Biostatistics and Data Management Core The rationale for forming the core is to provide a pool of shared expertise and resources that will enable projects to capitalize on the latest and most appropriate methods of design and analysis for each study, in a cost effective manner. The core will provide access to (a) faculty-level statisticians who have strong collaborative relationships with the project leaders, (b) centralized programming and data management support; (c) a computing infrastructure that maintains a comprehensive library of software and secure data transfer and storage; (d) core leaders with an extensive record of research and mentoring in informatics and biostatistics. The core will play a role in developing and implementing robust and re-usable oncology research databases, with ensuring secure data storage and data management as outlined within each project. Comprehensive data for each research project will come from multiple sources, including questionnaires based data, laboratory data, and clinical data collected within the AMRS. The Biostatistics and Data Management Core will be instrumental in integrating these various data sources help develop comprehensive study databases.

Proper study design, accurate and secure management and transmittal of data, and appropriate methods of methods of statistical analysis are necessary to ensure the validity and generalizability of results obtained from the studies being conducted by the Institute. The Biostatistics and Data Management Core provides a unified and cost-effective resource comprising personnel with relevant expertise in statistics and data management and access to computational hardware and software.