Statistics Resources

Resource Group Overview

The Statistics Resource Group (SRG) provides statistical assistance to researchers, trainees, faculty, and staff participating in HNRP-related research. Members of the group collaborate with investigators on study projects at all stages of the research process, including hypothesis-generation, grant-writing, sample size justifications, and development of data analysis plans. Statisticians not only analyze data with known methods but also develop, program, and implement novel statistical procedures. The SRG continues involvement in a study throughout the publication and presentation of findings and is dedicated to collaborative partnerships with and education of involved investigators, trainees, and staff.

Organization

The SRG currently consists of 3 biostatisticians. The group director Dr. Florin Vaida is a Professor in the Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics and the Graduate Program Director for Biostatistics at UCSD.  He has decades of experience in biomedical research, including the areas of HIV, NeuroAIDS, and neuropsychology. The other two members are Bin Tang, PhD, and Anya Umlauf, PhD. Members of the SRG have broad and deep theoretical and practical expertise on various analytical methods, including clinical trial design, analyses of longitudinal and clustered data, machine learning methods and algorithms, network analysis, data integration and harmonization. The SRG biostatisticians continuously attain new skills on emerging statistical methods by attending professional seminars and through self-learning.

Resources provided

The SRG provides extensive support in planning and executing research studies by offering consultations and assistance on research projects, ranging from just a quick response to a straightforward statistical question, to intensive, complicated statistical analyses and documentation of methods and results in manuscripts submitted for publication and conference presentations.  Types of services offered by the SRG include assistance with the following tasks:

• Design of experiments and observational studies
• Power analysis, sample size calculations
• Preparation of statistical analysis plans
• Writing-up grant proposals
• Execution of data analysis, including creative solutions for unexpected data patterns
• Development and implementation of innovative statistical methods 
• Interpretation of analysis results
• Co-writing manuscripts and abstracts for conference presentation
• Formatting tables and designing creative figures for manuscripts and abstracts
• Statistical programming using R, Python, and Plink
• Overseeing data quality and performing data cleaning for ongoing studies
• Submitting reports to data and safety monitoring boards (DSMBs) for ongoing clinical trials
• Basic and advanced statistical training

Trainees

The SRG offers basic and advanced study design, statistical, and software/programming training to HNRP-associated undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, fellows, researchers and staff. One-on-one consultations on various topics and methods are available by appointment. The group also offers formal training and presentations on select topics during regularly scheduled meetings or as separately organized seminars. Assistance and training can be provided for using JMP, R, SPSS, and other statistical software. In addition, the SRG may offer internships to undergraduate and graduate-level biostatistics students. Trainees are encouraged to contact a statistician in the design stages of their studies.

Cross-project Issues

The SRG holds weekly meetings to discuss new and ongoing projects. These meetings are used to prioritize tasks and link specific statisticians to studies based on experience, area of interest, workload, and deadlines.  Statisticians are often in attendance at meetings of various projects and workgroups to offer timely assistance with questions and new issues that may arise.

Contact the Statistics Resource Group

For general information on assistance and resources provided by the Statistics Resource Group or to request services or a consult, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..