Biostatistics
The Biostatistics Unit at Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) is involved in a wide variety of research activities:
- Statistical coordination of the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium
- Participation in the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) for colorectal cancer
- Statistical leadership in drug and vaccine safety surveillance methodology for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Vaccine Safety Datalink project and Food and Drug Administration’s Sentinel Initiative
- Statistical support for many other studies
The unit's primary goals are to develop, improve, and apply statistical methodology to facilitate high-quality health care research and benefit public health. Institute biostatisticians specialize in a variety of methodologic research areas:
- Bayesian methodology (including meta-analytic models, hierarchical/multilevel modeling, and nonparametric methods)
- Diagnostic and screening test accuracy
- Latent class analysis
- Longitudinal data analysis
- Microsimulation modeling
- Methods for estimating and describing inter-rater agreement
- Sequential testing
- Survival analysis
GHRI Biostatistics Unit members collaborate with GHRI investigators as well as researchers at the University of Washington (UW), the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC), Veterans Affairs (VA), and other HMO Research Network sites to address questions such as:
- What is the impact of screening on trends in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality?
- What factors affect the accuracy of radiologists' assessments of mammograms?
- How can we better design studies to assess influenza vaccine effectiveness in the elderly?
- How do various diabetes medications affect patients’ risk of acute myocardial infarction?
- Can individuals with bipolar disorder accurately recall symptoms of mania and depression?
“Being a statistician at Group Health is especially rewarding,” says GHRI Senior Investigator Carolyn M. Rutter, PhD, “because our findings can be quickly integrated into patient care.”
GHRI researchers in biostatistics
Recent publications on biostatistics
2010
Grow HM, Cook AJ, Arterburn DE, Saelens BE, Drewnowski A, Lozano P. Child obesity associated with social disadvantage of children's neighborhoods. Soc Sci Med. 2010 Aug;71(3):584-91. Epub 2010 May 12. PubMed
Ichikawa LE, Barlow WE, Anderson ML, Taplin SH, Geller BM, Brenner RJ. Time trends in radiologists' interpretive performance at screening mammography from the community-based Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, 1996-2004. Radiology. 2010 Jul;256(1):74-82. Epub 2010 May 26. PubMed
Morris DE, Pepe MS, Barlow WE. Contrasting two frameworks for ROC analysis of ordinal ratings. Med Decis Making. 2010 Jul-Aug;30(4):484-98. Epub 2010 Feb 10. PubMed
Phipps AI, Ichikawa L, Bowles EJ, Carney PA, Kerlikowske K, Miglioretti DL, Buist DS. Defining menopausal status in epidemiologic studies: a comparison of multiple approaches and their effects on breast cancer rates. Maturitas. 2010 May 20. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
2009
Jackson ML, Nelson JC, Jackson LA. Risk factors for community-acquired pneumonia in immunocompetent seniors. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009;57(5):882-8. Epub 2009 Apr 21. PubMed
Miglioretti DL, Haneuse SJ, Anderson ML. Statistical approaches for modeling radiologists' interpretive performance. Acad Radiol. 2009;16(2):227-38. PubMed
Nelson JC, Bittner RC, Bounds L, Zhao S, Baggs J, Donahue JG, Hambidge SJ, Jacobsen SJ, Klein NP, Naleway AL, Zangwill KM, Jackson LA. Compliance with multiple-dose vaccine schedules among older children, adolescents, and adults: results from a Vaccine Safety Datalink study. Am J Public Health. 2009;99 Suppl 2:S389-97. PubMed
2008
Jackson ML, Nelson JC, Weiss NS, Neuzil KM, Barlow W, Jackson LA. Influenza vaccination and risk of community-acquired pneumonia in immunocompetent elderly people: a population-based, nested case-control study. Lancet. 2008;372(9636):398-405. PubMed
Haneuse SJ, Rudser KD, Gillen DL. The separation of timescales in Bayesian survival modeling of the time-varying effect of a time-dependent exposure. Biostatistics. 2008;9(3):400-10. Epub 2007 Nov 19. PubMed
2007
Miglioretti DL, Smith-Bindman R, Abraham L, Brenner RJ, Carney PA, Bowles EJ, Buist DS, Elmore JG. Radiologist characteristics associated with interpretive performance of diagnostic mammography. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007;99(24):1854-63. Epub 2007 Dec 11. PubMed Â
Our major research interests
- Aging & geriatrics
- Alternative approaches to healing
- Behavior change
- Biostatistics
- Cancer control
- Cardiovascular health
- Child & adolescent health
- Chronic illness management
- Health informatics
- Health services & economics
- Immunization & infectious disease
- Medication use & patient safety
- Mental health
- Obesity
- Preventive medicine
- Women's health