Biostatistics Clinics

Monday-Friday Noon-1:15pm

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

How to reserve a spot

• Make your reservation as early as possible, but no later than 12 noon the weekday before you would like to attend. Clinic reservations are confirmed only after an email reply from one of our statisticians.
• Consult the days and themes listed below 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.
• We have a projector available if you would like to bring a laptop; Please ensure that data contains no PHI.
• Click on the book now button to make your reservation.

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)	11105 2525 West End
Tuesday	High-dimensional data (imaging, high-throughput assays) New: first Tuesday of each month will be HIV-themed at room 11105 2525 West End	D2221 MCN (11105 2525 WE on first Tuesday of each month)
Wednesday	Surgery, anesthesiology, and emergency and critical care medicine	D2221 MCN
Thursday	Clinical and health research (other than topics covered on Wednesday)	11105 2525 West End
Friday	Basic and animal research (not omics) New: third Friday of each month will be HIV-themed at room D2221 MCN	D2221 MCN

Clinic Tips and FAQs

• A maximum of two investigators can be served at each day's clinic.
• Mentors are required to attend with students and postdoctoral fellows; for anyone else working with a mentor or supervisor, based on past experience, we strongly encourage all team members to attend.
• 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.
• Clinics held at Medical Center North (see locations above) will not be held if no investigators are signed up. Clinics held at 2525 West End will be held as open question time even if no investigators have signed up.
• We are not able to answer questions specific to software (eg, "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.
• For more information, see tips for making the most of Biostatistics Clinic.
• Email the clinic staff if you have any questions.

Preparing and uploading data for clinic

Advice

• For researchers: Tips for attending Biostatistics Clinic
• 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

If you have a relatively simple dataset to be analyzed and the analysis can be concluded during the clinic, you can send your data at least two days in advance to biostat-clinic@list.vanderbilt.edu and state which clinic date you would like to attend. Preferred formats are R save files, SPSS save files, Stata data files, and comma separated files ( csv files) exported from a spreadsheet or other software, with variable names in the first record. All subject identifiers must be removed from files before sending them to us (please see the Data De-identification Checklist). Click here for information about readying data for analysis.

To upload de-identified data files to the computer in the Dept. of Biostatistics main conference room at 2525 West End Avenue for the Thursday clinic, click here .

To upload de-identified data files to the computer in the Dept. of Biostatistics conference room at D2221 Medical Center North, click here .

Note: These upload tools are accessible only from Vanderbilt IP addresses. One must be on campus or connected via VPN to upload files. See http://it.vanderbilt.edu/security/secure-communications/remote-access/ for more information about Vanderbilt's VPN services.

If you have any trouble uploading to the conference room computers please let us know by sending an email to biostat-it@list.vanderbilt.edu. Try to include as much detail (error messages, screen shots, etc.) as you can.

Clinic personnel: Uploaded data files may be found in the 2525 conference room computer and in the D2221 MCN computer in the clinicuploads directory.

Article about Biostatistics Clinics in the Reporter

2012 article in the Reporter

Sponsored by

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

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VICTR information

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

Other Links

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

Clinic Leaders

• Monday – Laurie Samuels, Shi Huang
• Tuesday – Run Fan, Hakmook Kang, Yaomin Xu
• Wednesday – Jennifer Thompson, Cathy Jenkins, Jacquelyn Pennings
• Thursday – Amy Perkins, Jennifer Morse
• Friday – Dan Ayers, Alex Zhao, Tatsuki Koyama, Chris Slaughter; Bryan Shephard