Ottawa-Carleton Collaborative Program in Biostatistics


Herzberg Physics 4314
Telephone: 520-2152
Fax: 520-3536
E-mail: brichter@math.carleton.ca

The Specialization

Coordinator, Mathematics and Statistics (Carleton University):
R.B. Richter

Coordinator, Mathematics and Statistics (University of Ottawa)
A.R. Dabrowski

Coordinator, Epidemiology (University of Ottawa):
Sankaranarayanan Raman

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 Department 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 Department 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 Modelling, 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)
J.E. Graham, Sampling Theory, Multivariate Analysis (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)
I.W. McDowell, Health and Aging (EPI)
S.E. Mills, Applied Statistics, Statistical Methods, Inference (C)
R.C. Nair, Effects of Blood and Plasma Transfusion on Certain Groups (EPI)
Sankaranarayanan Raman, Cancer Tumour Treatment, Analysis and Meta-analysis of Data from Clinical Trials (EPI)
J.N.K. Rao, Sample Surveys Theory and Methods (C)
A.K.Md.E. Saleh, Order Statistics, Mathematical Statistics (C)
Iona  Schiopu-Kratina, Probability Theory, Stochastic Processes (UO)
Avi  Singh,*Longitudinal Time Series and Methods for their Analysis; Categorical-data Time Series (C)
R.A. Spasoff, Analysis of Clinical Trials (EPI)
Barbara Szyszkowicz, Statistics (C)
G.A. Wells, Clinical Trial Design and Analysis    (EPI)

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:

Students in the M.Sc. Mathematics  program will normally include EPI 5240, EPI5241, EPI6178, EPI6278, MAT5190(70.560), MAT5191(70.551) and another course from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the graduate level.

Students in the M.Sc. Epidemiology program will normally include EPI5240, EPI5241, EPI5330, EPI6276, plus two approved courses at the graduate level in Mathematics and Statistics, among their courses.

Master’s degree by course work:

Students in the M.Sc. Mathematics program will normally include EPI5240, EPI5241, EPI6178, EPI6278, MAT5190(70.560), MAT5191(70.551) 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 fulfiled 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 will normally 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 examination board may be drawn from faculty members in either epidemiology or mathematics and statistics or in other related departments.

Graduate Courses

  • Mathematics 70.592 (MAT5992) 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

    70.560(MAT5190) Mathematical Statistics I

    70.551(MAT5191) Mathematical Statistics II

    70.592(MAT5992) Seminar in Biostatistics

    70.599(MAT7999) M.Sc. Thesis

    Epidemiology

    EPI5240 Epidemiology I

    EPI5241 Epidemiology II

    EPI6178 Clinical Trials

    EPI6278 Advanced Clinical Trials

    EPI5330 Vital and Health Statistics

    EPI6276 Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology

    EPI7999 M.Sc. Thesis