Education News
In 2021, the Department of Biostatistics launched an exciting new track for our MS in Biostatistics program: the Public Health Data Science track. This new track shares with existing MS tracks the necessary core training in biostatistical theory, methods, and applications, but it also includes a distinct emphasis on modern approaches to statistical learning, the production of reproducible and transparent code, and principles of data management. Min Qian is serving as the inaugural director of the track. In its first year, we already have 42 students matriculated!
Also newly announced this year, we have made some updates to the Department’s MPH certificate program. The certificate has been renamed to reflect this: The Advanced Certificate in Applied Biostatistics has become the Advanced Certificate in Applied Biostatistics and Public Health Data Science. Christine Mauro, who has worked tirelessly for several years to bring about these two important changes, has been named the certificate lead.
The Department also recognizes with appreciation Jeff Goldsmith, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, and Justine Herrera, director of graduate programs, for their support of these efforts.
Department chair Kiros Berhane has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health as part of its Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa program, expanding departmental activities in data science for health education to the global level. This award (also involving Jeff Goldsmith, Linda Valeri, and Qixuan Chen from the department and many others from across the Columbia Mailman School) will be carried out in collaboration with Columbia University’s Data Science Institute and Department of Statistics and will create new training programs in health data science in eastern Africa.
Further reflecting the department’s recent increased emphasis on data science, the newest member of our faculty, Daniel Malinsky, has had a new course proposal approved. The course, Graphical Models for Complex Health Data, emphasizes applications of graph-based methods in areas relevant to health: genetics, neuroscience, epidemiology, image analysis, clinical support systems, and more. He is teaching the course for the first time in fall 2021.
New in 2020, Jeff Goldsmith has been named director of the Department’s PhD program, succeeding Ian McKeague in that capacity. Qixuan Chen has replaced Ying Wei, taking on the role of director of the Theory and Methods MS track, which continues to be our most popular MS track.
Looking back on the year 2020, we can see that the education programs in the Department of Biostatistics—instructors, students, and staff members alike—have held up well to the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our courses now are predominately in person as before the pandemic, but along the way we have learned some valuable lessons about both the opportunities and the limitations inherent in online learning. We will continue to strive to innovate and improve so as to provide the best possible training for all our students.
By Todd Ogden, PhD, Professor of Biostatistics