Program
The research unit will concentrate on specific complex problems arising in the framework of clinical epidemiology with a strong need for evaluation of new and challenging statistical methods. The focus will lie on the development of statistical methodology concerning three main and urgent themes which recur in many different clinical questions:
- bias from design or inadequate models,
- dynamic phenomena,
- and the assessment of prognoses and models.
The innovative methods should exhibit an advantage over standard methods or other competing techniques. Their application to available, individual patient data should provide new insights about the basic clinical research question and about their practical suitability.
The research unit will not only answer important clinical questions in cooperation with clinical partners, but also contribute to the advancement of general statistical methodology with broad applications. Thus, both disciplines - biostatistics and clinical epidemiology - will profit from the work of the unit as the challenging clinical problems can only be adapted successfully in a strong and active group of scientists with sound expertise in biostatistics and long-lasting experience with clinical applications.