotation. Specifically, the primary objectives of our biostatistical and bioinformational shared resource consulting are:

  • To collaborate with principal investigators and other clients on the biostatistical/ bioinformatical/ biomathematical aspects of basic science, clinical, and population science research projects, especially those likely to lead to research grant support;
  • To participate effectively in clinical trials by providing biostatistical/ bioinformatical/ biomathematical input to the planning of all Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) clinical trials, by active membership on the Clinical Research Committee and providing biostatistical reviews of proposed protocols, and by the monitoring of all LCCC trials through the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee and the Protocol Review and Monitoring System;
  • To educate evidence-based research investigators, staff and students in biostatisticsal/ bioinformatical/ biomathematical methodology for the planning, carrying out, analysis and interpretation of cancer research studies and other medical, population-based and statistical research; and
  • To research biostatistical/ bioinformatical/ biomathematical methodology on problems arising in collaborations with investigators on a wide variety of research projects.

Members of the Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Biomathematics (BBSR) collaborate with principal investigators in all seven programs at the Lombardi Center as well as at numerous national institutions and with other shared resources, specifically the Macromolecular Analysis Shared Resource (MASR) and the Proteomics Shared Resource. During 2006, BBSR staff members provided consultations to 35 faculty and students in 15 Georgetown Medical departments, two Georgetown University departments as well as Georgetown Hospital/ Medstar. Additionally, department members participated in 38 research grants and contracts and produced 50 peer-reviewed publications, 42 conference paper presentations and three journal/book chapter publications and teach 14 courses serving students of the Georgetown University Medical Center and the Master of Science program.

Department Organization and Contact List

Address:
Georgetown University Medical Center
4000 Reservoir Rd., NW
Building D, Suite 180
Washington, DC 20057 -1484

Note: All Georgetown University E-mail Addresses are NetID@georgetown.edu

Department Chair
Director of MS program in Biostatistics
Francoise Seillier-Moiseiwitsch, Ph.D.
NetID: seillier
(202) 687-2511

Director of Graduate Studies
Valeriy Korostyshevskiy, Ph.D.
NetID: vrk
(202) 687-6120

Graduate Program Coordinator
Caroline Wu
NetID: ctw26
(202) 687-4114

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