BIOSTATISTICS SHARED UNIX COMPUTER SYSTEM

该提案要求为约翰霍普金斯大学生物统计学系和生物统计咨询中心建立一个最先进的统计计算环境，从而提高约翰霍普金斯大学50多名科学家的研究效率，这些科学家的NIH资助总额超过1.37亿美元的直接成本。该系和中心的生物统计学家与医学科学家合作，设计最佳研究，管理大型数据系统，提供有效的图形和表格显示定量信息，并通过进行适当的统计分析来解决特定的研究假设。此外，霍普金斯大学的统计科学家正在创造和实施新的定量方法，以最有效地利用新出现的各种测量方法，例如DNA测序、神经成像和复杂的纵向研究。与NIH资助的科学家和原始统计研究的合作都需要一个现代的统计计算环境。我们建议通过购买Sun Enterprise 6500服务器来创建这样一个环境。新系统将增加部门和中心的能力，以支持国家卫生研究院的调查人员，并进行原始的统计研究，在较小的工作中增加大约5倍，在需要大量内存的大型工作中增加50-100倍。它还将克服目前在计算方面的不足，这种不足使创新变得困难。新系统的主要用户包括15名NIH调查人员，他们的研究跨越四个领域：精神障碍研究、定量遗传学、人类发展和衰老研究以及环境健康科学。生物统计系与公共卫生计算中心学院合作，具有必要的专门知识，可以有效和公平地管理新系统，使主要用户和其他用户最大限度地受益。该部门将提供系统管理、用户支持，并将与计算中心和主要用户的代表分享科学监督。通过这个新系统的实施，参与NIH研究的约翰霍普金斯公共卫生、医学和护理学院、约翰霍普金斯医院和肯尼迪克里格研究所的研究人员将获得最好的统计支持，并将通过在这个新的计算环境中进行的原始研究获得改进的统计方法。

This proposal requests funds to establish a state-of-the art statistical computing environment for the Department of Biostatistics and Biostatistics Consulting Center at Johns Hopkins University and thereby to enhance the research productivity of more than 50 scientists at Johns Hopkins whose NIH funding total in excess of $137 million in direct costs. Biostatisticians in the Department and Center Collaborate with medical scientists by designing optimal studies, managing large data systems, providing effective graphical and tabular displays of quantitative information, and by conducting appropriate statistical analyses to address specific study hypotheses. In addition, Hopkins statistical scientists are creating and implementing new quantitative methods to make the most effective use of new kinds of measurements that are arising, for example, from DNA sequencing, neuroimaging, and complex longitudinal studies. Both the collaboration with NIH funded scientists and original statistics research require a modern statistical computing environment. We propose to create such an environment with the purchase of a Sun Enterprise 6500 Server. The new system will increase the capacity of the Department and Center to support NIH investigators and to conduct original statistical research by a factor of approximately five for smaller jobs and by a factor of 50-100 for larger jobs requiring substantial memory. It will also overcome the current deficiency in computing that makes innovation difficult. The major users of the new system consist of 15 NIH investigators whose research spans four areas: studies of mental disorders, quantitative genetics, studies of human development and aging, and environmental health sciences. The Department of Biostatistics, in collaboration with the School of Public Health Computing Center, has the requisite expertise to efficiently and equitably manage the new system to the maximum benefit of the major and other users. The Department will provide system administration, user support, and will share scientific oversight with the Computing Center and representatives of the major users. Through the implementation of this new system, participating NIH researchers at Johns Hopkins Schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Nursing, the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Kennedy Krieger Institute, will receive the best possible statistical support and will have access to improved statistical methods through original research conducted in this new computing environment.