Training In Environmental Biostatistics at The University of North Carolina

Since the early 1970's the Department of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina (UNC) has maintained an extremely successful predoctoral and postdoctoral training program in Environmental Biostatistics. This training program, which has been continuously funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), has been directed since 1972 by Dr. Lawrence L. Kupper, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Biostatistics, and is now directed by Dr. Amy Herring, Associate Professor of Biostatistics. Over the last 25 years, this program has been both directly and indirectly responsible for the training of a very large number of master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral students in Environmental Biostatistics. These graduates occupy important positions in academia, government, and private industry, and many are in leadership roles. For about the first twenty years of this program, the training was solely focussed on Environmental Biostatistics. In 1993, supplemental funding was obtained from NIEHS to train predoctoral and postdoctoral students in two related areas, Environmental Epidemiology and Environmental Exposure Assessment. For the current funding period from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003, this program funds (via stipends and tuition and fees) the training of 31 predoctoral trainees (16 in Environmental Biostatistics and 10 in Epidemiology, and 5 in Environmental Sciences & Engineering) and 3 postdoctoral trainees (1 in each of these three areas).

The goal of the Environmental Biostatistics training area (directed by Herring) is to train biostatisticians to conduct state-of-the-art biostatistical research relevant to important environmental health problems and to provide high-level statistical consulting support for other researchers in the environmental health field. The purpose of the Environmental Epidemiology training area (directed by David Savitz, Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology, UNC) is to train epidemiologists to investigate the influence of environmental exposures on human health, with the capability of integrating approaches from molecular biology, biostatistics, and environmental sciences. The emphasis of the Environmental Exposure Assessment training area (directed by Professor Stephen Rappaport, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, UNC) is to train environmental scientists to conduct research on biological and statistical methods for assessing environmental exposures as they relate to human health effects. Predoctoral training involves three interrelated components: coursework, consulting experience, and research leading to the completion of a Ph.D. dissertation. Postdoctoral training is somewhat less structured, with individually mentored consulting and research experiences (typically over a 3-year residency) designed to lead to publishable manuscripts.

For more information about this training program, contact:
Dr. Amy Herring
Associate Professor
Dept. of Biostatistics
School of Public Health
CB #7420
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill NC 27599-7420
Phone: (919) 843-6368
E-mail: aherring@bios.unc.edu