Why Include a Biostatistician or a Bioinformatician?

Including a faculty member from the Department of Biostatistics in a proposal can significantly enhance its quality. Some benefits include:

• Increased Likelihood of Funding: Including a biostatistician demonstrates to grant reviewers that you have considered the importance of study design and statistical rigor in your research. This can enhance the credibility of your proposal and increase the likelihood of funding.
• Methodological Rigor: Ensure your study design is robust so that it minimizes bias and that results are reliable.
• Data Management: With the increasing complexity and volume of biological and clinical data, bioinformaticians play a crucial role in managing and analyzing large datasets. They possess the skills to handle various types of biological data, such as genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, using specialized software and computational tools.
• Statistical Power: Conduct power analyses to determine an appropriate sample size for your study.
• Data Analysis: Develop and carry out a statistical plan that is appropriate for your research aims.
• Interpreting and Reporting: Assist in interpreting the results of your study and present them in a clear, accurate, and meaningful way.
• Compliance and Ethical Considerations: Help ensure your study adheres to relevant guidelines and standards.
• Collaboration:  Collaborating with biostatisticians and bioinformaticians fosters interdisciplinary research that can tackle complex research questions more effectively.
• Innovation: Your project may require the development of novel statistical methodology. This may lead to a co-authorship on a statistical methods paper or Co-I role on a statistical methodology-focused grant.

Including a biostatistician and/or bioinformatician strengthens every aspect of a grant proposal, from study design to data analysis and interpretation, ultimately improving the quality and impact of your research.