The Biometrics Section is partnering with the Eastern North American Region (ENAR) of the International Biometric Society to fund three or four applications for projects that raise awareness of the biostatistics profession among high-school and college students. Of particular interest are projects encouraging students to pursue advanced training in biostatistics. Each grant can be up to $3,000.
Funds may be used to supplement ongoing efforts or to create new projects. In a recent case, a grant provided seed money for a subsequent, successful National Institutes of Health grant application. Other projects funded in the past include the following:
- Promoting Biostatistics: Developing Materials for Linking Statistics and Biology Classes
- Developing a Web Site to House Outreach Materials for AP Statistics Students and Their Teachers: Case Studies in Collaborative Research
- A Biostatistics Apprenticeship Outreach Program for Urban Magnet High-School Students
- A Synergistic Effort to Recruit Future Biostatisticians in Arkansas High Schools
- Developing Outreach Materials for AP Statistics Students and Their Teachers: Case Studies in Collaborative Research
A three-page application is due January 31 and should be in the following format: title; objectives and specific aim; background, significance, and rationale; design and methods; and budget. A project period with start date no earlier than March 1, 2010, and ending no later than March 1, 2011, should be specified.
Permitted expenditures include supplies, domestic travel when necessary to carry out the project, and cost of computer time. Nonallowable expenditures include secretarial/administrative personnel, tuition, foreign travel, and honoraria and travel expenses for visiting lecturers to the investigator’s home institution.
Applications should be submitted electronically to Bonnie LaFleur, Strategic Initiatives Subcommittee chair, at blafleur@email.arizona.edu. All investigators will be expected to submit a brief report at the conclusion of the project. For more information, contact LaFleur.
Time to Submit Abstracts for JSM 2010
Abstract submission opened December 1 for contributed and topic-contributed papers. All abstracts are due February 1.
As an alternative to contributed sessions, topic-contributed sessions are organized around a central topic and include 20-minute talks and possible discussants. Typically, sessions consist of five speakers (e.g., four speakers and one discussant or three speakers and two discussants). The 2010 JSM Biometrics Section program chair, Hormuzd Katki, is collecting proposals for topic-contributed talks. If you are interested in organizing a topic-contributed session, contact him at katkih@mail.nih.gov.
Topic-contributed panel sessions are another alternative. They usually include three to six panelists who work together to submit one abstract for all speakers. Click here for more information.
The Biometrics Section will sponsor the following invited sessions during the 2010 Joint Statistical Meetings in Vancouver, British Columbia:
- Statistical Evaluation of Markers Used to Select Treatment
Organizer: Margaret Pepe of the University of Washington - Study Design and Statistical Analysis Challenges in Women’s Health Studies
Organizer: Marcia Ciol of the University of Washington - Evaluation of Risk Prediction
Organizer: Shulamith Gross of Baruch College - Getting More from Genome-Wide Association Studies
Organizer: Mitchell Gail of the National Cancer Institute
Nominations Sought
Do you know a young investigator who is planning to submit an abstract for the 2010 Joint Statistical Meetings? If so, you might mention that the Biometrics Section is seeking applications for the 2010 David P. Byar Young Investigator Award. This annual award is given to a young investigator for best emerging work to be presented during JSM. The award commemorates the late David Byar, a biostatistician who made significant contributions to the development and application of statistical methods and was esteemed as an exceptional mentor during his career at the National Cancer Institute. The winner will receive a $1,500 award. Additionally, the section may provide travel awards to the authors of other outstanding papers submitted to the competition.
Applicants must have held a doctorate in statistics, biostatistics, or a related quantitative field for three or fewer years as of April 1 of the current year or be enrolled as a doctoral student in statistics or biostatistics and in active pursuit of a doctoral degree. They also must be current members of the section and first author of the paper submitted. (Membership in the ASA does not automatically confer section membership. Applicants may join at the time of submission for a $5 annual membership fee.) The paper may be submitted to a journal or under review, but may not have appeared online or in print at the time of the application or have been accepted for publication as of January 1. Also, the paper may not have been submitted to any other ASA section student/young investigator award competition. Finally, applicants must be scheduled to present the submitted paper at JSM 2010 as a talk or poster presentation.
Applicants must submit their JSM abstracts to the Biometrics Section in addition to submitting them to the ASA by February 10. They also must contact Katki at katkih@mail.nih.gov prior to the abstract deadline. The section will organize a series of topic-contributed sessions to highlight the submitted papers.
By March 1, applicants should complete their application by submitting a cover letter certifying that they meet the eligibility requirements and are not submitting the paper to another ASA section student/young investigator award competition, a current CV, and one copy of the finished paper. All materials must be submitted electronically to Dan Heitjan, section chair, at dheitjan@upenn.edu.
The 2010 awards committee is composed of the current and past section chairs and chair-elect, as well as three individuals appointed by the section chairs. More information can be found on the section web page.
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