Edited by Songthip Ounpraseuth, Section Publications Officer

The Biometrics Section is supporting a new initiative by Jane Monaco and Amy Herring of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, titled “Raising Interest in Biostatistics Careers Among Miami High-School Students.” The project will capitalize on the presence of many leading biostatisticians at the 2011 ENAR Spring Meeting, to take place in Miami, Florida, March 20–23, and the collaboration of the ENAR Fostering Diversity in Biostatistics Workshop.

JSM Session Chairs Needed
Want to get more involved with JSM, but aren’t planning to submit an abstract? How about volunteering to chair a session? Chairing a session is an important responsibility and a great way to meet people. If you are interested in chairing a session, contact Tianxi Cai, section JSM program chair, at tcai@hsph.harvard.edu.

One component of the project is the development of an online “base” presentation that explains the biostatistics field, including the educational expectations and job opportunities. Another component involves classroom visits by volunteer speakers to selected Miami AP statistics and mathematics classes during the ENAR meeting. These one-hour individual presentations will include basic information about the biostatistics field, examples of typical projects conducted by biostatisticians, and an application chosen by the presenter.

Classroom presenters include Constantine Gatsonis of Brown University, who will discuss the reliability and validity of forensic evidence; Sharon-Lise Norman of Harvard University, who will talk about the impact of micro-gravity on astronauts’ health in space; and Lance Waller of Emory University, who will discuss the environmental impact of two Florida beach construction projects on sea turtle nesting patterns. Additional presenters are being recruited via the ENAR preliminary program.

Linda Young of the University of Florida and Reneé Moore of the University of Pennsylvania will facilitate interactions with the Miami-area high schools, and Hormuzd Katki of the National Cancer Institute and Herring will coordinate the volunteer presenters.

The base presentation and short video clips of the individual one-hour presentations will be condensed into a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation and posted on the ENAR website.

For further information about the Biometrics Section Strategic Initiatives Program, contact Roslyn Stone, subcommittee chair, at Roslyn@pitt.edu.

2011 JSM Program

The Biometrics Section plans to sponsor the following two continuing education courses during JSM this year:

• Mixed Effects Models, presented by Charles McCulloch of the University of California, San Francisco
• Semiparametric Theory and Missing Data, presented by Butch Tsiatis of North Carolina State University