What is the Biostatistics Scientific Collaboration Center (BSC)?

Welcome to the Biostatistics Scientific Collaboration Center (BSC). The BSC is based in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health.

Staffed with highly capable biostatisticians and qualitative experts, the BSC is a fee-for-service center.

We can join as you begin to plan your study by engaging in conversations about refining study design and aims with a biostatistics and data management lens.

If you are looking for team members who can contribute data management best practices, participate in study design, and conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis, then you have come to the right place.

Mission of the Drexel Dornsife BSC

The Biostatistics Scientific Collaboration Center (BSC) engages in team science to provide expertise in study design and conduct, data management, qualitative and statistical analysis, and translation of qualitative and statistical findings to inform content specific scientific inquiries.

We strive to help build research programs and stand in the gap for researchers, departments, centers, colleges, and teams who do not have sufficient biostatistics resources to contribute to all their research endeavors. Our goal is to facilitate research with strong scientific premise informed by sound statistical design and methodology, while fostering a spirit of inclusive interdisciplinary team science.

Range of Biostatistics Services

We bring our biostatistics and data management experience to:

• Perform power and sample size calculations based on preliminary data already summarized/analyzed.
• Use preliminary data to perform analyses to strengthen prior research and scientific rigor for the significance and approach sections of the grant.
• Provide you with best practices and guidance as you build and maintain your database, or you can leave it to us for all database needs.
• Develop study plans for meeting data security and management requirements set by the NIH and other regulatory agencies.
• Review grant applications and other proposals with emphasis on rigor and reproducibility.

Are you utilizing data already collected? No problem, the BSC can be the group that performs the quantitative analyses for your project.

Fill out an intake form

How Does the BSC Work?

Based on your project needs, the BSC assembles a team of biostatisticians, qualitative experts, and data collection specialists to join in collaboration with your study team.

The BSC is task-based, and together we create and implement a scope of work (SOW) for a set of clearly defined deliverables for each stage of the data management and analysis process.

Projects are priced by tier depending on the time, personnel needed, project complexity, and Drexel affiliation. Please see below for examples of BSC deliverables.

Examples of BSC Services

The BSC team can contribute to your project in the following ways, and more:

• Study Design: Power Analysis & Statistical Review of Grant Proposal
  • Quantitative/Qualitative Aims
  • Aims, Rigor & Reproducibility, Stat Methods Section
• Creation of Analytic Dataset
  • Data Cleaning
  • Merging Multiple Sources of Data
  • Creation of Derived Variables and Scoring Constructs
• Quantitative & Qualitative Analysis
• REDCap Database Development, Implementation, Maintenance
• Honest Broker (unblinded team for data management and analysis)
• Collaboration on Reports Required for Regulatory and Funding Agencies (e.g. DSMB, NIH)
• Collaboration on Manuscripts
• Response to Reviewers for Grants and Manuscripts
• Data Mining and Analysis of Large, Administrative, or Publicly Available Datasets (e.g. NHATS)

Schedule a Consultation With Our Biostatistics Team

Is BSC a good fit to join your team? Please help us learn more about your project and research by completing the BSC Intake form.

After you complete the form a member of our team will respond to your request within two business days to set up a time to meet.

Please also feel free to contact us via email at bsc@drexel.edu. We are excited about the possibility of collaborating with you!

BSC Personnel

• Reneé H. Moore, PhD, Director
• Kelly Courts, MPH, Data Collection Specialist
• Megan Smith, BS, Administrative Manager
• Daniel Vader, PhD, Statistician
• Jordan Wilson, MPH, Statistician & Qualitative Researcher
• Yasemin Algur, MPH, Statistician
• Georgeanne Bieg, MBA, Department Senior Business Manager

Research Interests of BSC Members

The research interests and expertise of BSC personnel include:

• Clinical trials
• Mixed-methods analysis
• Observational data analysis
• Hierarchical, nested, clustered data analysis
• Education and training (interactive hands-on learning)
• Health equity
• Big data
• Survival analysis
• DEI and trauma-informed principles
• Community participatory research
• Rigor and reproducibility
• Geospatial analysis
• Electronic health record (EHR) data
• Data management, security, and sharing
• Data collection tools (Qualtrics, REDCap)
• Longitudinal data analysis
• Missing data
• Qualitative analysis
• Measurement error
• Propensity score weighting
• Data mining
• Study design

How Do Students Join The BSC?

There are various ways that students can become involved in the BSC. BSC faculty and staff teach the following courses:

BST 567/867 Statistical Collaboration: This course introduces the fundamental aspects of statistical consulting and provides students with training on being an effective statistical consultant and collaborator.

BST 675/875 Statistical Collaboration Lab: Students learn the practical aspects of statistical collaboration through hands-on experiences that facilitate understanding of the roles and responsibilities of biostatisticians.

BST 698/898 Statistical Collaboration in Practice: For their master's project, MS in Biostatistics students can work in close collaboration with BSC investigators on an actual BSC project.

Additional opportunities include research assistantships, APEs, and data analysis projects. Also, BSC faculty and staff can serve as members of thesis and dissertation committees.

Acknowledgement

The BSC follows the guidelines for authorship set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. In many cases, support via the fee-for-service model qualifies BSC faculty and staff as authors. Otherwise, manuscripts or grants presenting work supported by the core should include the following statement: “This work was supported by the Biostatistics Collaboration Center at Drexel University."

Contact the BSC via email at bsc@drexel.edu if you have any questions.