GOT CANDY (wrappers)?

If you do – please bring them to campus and deposit in one of two boxes in the Biostats Department.  We are collecting candy wrappers to recycle into new products via the company TerraCycle.  In addition, for every wrapper we collect $0.02 will be donated a Charity Water, a non-profit organization that provides clean and safe drinking water to the people of developing countries. See Candy Wrapper Brigade Flyer
Boxes are located near the main reception area and at the biostats reception area!

As if we needed another excuse to eat some candy!

Publication Seminar – November 3rd 2pm CT335

Join us on November 3rd at 2pm in room CT335 to learns the ins and outs of publishing in the world of academia.  Join our selected panelists in a discussion about the importance of publications, where to publish, what the deal with authorship is, and many other topics.  See our flier HERE and we hope to see YOU there!

October Happenings

1) BSA Monthly Meeting will be Thursday from October 13th 1-2pm in CT 302.  Bring you lunch and we can chat about lots of upcoming events.  We have to select a Biostats student for the member spot light for November/December, as well as elect a Treasurer for the club.  If you are unable to attend but have an interest in nominating yourself or someone else - please reply to this email so we can count you in!

2) Our Second Journal Club meeting will be on Wed. Oct 19th from 1-2pm in CT332.  The article has been chosen and is located under the Journal Club link on this page.  Ever wonder what simulation studies are?  How to conduct them?  How many simulations you need to run?  How to summarize your results?   We hope to discuss this and more!

3) Biostats Fall Party - at BU Fit Rec, Sunday October 23rd - this is def. a must attend!  Not only can you climb the rock wall (or race your fellow classmates up the wall [Sean Lacey you are going down this year!]), play volley ball/soccer, and socialize with your classmates/professors and the families - but also eat some amazing food!  I'm crossing MY fingers for mac and cheese and red velvet  cupcakes - just sayin'....

4) Halloween Party - We haven't worked out all the details on this one yet - but we're thinking it'll be on October 28th - you'll basically have to dress up in your favorite costume and get some yummy desserts.

5) How to Get Published Seminar.  - This will be on Nov 3rd at 2pm - (I know it's not October - but we had originally planned for it to be this month).  We are still finalizing the panelists who will be in attendance - but keep your eyes/ears open for more details in the next week or so.  We know some of you have class until 2 pm - so please feel free to come by a little late.  We're currently working out how to record the session - so if you can't make it you can listen in later on.

See everyone Thursday!

Welcome!

Who is excited for the upcoming 2011-2012 academic year?  We are!

We'd just like to say a big welcome back to our old friends and an even bigger WELCOME to the new students!  The Biostatistics Student Association (BSA) would like to kick this year off right and do so we have organized the following:

Our FIRST monthly meeting is Thursday, September 8th from 1-2pm in room CT332.  We hope to discuss lots of things for the upcoming academic year - including social events, educational events/workshops, the NEW Journal Club!, etc...

Our FIRST social event is Friday, September 9th from 1:30-3pm in room CT 302.  We will be hosting a Dessert Potluck where students can mingle and to learn more about the BSA.  We'll be supplying some snacks, BUT we definitely would love for everyone to bring a dessert to share.

Later this month on Wednesday, September 21st, the BSA will be holdings its inaugural Journal Club meeting.  The Journal Club will meet on the 3rd Wednesday of each month in Room 332 from 1-2pm.  Information about the journals and the club can be found under the Journal Club Page.

This fall we are excited to have three of our students and one special alum participate in the Wicked Salem 1/2 Marathon.  This race takes place in Salem, MA on Sept 24th!  It might be too late to start training for THIS 1/2 marathon, but I'm sure these ladies will be signing up for more races soon. If you're interested in joining them please contact Sarah Leatherman (our very our BSA President !!!) for more details!

We are excited to announce starting in September we will be featuring a student in the BSA Spotlight each month.  The BSA Spotlight is a chance to highlight the achievements of our fellow students.  Information on the BSA spotlight can be found, here, on our webpage, as well as on our BRAND NEW bulletin board (next to room CT 332 and the kitchen).  If you would like to nominate someone for the BSA Spotlight please email one of the officers or the BSA email:  bubsa@bu.edu.

Upward Bound Math and Science Summer Program

The Upward Bound Math and Science Summer Program will be participating in an Public Health Laboratory Rotation this summer. The Public Health labs will be in areas of Environmental Health, International Health, and Biostatistics.

The BSA will be working in conjunction with the project managers to organize the Biostatistics lab session on July 27 from 9am - 4pm. All the lab sessions dates are as follows:

July 15th: Environmental Health

July 20th: International Health

July 27th: Biostatistics

At the end of the summer, the UBMS students will present on the materials/topics discussed at these sessions (more info. to come).

If you're interested in volunteering to organize and/or run part of the Biostatistics lab please contact Carlee at cmoser@bu.edu.

More updates on the progress and lab session will follow in the upcoming weeks!

Cheers!

-The BSA

Subscribe to the BSA blog with Google Reader.

You can subscribe to our blog (as well as others) by following us on google reader.  Click on Add a Subscription and then enter our blog link and you're all set!

Spring Course Offerings

If you have yet to register for Spring courses, here are some Biostatistics courses offered:

 SPH BS 720 - Introduction to R: software for statistical computing environment

This course provides students an opportunity to use the public domain and free software, R to perform statistical computing. The R language provides a rich environment for working with data, especially for statistical modeling and graphics. Emphasis is on student data manipulation and basic statistical analysis including exploratory data analyses, classical tests of samples, categorical data analysis, and regression. Students will identify appropriate statistical methods for the data or problems and conduct their own analysis using the R environment. This is a hands-on, project based course to enable students to develop skills and to solve statistical problems using R. Class is two credits. 
[ 2 cr.] Ching-Ti Liu    M 6-845pm     does not count towards MA or PhD elective credit

 SPH BS 845 - Applied Statistical Modeling and Programming with R

This course covers applications of modern statistical methods using R, a free and open source statistical computing package with powerful yet intuitive graphic tools. R is under more active development for new methods than other packages. We will first review data manipulation and programming in R, then cover theory and applications in R for topics such as linear and smooth regressions, survival analysis, mixed effects model, tree based methods, multivariate analysis, boot strapping and permutation. 
[ 4 cr.] Qiong Yang  W 6-845pm

 SPH BS 850 - Advanced Statistical Methodology for the Computational Biosciences

This course will discuss in depth advanced statistical computing methods used in scientific, especially biomedical, applications: generation of random numbers, optimization methods, numerical integration and advanced computational tools such as the EM algorithm, importance sampling, Gibbs sampler, Metropolis Hastings, auxiliary variable methods, data augmentation, reversible jump MCMC, and population-based Monte Carlo. The second half of the course will involve detailed discussions of statistical models and methods for problems in genomics and computational biology, including dynamic programming, hidden Markov models, multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic tree reconstruction, gene regulatory network discovery and analysis of genome tiling array data. Computer programming exercises would apply the methods discussed in class, primarily using the software R and BUGS/WinBUGS. During the course, students will form small groups to select a topic of interest, on which they will carry out a course project implementing statistical computing methods appropriate for the application. 
[ 4 cr.] Mayetri Gupta M 230-5pm

 SPH BS 853 - Generalized Linear Models with Applications

This course introduces statistical models for the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, of the types usually encountered in health science research. The statistical models discussed include: Logistic regression for binary and binomial data, Nominal and Ordinal Multinomial logistic regression for multinomial data, Poisson regression for count data, and Gamma regression for data with constant coefficient of variation. All of these models are covered as special cases of the Generalized Linear Statistical Model, which provides an overarching statistical framework for these models. We will also introduce Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) as an extension to the generalized models to the case of repeated measures data. The course emphasizes practical applications, making extensive use of SAS for data analysis. 
[ 4 cr.]  Gheorghe Doros Tu 230-5pm

 SPH BS 859 - Applied Genetic Analysis

Statistical tools such as linkage and association analysis are used to unravel the genetic component of complex disease. Investigators interested in the genetic analysis of complex traits need a basic understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of these methodologies. This course will provide the student with practical, applied experience in performing linkage and association analyses, including genome-wide analyses. Special emphasis is placed on understanding assumptions and issues related to statistical methodologies for genetic analysis to identify genes influencing complex traits. Students will use specialized genetics software for homework assignments. 
[ 4 cr.] Kathryn Lunetta Tu 6-845pm

Halloween Party!!!!

Join the Biostatistics Department and the Data Coordinating Center for their annual Halloween Bash on Friday, October 29th from 12-2pm in room 335.

Pizza will be provided and please bring a Spooky Dessert!!

COSTUMES ARE REQUIRED!

RSVP HERE!

- The BSA

General Meeting – October 14th at 130 pm

The BSA will have it's first general meeting on Thursday, October 14th from 130-230pm in room 332.  We hope to discuss plans for the semester, as well as nominate and vote for two additional officers.  The agenda will be available on the website, so feel free to print it out and bring it along!  If you can't make the meeting, but are interested in providing feedback and/or are interested in being nominated for the Secretary and Treasurer positions, please contact us via email.

Professor Michael Pencina will also be joining us on behalf of the curriculum committee to discuss our courses...you feedback would be greatly appreciated!

How to be Successful in Biostatistics and Other Public Health Disciplines – A talk by Dr. Ted Colton

The Biostatistics Student Association invites you to:  How to be Successful in Biostatistics and Other Public Health Disciplines.

Ted Colton, a renowned Professor of Epidemiology, will be speaking at the School of Public Health on September 23rd.   His talk, entitled "Colton's 10 Commandments", provides insight on how to be successful in biostatistics and public health research.  Dr. Colton has been an active researcher in the fields of epidemiology and biostatistics for more than 40 years.  Some of his many achievements include initiating the first doctoral degree program at BUSPH and acting as a founding editor of Statistics in Medicine.  Dr. Ted Colton's full biography can be found HERE.

Please join us on the 23rd at 5pm in room L-112. We ask you RSVP HERE BY Friday Sept 17th, so we can obtain a head count for refreshments.
We hope to see you there!

-The BSA