The Department of Biostatistics actively participates in dental research through collaboration with faculty members from the UNC Dental School. Biostatistics faculty collaborate on projects funded through the Comprehensive Center for Inflammatory Disorders (CCID), formed via a 5-year grant from the National Institute of Dental Research. Among the goals of the center are to identify innovative approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic inflammation, and to integrate basic research studies of inflammation with patient-based and population research on inflammatory diseases and disorders such as arthritis, cardiovascular disease, periodontal disease, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and pre-term labor and delivery. Further collaboration in dental research takes place through the Biostatistics Consulting Laboratory (BCL) of the Department of Biostatistics. The BCL provides assistance in study design, data analysis, interpretation of results, and assistance in publication.