TPTS Course Descriptions

Biomathematics 170A. Introductory Biomathematics for Medical Investigators. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Intensive elementary statistics course emphasizing design and applications to observational studies and experiments/clinical trials. Statistical topics include study design, descriptive statistics, elementary probability and distributions, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing, sample size and power, linear regression and correlation, analysis of variance, nonparametric statistics. Applications to biomedical literature and design of clinical trials. Letter grading.

Biomathematics 259. Controversies in Clinical Trials. (2) Lecture, one hour; discussion, one hour. Preparation: completion of professional health sciences or M.D. degree. Required of all MS in Clinical Research students. Discussion and analysis of eight published and well-known trials with students, one invited clinical faculty member, and course director. Development of critical ability to evaluate trial design and pitfalls. S/U or letter grading.

Biomathematics M260A-M260B. Methodology in Clinical Research I, II. (4-4) Lecture, four hours. Recommended preparation: M.D., PhD, or dental degree. Requisites: courses 170A, 265A. Course M260A is requisite to M260B. Presentation of principles and practices of major disciplines underlying clinical research methodology, such as biostatistics, epidemiology, pharmacokinetics. S/U or letter grading.

Biomathematics M260C. Methodology in Clinical Research III. (4) (Same as Medicine M260C.) Discussion, four hours. Recommended preparation: M.D., PhD, or dental degree. Presentation of principles and practices of major disciplines underlying clinical research methodology, such as biostatistics, epidemiology, pharmacokinetics. S/U or letter grading.

Biomathematics M261. Responsible Conduct of Research Involving Humans. (2) (Same as Medicine M261.) Lecture, two hours; discussion, two hours. Preparation: completion of one basic course in protection of human research subjects through Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative. Discussion of current issues in responsible conduct of clinical research, including reporting of research, basis for authorship, issues in genetic research, principles and practice of research on humans, conflicts of interest, Institutional Review Board (IRB), and related topics. S/U or letter grading.

Biomathematics M262. Communication of Science. (2) (Same as Psychiatry M230.) Lecture, two hours; discussion, one hour. Presentation of various types of scientific writings and their good practice. Details of writing specific articles: methods, results, discussion. Writing of review article. Grant submissions: aims, background, results, design. Role of appendices. Communication with lay public. S/U or letter grading.

Biomathematics 264. Applied Data Collection and Analysis. (4) Lecture, four hours. Presentation of research project development, including protocol development, data collection, quality control, clinical/electronic health record (EHR) data, structuring data for analysis, and data archival. Lectures, in-class practicums using actual studies and datasets, and student presentations. Letter grading.

Biomathematics 264. Applied Data Collection and Analysis. (4) Lecture, four hours. Presentation of research project development, including protocol development, data collection, quality control, clinical/electronic health record (EHR) dBiomathematics 265A. Data Analysis Strategies I. (4) Lecture, two hours; laboratory, two hours. Preparation: MD or PhD degree. Requisite: course 170A. Designed to provide students with hands-on experience developing and testing hypotheses using various types of databases. Topics include developing testable hypothesis, data management, and analysis strategies and written presentation of findings. Experience with full process of hypothesis generation, operationalization of variables, selection of analysis techniques, and presentation of findings so students are better prepared to complete data analysis, interpretation of results, and written presentation of their findings (e.g., for master’s thesis and subsequent articles). Students encouraged to provide their own data. Databases provided for use in completing exercises for those without available data. Letter grading.ata, structuring data for analysis, and data archival. Lectures, in-class practicums using actual studies and datasets, and student presentations. Letter grading.

Biomathematics 266A. Applied Regression Analysis in Medical Sciences. (4) Lecture, three hours; laboratory, one hour. Requisite: course 170A. Proficiency in applied regression analysis, with focus on interpretation of results and performing computation. Primary topics include simple linear regression, multiple regression, regression model selection, analysis of variance, logistic regression, and survival analysis. Letter grading.

Biomathematics 266B. Advanced Biostatistics. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: course 266A. Continuation of course 266A. Some traditional multivariate methods, such as principle components, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and more contemporary methods, including recursive partitioning and missing data. Multilevel and longitudinal analysis. Letter grading.

Biomathematics 596. Directed Individual Study or Research in Biomathematics. (2 to 12) Tutorial, to be arranged. Individual study on topics not yet covered by offerings of department. May be repeated for credit with topic change. S/U or letter grading.