Department of Biostatistics 
Training Program in Research in the Biosciences
Introduction
The Biostatistics Training Program in Research in the Biosciences at the University of Michigan provides support for pre-doctoral training at the interface of Biostatistics and the biosciences under support from the National Institutes of Health. The main focus of this pre-doctoral training program is to combine substantive training in areas of the biosciences with a rigorous program in the theory and applications of biostatistics.
The program began in 2006 and may support up to four trainees each year. Training support may be between one and three years. United States citizens and permanent residents are eligible to apply. Trainees can be new applicants to the Biostatistics graduate program or continuing Michigan students at any stage in their graduate studies. Trainees from other departments (e.g. Statistics, Bioinformatics, Epidemiology) can be considered. Trainees are expected to enroll in, or have the eventual intention of enrolling in a doctoral program.
Trainees are expected to undertake a curriculum of coursework in Biostatistics and the biosciences, and take part in rotations that bring them in direct contact with researchers and research labs in the biosciences and to complete a dissertation in biostatistics or a related discipline (statistics, epidemiology or bioinformatics, for example), and it is expected that they will develop methods with applications to problems in the biosciences.
Pre-doctoral trainees are provided with full tuition (two semesters), a stipend ($24,202.00 in 2007-2008), and health insurance each year.
Overview
The training program contains 2 major tracks in the biosciences: Bioinformatics and Population Sciences.
Current PhD program in Biostatistics
- Coursework: Core courses in Biostatistics and Statistics.
Electives in Biostatistics and Statistics.
- Epidemiology requirement.
Electives in a cognate area.
- Qualifying Examinations in Theory and Applications.
- Presentation of a dissertation proposal including an extensive literature review.
Presentation and oral defense of the research dissertation.
For Biostatistics students, the proposed training program will adopt the basic structure of the existing Ph.D. program, and will feature (a) a new doctoral course in stochastic modeling, that will count toward the current elective requirement, and (b) expansion of the scientific cognate requirement from 9 to at least 23 credit hours.
Course Requirements for Trainees from Departments other than Biostatistics
These trainees are also expected to complete all Ph.D requirements of their home program, including coursework, qualifying exams and dissertation. In addition, students will be expected to complete the training program core including the course in modeling as well as other required elements of the training program. For students specializing in bioinformatics, biostatistics electives must include Biostatistics 666 and Biostatistics 866. For students in the populations sciences, the program should normally include survival analysis (Biostatistics 675 and 875) and categorical data analysis (Biostatistics 695). Specific programs for students outside of Biostatistics will be reviewed and approved by the Steering Committee.
Training Program Core Courses (shared by both tracks):
- Epidemiology 516: Genomics in Public Health (or Epidemiology 515 Introduction to Genetics in Public Health)
- Bioinformatics 527. A Survey of Bioinformatics.
- Epidemiology 601. Principles and methods of Epidemiology.
- Two of the following courses:
- Biology 411: Protein Structure and Function.
Biology 427: Molecular Biology.
EHS 513: Pathologic Basis of Disease
Epid 519: Introduction to Principles and Methods of Molecular Epidemiology
Epid 582: Molecular epidemiology
Notes: Students with a stronger biological background could take the fourth year biology courses and follow up with additional core biology as seemed appropriate. For others, with less biology background, the alternative courses would give a good introduction to aspects of molecular biology. Other courses with a similar focus to those above could also be substituted in the program with the approval of the Steering Committee. This core constitutes a total of 16 or 17 credits from outside of Biostatistics and 4 credits from within.
The Bioinformatics Track: (additional core courses)
- Two statistical genetics courses
- Biostatistics 666: Statistical Models and Numerical Methods in Human Genetics.
- Biostatistics 866: Advanced Topics in Genetic Modeling.
- Plus two additional courses from
- Bioinformatics 545: Data Analysis in Molecular Biology
- Bioinformatics 530: Systems Biology and Predictive Modeling.
- Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) 498: Programming languages
- Epidemiology 817: Advanced Genomic Epidemiology
- Other courses could be added to these lists with the approval of the steering committee.
The Population Sciences Track (additional core courses)
- Two additional biostatistics courses chosen from:
- Biostatistics 619: Clinical Trials
- Biostatistics 870: Analysis of Repeated Measurements
- Biostatistics 875: Advanced Topics in Survival Analysis
- Two additional courses (at least 6 credits) from
- Epidemiology 516: Genomics in Epidemiology (4 credits).
- Epidemiology 552: Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases (3 credits).
- Epidemiology 582: Molecular Epidemiology (3 credits).
- Health Behavior and Health Education 620: Behavioral Research Methods in Public Health.
- Environmental Health Sciences 507: Principles of Exposure Assessment (2 credits).
- Environmental Health Sciences 508: Principles of Risk Assessment (2 credits).
- Epidemiology 817: Advanced Genomic Epidemiology
- Other courses could be added to these lists with the approval of the steering committee.
Rotations
Each trainee will participate in rotations during the two years of the traineeship. These rotations will be arranged in consultation with the trainee's mentorship committee. A typical rotation will consist of a ten to fifteen hour per week commitment over a ten week period and will be overseen by the student's mentorship committee and the director of the laboratory. Each rotation will be awarded two credit hours and will be assigned a letter grade by the overseeing faculty. Most students will do one or two rotations in the summer following the first year of study and then at least one additonal rotation during the second year of study.
Teaching experience
Trainees will also participate as Instructors in Training in course being offered through the Department of Biostatistics or elsewhere. This will involve experience in presentation of lecture material and the running of tutorials as well as providing feedback to students. |
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