Edited by Zheyu Wang, Biometrics Section Publications Officer

The Biometrics Section held its annual business committee meeting at JSM 2017 in Baltimore. Following are the highlights:

• Sheng Luo was appointed chair-elect-elect (chair 2019)
• Dipankar Bandyopadhyay was appointed Council of Sections representative
• Seventy-one invited session proposals were submitted to ENAR, with 46 accepted. The section sponsored or co-sponsored 24 (more than half) of these sessions.
• The Biometrics Section sponsored four invited sessions selected from 20 proposals. In addition, the section sponsored 18 topic-contributed sessions.
• The Biometrics Section had seven of 11 continuing education courses accepted for JSM 2017 (compared to five in 2016 and two in 2015).
• As of June 1, the section had $31,269. At this time last year, the section had $35,192. Since JSM last year, the section sponsored one post-PhD training award ($3,000) and three strategic initiatives ($14,995). It also co-sponsored the JSM Diversity Mentoring Program ($1,000) and paid out $11,000 in student awards.
• The section received eight applications for strategic initiatives, and the following three recipients were selected:
  • Lillian Prince (Cuyahoga Falls)
  • Kristen McQuerry (University of Kentucky)
  • Stacia DeSantis (The University of Texas School of Public Health)
• The executive committee discussed the feasibility of success metrics for funded projects and pursing an Amstat News piece on this year’s awardees.
• The section received 59 submissions and selected nine travel award winners and one Byar Award winner. The executive committee discussed the possibility of switching to a double-blind review process as other ASA sections have. They will pursue the feasibility of this for 2018.
• The Biometrics website will transition to being hosted exclusively on the official ASA Community website.

Call for Proposals: Developing the Next Generation of Biostatisticians

The Biometrics Section invites applications for funding to support projects developing innovative outreach focused on enhancing awareness of biostatistics among quantitatively talented US students. Of particular interest are projects that will encourage students to pursue advanced training in biostatistics.

The section anticipates funding up to three projects this year, with total funding of $3,000–$5,000 per project. The project timelines would be 1.5–2 years. All investigators are encouraged to apply. Award recipients must be an ASA member and Biometrics Section member before project initiation.

A three-page application is due by December 11 and should be in the following format:

• Title, objectives, and specific aims
• Background, significance, and/or rationale
• Design and methods
• Deliverables/products
• Budget

Supplies, domestic travel (when necessary to carry out the project), professional expertise (e.g., instructional designer or webmaster), and cost of computer time are allowed expenditures. Secretarial/administrative personnel, tuition, foreign travel, and honoraria and travel expenses for visiting lecturers to the investigator’s home institution are not allowed.

A project period with a start date no earlier than January 1, 2018, and an end date no later than December 31, 2019, also should be specified.

Applications should be submitted electronically to the Strategic Initiatives Subcommittee chair, Page Moore. All investigators will be expected to submit a brief report to Moore at the conclusion of the project. Questions should be addressed to Moore or subcommittee co-chair, Tanya Garcia.

Graph of the Month

This month’s graph is contributed by section members David Shera and Christopher Tong.

If you have created or encountered an interesting data visualization that you would like to share with members of the Biometrics Section, email Zheyu Wang or Rebecca Hubbard.