Biostatistics Clinics

All Biostatistics clinics are held via teleconference (Microsoft Teams).

Monday-Friday Noon-1:15pm

Biostatistics Clinics, a free service staffed by the Department of Biostatistics, are open to all members of the Vanderbilt and Meharry communities who have methodologic questions about their research projects or about published articles.

VICTR voucher application process

This section is for individuals seeking a VICTR voucher. Individuals not seeking a voucher may skip to the next section.

• The Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR)
• Guidelines for VICTR biostat support application

Investigators are required to attend a clinic prior to applying for a VICTR biostatistics voucher. Mentors are required to attend with all trainees (e.g. students, residents, postdoc fellows, etc). The clinic must have a VICTR biostatistician present. VICTR-supported biostatistician(s) will be present at Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday clinics (assignment shown below). During the clinic, the VICTR biostatistician will determine whether the project would be eligible for a VICTR voucher. After the clinic, the VICTR biostatistician will work with the investigator to develop the protocol for submission to VICTR. Whenever possible, same biostatistician will be assigned to work on the project if it is approved. We have designed this process to ensure consistent collaboration with the same biostatistician throughout the life cycle of the project, including during the scientific review process.

• Monday - Bryan Blette
• Wednesday - Dandan Liu
• Thursday - Frank Harrell

If a VICTR biostatistician is present at a VICTR studio or a formal work-in-progress meeting, that biostatistician may work directly with the investigator to develop the protocol for VICTR support and bypass the requirement to attend a clinic. In exceptional situations that preclude timely attendance at a Monday, Wednesday or Thursday clinic and a VICTR voucher is needed, a special request may be made for one-on-one consultation with a VICTR biostatistician. Exceptional circumstances will be considered on a case by case basis. Consideration may be given to situations where

• off-site clinical schedules preclude attendance
• the biostatistics clinic schedule is full for a number of weeks
• an investigator's documented clinical schedule spans the noon hour every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday

Topics and locations for each weekday

Day	Theme	Location
Monday	Health services research, diagnosis, and prognosis (Includes some comparative effectiveness research, observational research, and graphics)	Microsoft Teams
Tuesday	High-dimensional data (imaging, high-throughput assays) Exception: first Tuesday of each month will be HIV-themed	Microsoft Teams
Wednesday	Surgery, anesthesiology, and emergency and critical care medicine	Microsoft Teams
Thursday	Clinical and health research (other than topics covered on Wednesday)	Microsoft Teams
Friday	Basic and animal research (not omics) Exception: third Friday of each month will be HIV-themed	Microsoft Teams

* See below for resources on qualitative data.

Clinic Tips and FAQs

• During most clinics, notes are taken. Links to clinic notes can be found here.
• A maximum of two investigators can be served at each day's clinic. If there are two investigators signed up at the same day, the first half an hour (30 - 35 minutes) will be assigned to the investigator who signed up earlier, and the second half an hour (30 - 35 minutes) will be assigned to the investigator who signed up later.
• Mentors are required to attend with all trainees (e.g., students, residents, postdoc fellows); for anyone else working with a mentor or supervisor, based on past experience, we strongly encourage scheduling a clinic appointment on a day that all team members are able to attend. In the case of a multidisciplinary project, a faculty representative from each discipline is strongly encouraged to attend the clinic.
• Clinic begins at 12 noon and goes until 1:15pm. Please be on time, and email the clinic address as soon as possible if you will be late or need to cancel. Others may be on a wait list for your spot.
• As all department members are fully funded on other projects, this noon hour is the only time that we are able to assist investigators without a standing collaboration. (If you are interested in long-term statistical partnership, please ask your department leaders to consider a collaboration.)
• We are not able to carry out power calculations during clinic.
• We are not able to answer questions specific to software (e.g., "how do I run a linear regression in SPSS?"). Our department primarily uses R, and if arranged ahead of time can possibly provide some help with Stata. While we are always happy to answer general statistical questions, we cannot provide support for SAS- or SPSS-specific questions. We also have a monthly R Clinic.
• If your question is specific to REDCap, we recommend the REDCap clinics.
• For more information, see tips for making the most of Biostatistics Clinic.
• Email the clinic staff if you have any questions.

How to reserve a spot

• Make your reservation as early as possible, but no later than 72 hours before you would like to attend. (Our booking software will not allow reservations after this deadline.) Clinic reservations are confirmed only after an email reply from one of our statisticians.
• Consult the days and themes listed above to find the most appropriate clinic. We have different teams of statisticians covering each day's clinic.
• In your reservation, include your department/division, position, and a short paragraph about your project. If you are working with a mentor or supervisor (some examples: medical student, postdoctoral fellow, pharmacy resident), please also include in your reservation that your mentor/supervisor will be attending (see FAQs below).
• Screen share is available via Microsoft Teams for aiding the discussion. Please ensure that data contains no PHI.
• Click on the Book Now link to make your reservation.
• Please save the reservation confirmation email from YouCanBookMe; if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please click the links at the bottom of that email to do so.

Additional Tips

• Procedures for Preparing Datasets for Analysis and for Transmission to the Department of Biostatistics
• Data De-identification Checklist
• How to share data with a statistician

Clinic Calendar

Click here to see the clinic calendar

Teams Meeting Information for Department of Biostatistics Members

Meeting information for Clinics (Dept of Biostatistics Members only)

Clinic Leaders

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday Faculty Frank Harrell, Dandan Liu, Bryan Blette

Staff Yue Gao, Cassie Hennessy, Cass Johnson, Cara Lwin, Heather Prigmore, Jackson Resser, Ine Sohn

Tuesday, Friday Faculty Hakmook Kang, Tatsuki Koyama, Siyuan Ma, Bryan Shepherd, Chris Slaughter, Simon Vandekar, Yaomin Xu, Alex Zhao

Staff Aihua Bian, Paridhi Ranadive

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Quantitative vs Qualitative Data

If you have questions about collecting or analyzing qualitative data (as opposed to quantitative data), please contact the Qualitative Research Core.

Sponsored by

• Department of Biostatistics
• Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (CTSA)
• Tennessee Center for AIDS Research

Press

• Article about Biostatistics Clinics in the Reporter
• 2012 article in the Reporter

Other Links

• Notes for clinic faculty and staff
• Future ideas for improving clinics
• E-Mail List