Graduate Calendar Archives: 2003 / 2004

Ottawa-Carleton Collaborative Program in Biostatistics

Herzberg Physics 4314
Telephone: (613) 520-2152
Fax: (613) 520-3536
E-mail: mathstat@carleton.ca

The Specialization

Coordinator, Mathematics and Statistics (Carleton University), S. Melkonian

Coordinator, Mathematics and Statistics (University of Ottawa), P. J. Scott

Coordinator, Epidemiology (University of Ottawa), R. C. Nair

Biostatistics is an interdisciplinary area of research linking statistics, biology and medicine. This growing area demands knowledge of the theory behind statistical procedures, an ability to put that theory into practice, and an understanding of the areas of application. The applications range from clinical trials to population epidemiology and the development of new procedures.

The Specialization in Biostatistics is intended to prepare a student for a career as a biostatistician in health-related industry, or for a doctoral program in biostatistics. This program takes advantage of several resources particular to the Ottawa area. The Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Mathematics and Statistics offers a strong program in statistics. The Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa offers a broad range of courses in epidemiology. In addition, there are several research institutes and teaching hospitals in the Ottawa area. These resources provide students with opportunities to develop analytic skills, to interact with practitioners and to work on current research projects in a variety of areas.

The program is administered by a committee of representatives from the primary departments which include: the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa, the School of Mathematics and Statistics at Carleton University, and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Ottawa.

Members of the Specialization

The home department of each member is indicated by (C) for the School of Mathematics and Statistics, Carleton University; (UO) for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Ottawa; (EPI) the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa.

• Mayer Alvo, Nonparametric statistics, sequential analysis (UO)
• N.J. Birkett, Dynamical systems in medicine (EPI)
• Amitava Bose, Stochastic modeling, probability theory (C)
• Miklós Csörgó, Probability and statistics (C)
• A.R. Dabrowski, Invariance principles, weakly dependent variables (UO)
• D.A. Dawson, Stochastic processes and probability theory (C)
• Patrick Farrell, Sampling, discrete data, applied statistics (C)
• Roger Herz-Fischler, History and sociology of mathematics (C)
• G.B. Ivanoff, Probability, point processes, martingales (UO)
• Daniel Krewski, Applied statistics in medicine (C)
• D.R. McDonald, Applied probability (UO)
• S.E. Mills, Applied statistics, statistical methods, inference (C)
• M. Mojirsheibani, Resampling, classification and pattern recognition (C)
• R.C. Nair, Effects of blood and plasma transfusion on certain groups (EPI)
• Chul Gyu Park, Statistics (C)
• J.N.K. Rao, Sample surveys theory and methods (C)
• A.K.Md.E. Saleh, Order statistics, mathematical statistics (C)
• Matias Salibian-Barrera, Robust inference, resampling methods (C)
• Avi Singh, Longitudinal time series and methods for their analysis; categorical-data time series (C - Adjunct)
• R.A. Spasoff, Analysis of clinical trials (EPI)
• Barbara Szyszkowicz, Statistics (C)
• G.A. Wells, Clinical trial design and analysis (EPI)
• Yiqiang Zhao, Applied probability (C)

Master of Science

Admission Requirements

The Specialization is open to suitable candidates enrolled in a master's program in any of the participating departments. There are two streams to the Specialization.

Students requesting admission through the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine will normally have an Honours B.Sc. with high honours standing (or the equivalent) in health sciences or biology, and strong analytic skills. Students admitted through the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine follow a program with an emphasis on population or clinical epidemiology.

Students requesting admission through the Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, either through the University of Ottawa or Carleton University, will normally have an Honours B.Sc. with high honours standing (or the equivalent) in statistics and experience in the analysis of data. Students in this stream follow a program with an emphasis in clinical trial design or epidemiologic methodology.

Students should normally apply for acceptance in the Specialization in Biostatistics at the same time as they apply for admission into the master's program in Mathematics or Epidemiology. If accepted into the regular program, the student will then be considered by the program coordinators for admission into the Specialization. Students intending to apply for admission to the Specialization should normally contact prospective thesis supervisors before submitting the application and establish a thesis supervisor and research topic.

Program Requirements

In addition to fulfilling the requirements for the master's program of the department in which they are enrolled, all students in the Specialization in Biostatistics must complete one of the two following optional program patterns:

Master's degree by thesis:

• 3.5 credits
• A compulsory 0.5 credit seminar, STAT 5902 (MAT 5992)
• A thesis equivalent to 1.0 credits

Students in the M.Sc. Mathematics program will normally include EPI 5240, EPI 5241, EPI 6178, EPI 6278, MAT 5190 (STAT 5600), MAT 5191 (STAT 5501) and another course from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the graduate level.

Students in the M.Sc. Epidemiology program will normally include EPI 5240, EPI 5241, EPI 5330, EPI 6276, plus two approved courses at the graduate level in Mathematics and Statistics, among their courses.

Master's degree by course work:

• 4.5 credits
• A compulsory 0.5 credit seminar, STAT 5902 (MAT 5992)

Students in the M.Sc. Mathematics program will normally include EPI 5240, EPI 5241, EPI 6178, EPI 6278, MAT 5190 (STAT 5600), MAT 5191 (STAT 5501) and another course from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the graduate level. The degree awarded will in each case specify the discipline of the participating unit with Specialization in Biostatistics.

Most of the program requirements must be fulfilled in English. Students may write papers, submit theses and write examinations in both English and French.

Thesis

The thesis may contain new research in the area of mathematics and statistics or provide a review of the literature in one area. The thesis normally will be on statistics applied to health or biology; for example, the development of a new statistical procedure, the design of a new experiment or the analysis of data. The thesis should extend beyond the routine analysis of data. The supervisor and other members of the examination board may be drawn from faculty members in either epidemiology or mathematics and statistics or in other related departments.

Graduate Courses

Not all of the following courses are offered in a given year. For an up-to-date statement of course offerings for 2003-2004 and to determine the term of offering, consult the Registration Instructions and Class Schedule booklet, published in the summer and also available online at www.carleton.ca/cu/programs/sched_dates/

Course Designation System

Carleton's course designation system has been restructured. The first entry of each course description below is the new alphanumeric Carleton course code, followed by its credit value in brackets. The old Carleton course number (in parentheses) is included for reference, where applicable.

University of Ottawa course numbers (in parentheses, three letters followed by four numbers) follow the current Carleton course number and credit information.

STAT 5902 [0.5 credit] (formerly 70.592) (MAT 5992)

Seminar in Biostatistics

Students work in teams on the analysis of experimental data or experimental plans. The participation of experimenters in these teams is encouraged. Student teams present their results in the seminar, and prepare a brief written report on their work.

Mathematics and Statistics (see Mathematics and Statistics for course descriptions)

STAT 5600 (MAT 5190)

STAT 5501 (MAT 5191)

STAT 5902 (MAT 5992)

MATH 5909 (MAT 7999)

Epidemiology

EPI 5240 Epidemiology I

EPI 5241 Epidemiology II

EPI 6178 Clinical Trials

EPI 6278 Advanced Clinical Trials

EPI 5330 Vital and Health Statistics

EPI 6276 Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology

EPI 7999 M.Sc. Thesis