Microsoft Teams • Monday–Friday, noon–1:15 p.m. Central Time
Since 2005, the Department of Biostatistics has offered free consulting to Vanderbilt and Meharry investigators who have methodological questions about their research projects or published articles. These sessions are the only time that department members are able to assist researchers without a standing collaboration. (If you are interested in a long-term statistical partnership, please ask your department leaders to consider a collaboration.)
The clinics are open to all members of the Vanderbilt and Meharry communities who have methodological questions about their research projects or about published articles.
If you are seeking a VICTR voucher, please learn about the voucher application process before proceeding further.
Schedule and themes
All clinics are conducted via teleconference, on Microsoft Teams.
During most clinics, notes are taken. We will post links to current and archived notes in this table when they are ready.
Investigators wishing to apply for a VICTR voucher must sign up for a Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday clinic.
| Day | Theme | Leaders | Notes (TK) |
Monday | Health services research, diagnosis, and prognosis, including:
Sponsored by VICTR | VICTR faculty: Bryan Blette VICTR staff biostatisticians: Yue Gao, Heather Prigmore, Ine Sohn | |
Tuesday | Most Tuesdays: High-dimensional data (imaging, high-throughput assays) Sponsored by the Department of Biostatistics First Tuesday of each month: HIV Sponsored by TN-CFAR | Faculty:
| |
Wednesday |
Surgery, anesthesiology, and emergency and critical care medicine Sponsored by VICTR | VICTR faculty: Dandan Liu VICTR staff biostatisticians: Cassie Hennessy, Cara Lwin | |
Thursday |
Clinical and health research (other than topics covered on Wednesday) Sponsored by VICTR | VICTR faculty: Frank Harrell VICTR staff biostatisticians: Cass Johnson, Jackson Resser | |
Friday | Most Fridays: Basic and animal research (except omics) Sponsored by the Department of Biostatistics Third Friday of each month: HIV Sponsored by TN-CFAR | Faculty:
|
View the clinic calendar.
Clinic tips and FAQs
- A maximum of two investigators can be served at each day's clinic. If there are two investigators signed up at the same day, the first half an hour (30 - 35 minutes) will be assigned to the investigator who signed up earlier, and the second half an hour (30 - 35 minutes) will be assigned to the investigator who signed up later.
- Mentors are required to attend with all trainees (e.g., students, residents, postdoc fellows); for anyone else working with a mentor or supervisor, based on past experience, we strongly encourage scheduling a clinic appointment on a day that all team members are able to attend. In the case of a multidisciplinary project, a faculty representative from each discipline is strongly encouraged to attend the clinic.
- Clinic begins at 12 noon and goes until 1:15 p.m. Please be on time, and email the clinic as soon as possible if you will be late or need to cancel. Others may be on a wait list for your spot.
- As all department members are fully funded on other projects, this noon hour is the only time that we are able to assist investigators without a standing collaboration. (If you are interested in long-term statistical partnership, please ask your department leaders to consider a collaboration.)
- We are not able to carry out power calculations during clinic.
- We are not able to answer questions specific to software (e.g., "how do I run a linear regression in SPSS?"). Our department primarily uses R, and if arranged ahead of time can possibly provide some help with Stata. While we are always happy to answer general statistical questions, we cannot provide support for SAS- or SPSS-specific questions.
- Tips for preparing for Biostatistics Clinics.
- If you have questions about collecting or analyzing qualitative data (as opposed to quantitative data), contact the Qualitative Research Core.
How to reserve a spot
- Make your reservation as early as possible, but no later than 72 hours before you would like to attend. (Our booking software will not allow reservations after this deadline.) Your clinic reservation is not confirmed until you've received an email reply from one of our statisticians.
- Consult the days and themes listed above to find the most appropriate clinic. We have different teams of statisticians covering each day's clinic.
- In your reservation, include your department/division, position, and a short paragraph about your project. If you are working with a mentor or supervisor (some examples: medical student, postdoctoral fellow, pharmacy resident), please also include in your reservation that your mentor/supervisor will be attending (as stipulated above)
- Screen share is available via Microsoft Teams for aiding the discussion. Please ensure that your data contains no PHI.
- Click this YouCanBookMe link to make your reservation.
Please save the reservation confirmation email from YouCanBookMe; if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, click the relevant link at the bottom of that email to do so.
Sponsors
Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research
Tennessee Center for AIDS Research
Details subject to change without notice. Questions? Contact biostat-clinic[at]list.vumc.org