The primary research goal of the Department of Biostatistics is to develop new statistical methodology to address issues in public health and the biomedical sciences. Investigators might also apply existing methodologies to new application areas in innovative ways. Because of the dual focus on statistical methodology and its application in biomedical and health-related areas, virtually all faculty members in the department have research interests both in the development of statistical methodology and in the application of statistics in applied research. In addition, involvement in an applied research area generally leads to publication of new statistical methodology developed in part to handle unsolved problems in the applied research area. Thus the two areas of research, methodological and applied, are in fact closely linked. Applied research projects generally involve other faculty in the School of Public Health, investigators at the Medical School, or even scientists at outside institutes such as the Research Triangle Institute, the National Institute of Statistical Sciences or the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Research in environmental health is supported in part by the nation's largest environmental health training program funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The new UNC Center on Environmental Health and Susceptibility involves researchers in environmental health, biostatistics, and epidemiology. The Demography and Population Studies research program has been in place over thirty years and involves scientists in biostatistics, maternal and child health, epidemiology, and nutrition. The newly established Carolina Center for Genome Sciences is part of a university initiative to support genetics research and will bring together investigators in genetics, basic sciences, medicine, bioinformatics, and biostatistics. Our applied research areas include:

• Biostatistical Methodology
• Statistical Genetics
• Cancer Research
• Cardiovascular Research
• Medical Imaging
• Demography and Population Studies
• Survey Methodology
• Environmental Biostatistics
• AIDS and Other Infectious Disease
• Dental Research
• Nursing Research
• Psychiatric Research
• Pharmaceutical Research
• Genomics
• Computational Biology

Other research areas of interest within the department include:

• Faculty Research Interests
• Recent Research Awards
• Research Projects and Training Grants
• Theses and Dissertations
• Research Units
• Technical Report Series
  
• Publications

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