BIOSTATISTICS AND BIOINFORMATICS CORE

Aims:

• To provide informatics and statistical services to Shock Center faculty and graduate students for research projects on aging supported by the Center. Statistical services range from initial study design to final management and analysis of data.

Introduction:

The Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core (BBC) is located in the Departments of Biostatistics and Computer Science. The Department of Biostatistics has a long history of involvement in aging research at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). The Department has experienced faculty and programmers to assist investigators within the Shock Center, and to help provide a linkage with other foci of aging research within the URMC. With the explosion of genetic information and especially the recent development of microarray systems has come the need to link, manage and explore large amounts of data generated by individual studies as well as combined from multiple studies. The bioinformatics needs of Shock Center investigators will also be met by the BBC through the Department of Computer Science.

Facilities and Services:

The Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core (BBC) provides support for the design, conduct and analysis of laboratory experiments in the biology of aging. The Department of Biostatistics has faculty and staff with expertise in statistics, data mangement, computing and protocol management. The BBC also develops databases for the tracking and management of individual research projects within the Shock Center, including a local area network linking the Research Core facilities. For projects using the Microarray Analysis Core (MAC), support is provided in the use of software specifically designed for the exploration of the resulting multivariate data sets. Methodology is developed to further facilitate the exploratory analysis of this kind of data. Activities and resources provided by the core include:

• System and operational management of the Shock Cetner computer network.
• Development of a master database for the individual projects, including creation of appropriate files for data analysis.
• Limited consultation with Shock Center investigators on statistical and computing componenets of research projects.
• Participation in the conduct of the study: Examples include regular update reports and interim statistical analyses. Participation at regular meetings will allow modification of planned protocol and development of new protocols to make maximal use of experimental findings.
• Analysis of complted studies. Examples include statistical analysis and developing graphical displays for publication.