Sample and Data Management Core

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ABSTRACT The primary objective of the Sample and Data Management Core (SDMC) is to provide support to each of the four projects of the Louisville Superfund Center. The functions of the Core are matched to the needs of each project and cover a full range of services from collaboration and routine service to protocol preparation to procedural review and oversight. The Core will provide two main services: it will establish a repository for the long-term storage and archiving of samples and data; and it will assist Center investigators in the statistical analysis of their results. The core will assure the authenticity and quality of these specimens and it will prepare these samples for long-term storage, or dispense samples as needed. The Core will also provide scientifically valid and rigorous statistical analysis of data and support the development of innovative methods to enhance the basic and translational research efforts of Center investigators. The Core will provide state-of-the-art biostatistics and bioinformatics expertise and analytical support. Core biostatisticians will also develop new statistical methods, such as quantitative risk assessment models, for estimating cardiometabolic disease risk in exposed populations and for the analysis and evaluation of exposures and health consequences. In addition, the core will develop novel methods for the analysis of multi-pollutant exposures as they relate to health outcomes. The core will serve as a unique educational resource for training graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, residents and junior faculty and in collaboration with the Training and Administration Cores. This Core will allow Center investigators easy access to high quality, centralized data management and statistical services, and thereby will strengthen the organizational cohesion of the Center. This comprehensive and integrated service permits one or more biostatisticians to be involved from the initial planning stage of a project (when statistical consultation is most beneficial) throughout its implementation, analysis and completion. The Core will provide a stable and collegial environment that fosters long-term working relationships between biostatisticians and investigators, and continues to promote sophisticated approaches to experimental design and analysis. The biostatisticians of this Core are knowledgeable about clinical research and have broad expertise in statistical applications for epidemiological investigations, clinical trials, pre-clinical studies, and prevention and control research. Their interdisciplinary interactions with basic scientists and clinical investigators will add a new dimension to the interpretation of experimental results, one that is only possible when collaborators share a mutual appreciation of problems and issues.