Biostatistics Shared Resource

The Biostatistics Shared Resource for Yale Cancer Center is a highly interactive team of cancer biostatisticians who work collaboratively with basic, clinical, translational and population science researchers to advance the frontiers of cancer medicine and public health. The team works in conjunction with the Yale Center for Analytical Sciences (YCAS) and provides for the biostatistical needs of the entire YCC.

The services encompass biostatistics support to YCC members on study designs, analysis, and grant and manuscript preparations. We aim to provide high-quality, cutting-edge and custom data analyses, as well as consultation and training/education for high throughput genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and other high-throughput data sets.

The best mechanism for engaging the The Biostatistics Shared Resource is through percent effort inclusion on grants. Absent this, there are limitations on the number of hours that can be dedicated to any individual project. The following guidelines will be used to prioritize and to ensure fair utilization by the entire research community at YCC.

• Array-based platforms, including genotyping arrays, gene expression arrays, copy number arrays, methylation arrays, and ChIP-on-chip arrays.
• Analysis of next-generation sequencing data, including:

1. DNA-sequencing analysis, such as single nucleotide variations, indels, copy number variations, translocations and inversions from whole-exome and whole-genome DNA sequencing (DNA-seq)
2. Gene expression, splice variants, gene-set, and pathway analysis from RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)
3. microRNA expression from microRNA sequencing (miRNA-seq)
4. DNA methylation and differential methylation identification from methylation sequencing (methyl-seq)
5. Transcription factor binding sites and chromatin modifications from ChIP sequencing (ChIP-seq)
6. RNA binding sites identification from CLIP sequencing (CLIP-seq)

• Proteomics data anyalsis
• Data annotation, visualization, and database integration
• User training in bioinformatics software and tools

Support of basic science (with priorities TBD) will include the following:

• Experimental Design
• Power calculations
• Development of randomization schemes
• Basic analysis (e.g.; chi-square, t-test, regression, ANOVA)
• Graph generation
• Statistical protocol development
• Office hours
• Analytic and research and design clinics (to workshop ideas)

The following represents the priorities identified by YCC leadership:

• Investigator initiated clinical research trials with translational component
• Investigator initiated clinical trials
• Prospective IRB-approved translational trials in a protocol setting
• Cooperative group multi-center trials
• Industry sponsored trials
• Retrospective studies (laboratory based or otherwise) with clinical correlations

The following represents the level of biostatistical support for population science:

• Study design, including sample size/power calculations and analytic plan
• Development of randomization schemes
• Analysis
• Grant and manuscript preparation

In addition to the support outlined above, support for data management for basic, clinical, translational and population science will be available on a fee for service basis.

Drop-in Consultation Service

Location: WWW 213

Biostatistics

Dr. Wei Wei

Fridays – 1pm-3pm

Bioinformatics

Thursday - Dr. Gang Peng 9am-12pm

Fridays – Dr. Yong Kong 3pm-5pm

You are welcome (and encouraged!) to bring your biostatistics questions for discussion. Our statisticians will try to discuss with you and answer questions on site, in which case, the service will be free to you. For complex questions that take more time, we will work on them afterwards. Dr. Wei Wei, an experienced statistician with special expertise in clinical trial design and analysis and general analytics, provides on-site biostatistics support. Drs. Yong Kong and Gang Pen, both with extensive experience in the analysis of genetic, genomic, proteomic, and epigenetic data, provide bioinformatics support.

For comments and suggestions on how to better support your studies, please do not hesitate to email Dr. Steven (Shuangge) Ma.