Biostatistics Collaboration Core

The Biostatistics Collaboration Core (BCC) offers comprehensive statistics and bioinformatics collaboration services to faculty, staff, and students at Rollins, other divisions of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, and throughout Emory University. BCC personnel are available for discussion at all stages of research, including: preparation of grants and contracts, assistance in analyzing and presenting research data, and statistical review of manuscripts in the publication process.

The BCC has access to a broad range of computer hardware and software and personnel with expertise in using major statistical, graphics, and data management packages. While our primary interest is in assuring the appropriate use of statistical methodology in research, the BCC offers a complete range of services from database development, implementation, and maintenance to production of publication-quality graphic and tabular material to support the presentation and publication of research results. Obtaining biostatistical advice early on in a project can often improve the chances of the study meeting its objectives.

Who We Are

Mr. Azhar Nizam is the Director of the BCC; Dr. Robert Krafty is the Associate Director. Departmental faculty, research staff, and students primarily perform consulting services. Faculty members offering consulting help cover a wide range of interests and statistical expertise and have consulting experience in a variety of subject matter areas. Departmental staff members and graduate students contribute substantially to this activity by providing direct statistical and computational assistance. Other personnel in the BCC include data entry technicians, data managers, and statistical programmer/analysts from the Department of Biostatistics.

What We Do

BCC tasks are classified into short-term tasks that can be completed within three to six months (start to finish) with clear deliverables.  Each task has a fixed cost based on typical time and effort associated with the task. If a task grows beyond the initial estimate, a second task may need to be defined. The current task-based fee structure is available here.

Project Initiation

Principal Investigators who are interested in initiating a collaboration with the BCC should send a request to bcc@emory.edu. In response, they will receive an email containing additional information about the BCC. An initial meeting will then be scheduled, the purpose of which will be to review the research needs and study design issues, estimate work load and costs, and to plan a realistic timetable.

BCC work on a project will begin after a Statement of Work (SOW) has been developed and agreed upon by the BCC Director and the Principal Investigator. The SOW will include details of tasks, timelines, fees and Emory Speedtype or external billing information.

Authorship Policy

Co-authorship on scientific journal articles is generally expected on studies where substantive input on design and/or analysis is provided. It is our policy not to forgo funding in return for co-authorship. An individual statistician may, at his/her discretion, donate time to co-author an unfunded manuscript if it does not interfere with other funded projects.

Grant Proposals

The BCC will assist in study design and grant proposal writing when BCC faculty are identified as co-investigators and/or appropriate funding for BCC faculty is included in the budget.

Contact Us

If you are interested in initiating a research project, please send a request to bcc@emory.edu

Azhar Nizam, MS
Director
anizam@emory.edu

Robert Krafty, PhD
Associate Director
rkrafty@emory.edu