Example Career: Biostatisticians

Career Description

Develop and apply biostatistical theory and methods to the study of life sciences.

What Job Titles Biostatisticians Might Have

• Associate Director of Biostatistics
• Biostatistician
• Biostatistics Director
• Professor of Biostatistics

What Biostatisticians Do

• Draw conclusions or make predictions based on data summaries or statistical analyses.
• Design research studies in collaboration with physicians, life scientists, or other professionals.
• Analyze clinical or survey data using statistical approaches such as longitudinal analysis, mixed effect modeling, logistic regression analyses, and model building techniques.
• Provide biostatistical consultation to clients or colleagues.
• Write research proposals or grant applications for submission to external bodies.
• Prepare articles for publication or presentation at professional conferences.
• Calculate sample size requirements for clinical studies.
• Write detailed analysis plans and descriptions of analyses and findings for research protocols or reports.
• Monitor clinical trials or experiments to ensure adherence to established procedures or to verify the quality of data collected.
• Review clinical or other medical research protocols and recommend appropriate statistical analyses.
• Prepare tables and graphs to present clinical data or results.
• Develop or implement data analysis algorithms.
• Prepare statistical data for inclusion in reports to data monitoring committees, federal regulatory agencies, managers, or clients.
• Write program code to analyze data using statistical analysis software.
• Read current literature, attend meetings or conferences, and talk with colleagues to keep abreast of methodological or conceptual developments in fields such as biostatistics, pharmacology, life sciences, and social sciences.
• Assign work to biostatistical assistants or programmers.
• Teach graduate or continuing education courses or seminars in biostatistics.
• Plan or direct research studies related to life sciences.
• Determine project plans, timelines, or technical objectives for statistical aspects of biological research studies.
• Apply research or simulation results to extend biological theory or recommend new research projects.
• Collect data through surveys or experimentation.
• Design or maintain databases of biological data.
• Develop or use mathematical models to track changes in biological phenomena such as the spread of infectious diseases.
• Analyze archival data such as birth, death, and disease records.

What Biostatisticians Should Be Good At

• Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

What Biostatisticians Should Be Interested In

• Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
• Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

What Biostatisticians Need to Learn

• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.