History

The George Washington University Biostatistics Center was established in 1972 within the Department of Statistics. On July 1, 2016, the Center transferred to the School of Public Health. The primary objective of the Biostatistics Center is to provide statistical leadership in the design, execution, and analysis of multi-center clinical trials and epidemiologic medical investigations, and to insure that the results of such studies are of the highest scientific integrity and meet rigorous biostatistical standards. These investigations include major medical research programs, especially multi-institutional studies of national and international scope, in both the public and private sectors. Such research provides a testing ground for new and developing statistical methods, frequently leading to major advances in the field of statistical methodology.

The Biostatistics Center has participated in over 80 major research projects, including both randomized clinical trials and epidemiologic studies conducted under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other Federal agencies, and also in collaboration with foundations and pharmaceutical companies in the private sector. The Center also conducts grant-supported research in biostatistical methods. Through these activities, the faculty and staff of the Center have published over 230 articles related to statistical methodology, clinical trials or epidemiologic methods, and over 1060 articles presenting the results of medical investigations.