Biostatistics for Research in Environmental Health

环境健康研究生物统计学

• 批准号: 7884443
• 负责人: AMY H HERRING
• 金额: $ 78.86万
• 依托单位: UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1977
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1977-07-01 至 2012-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7884443
• 关键词: Biometry; Environmental Health; Research

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) This 5-year program is designed to train predoctoral (Ph.D.) students and postdoctoral fellows in three distinct but related areas: Environmental Biostatistics (BIOS), Environmental Epidemiology (EPID), and Environmental Exposure Assessment (ENVR). The interdisciplinary goal of this training program is to prepare scientists to address emerging challenges in environmental health research, with an emphasis on the development of tools for harnessing the rich and high-dimensional information that is now routinely available. The overarching goal is to improve the understanding of effects of environmental and other exposures, such as diet and physical activity, in order to impact public health through prevention and better clinical care. Increasingly, we need scientists with strong skills in statistics, epidemiology and basic science, along with an ability to understand and translate the clinical implications of their findings. A critical component is a better understanding of heterogeneity among individuals in environmental effects through the creative use of emerging technologies for measuring gene expression, levels of metabolites, and single nucleotide polymorphisms across the genome. Along with detailed measures of environmental exposures, these tools allow careful study of gene by environment interaction, which has great clinical importance, as interventions may be increasingly driven by genetic factors in order to optimize efficacy. The BIOS goal is to train biostatisticians in general statistical methods, including new approaches for analyzing and visualizing very high-dimensional data. In addition, a focus will be on use of methods motivated by the biology, allowing integration of data from multiple sources. The EPID goal is to train scientists in conducting studies of environmental effects, fully utilizing and understanding the statistical and technological tools available, while also addressing the translational goals described above. The ENVR goal is to train environmental scientists to conduct research on biological and statistical methods for assessing environmental exposures as they relate to human health effects. The typical pre-doctoral trainee will have a Bachelor's or Master's degree with an excellent academic record appropriate for one of the three training areas, and the typical postdoctoral trainee will have highly relevant doctoral training. Funding is requested for the support of 20 pre-doctoral trainees for each of 5 years (8 BIOS, 6 EPID, 6 ENVR) and for 8 postdoctoral trainees (2 BIOS, 3 EPID, 3 ENVR). The Departments of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, the three largest and most recognized departments in the 2nd-ranked UNC School of Public Health, have available all the personnel and facilities sufficient to provide comprehensive pre-doctoral and postdoctoral training. BACKGROUND This proposal is a competing continuation of a large, established, and successful training program spanning three different departments and covering three areas: environmental biostatistics, environmental epidemiology, and environmental exposure assessment. The program has been very successful in training and placing successful researchers in academic, government, industry, and consulting positions in each of the three areas. The program has been in place for 35 years and continually funded for the last 29 years. The proposed program reduces the number of pre-doctoral trainees from thirty in 2005-2006 to twenty and increases the number of postdoctoral trainees from four in 2005-2006 to eight.

描述（由申请人提供） 这个为期 5 年的项目旨在培训三个不同但相关领域的博士前 (Ph.D.) 学生和博士后研究员：环境生物统计学 (BIOS)、环境流行病学 (EPID) 和环境暴露评估 (ENVR)。该培训计划的跨学科目标是让科学家做好准备，应对环境健康研究中新出现的挑战，重点是开发工具来利用目前常规可用的丰富且高维的信息。 总体目标是提高对环境和其他暴露（例如饮食和身体活动）影响的了解，以便通过预防和更好的临床护理来影响公共健康。 我们越来越需要具有统计学、流行病学和基础科学方面强大技能的科学家，以及能够理解和转化其发现的临床意义的科学家。 一个关键组成部分是通过创造性地使用新兴技术来测量基因表达、代谢物水平和整个基因组的单核苷酸多态性，更好地理解个体在环境影响中的异质性。 除了环境暴露的详细测量之外，这些工具还可以通过环境相互作用来仔细研究基因，这具有重大的临床重要性，因为为了优化疗效，干预措施可能越来越多地受到遗传因素的驱动。 BIOS 的目标是培训生物统计学家掌握一般统计方法，包括分析和可视化极高维数据的新方法。此外，重点将放在生物学驱动的方法的使用上，从而允许整合多个来源的数据。 EPID 的目标是培训科学家进行环境影响研究，充分利用和理解可用的统计和技术工具，同时实现上述转化目标。 ENVR 的目标是培训环境科学家进行生物学和统计方法研究，以评估与人类健康影响相关的环境暴露。 典型的博士前培训生将拥有学士或硕士学位，并具有适合三个培训领域之一的优秀学术记录，而典型的博士后培训生将接受高度相关的博士培训。 请求资助每五年支持 20 名博士前培训生（8 位 BIOS、6 位 EPID、6 ENVR）和 8 名博士后培训生（2 位 BIOS、3 位 EPID、3 ENVR）。 生物统计系、流行病学系、环境科学与工程系是排名第二的北卡罗来纳大学公共卫生学院最大、最受认可的三个系，拥有足以提供全面的博士前和博士后培训的所有人员和设施。 背景 该提案是一个大型、成熟且成功的培训计划的竞争性延续，该培训计划跨越三个不同的部门，涵盖三个领域：环境生物统计学、环境流行病学和环境暴露评估。 该计划在培训和安排成功的研究人员担任这三个领域的学术、政府、工业和咨询职位方面非常成功。 该计划已实施 35 年，并在过去 29 年中持续获得资助。 拟议的计划将博士前培训生人数从2005-2006 年的30 名减少到20 名，并将博士后培训生人数从2005-2006 年的4 名增加到8 名。