What does a research biostatistician do?
Most of the research biostatisticians oversee clinical trials and gather data for the development of new treatment interventions. They ensure that legal, scientific protocols are followed but are concerned with the accurate gathering and evaluation of data and recording. Research biostatisticians prepare results that outline findings, information, and implications of these trials, and present them for new treatment modalities. Part of their tasks is to enforce ethical consideration in trial programs, analyze and report findings for future research, and develop standards for data collection procedures.
Research biostatistician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real research biostatistician resumes:
- Manage investigator initiate and cooperative group correlative studies to identify biomarkers to ascertain tumor burden and clinical outcomes in lymphoma.
- Conduct multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify significant factors collectively associate with disease status.
- Apply advanced statistical methods include but not limit to logistic, regression, non-parametric methods and basic procedures.
- Collaborate with a colleague to design and synthesize sequence selective DNA binding agents direct to interact irreversibly with specific genes.
- Initiate abstract for submission for ASCO meeting.
Research biostatistician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Research Biostatisticians are proficient in SAS, Statistical Analysis, and Study Design. They’re also known for soft skills such as Math skills, Problem-solving skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Research Biostatisticians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- SAS, 18%
Use SAS software performing Probabilistic Record Data Linkage among various programs to obtain addition data elements.
- Statistical Analysis, 13%
Assist in problem solving related for issues related to statistical analysis or data management.
- Study Design, 10%
Participate in study design and protocol development; Design statistical section of protocol including sample size calculation and power estimation.
- Research Projects, 9%
Performed statistical analyses for quantitative/qualitative research projects.
- Stata, 9%
Designed a random and representative sampling plan; performed data cleaning and econometric analysis of findings using Excel and STATA.
- Clinical Trials, 8%
Display, summarize and analyze the data for clinical trials and QC the results.
Most research biostatisticians use their skills in "sas," "statistical analysis," and "study design" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential research biostatistician responsibilities here:
Math skills. The most essential soft skill for a research biostatistician to carry out their responsibilities is math skills. This skill is important for the role because "mathematicians and statisticians use statistics, calculus, and linear algebra to develop their models and analyses." Additionally, a research biostatistician resume shows how their duties depend on math skills: "collaborate with medical and biostatistics staff under minimal supervision to interpret study results, and produce interim and final reports. "
Problem-solving skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling research biostatistician duties is problem-solving skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "mathematicians and statisticians must devise solutions to problems encountered in science, engineering, and other fields." According to a research biostatistician resume, here's how research biostatisticians can utilize problem-solving skills in their job responsibilities: "provide numerical solutions of the models with programming languages of matlab and r. conduct high-quality scientific publications with latex. "
Analytical skills. This is an important skill for research biostatisticians to perform their duties. For an example of how research biostatistician responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "mathematicians and statisticians use mathematical techniques and models to evaluate large amounts of data." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a research biostatistician: "conduct statistical research, database management and data analyses for mississippi childhood lead poisoning prevention program. ".
Communication skills. research biostatistician responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "mathematicians and statisticians must be able to explain technical concepts and solutions in nontechnical ways." This resume example shows what research biostatisticians do with communication skills on a typical day: "provided in-depth statistical analysis on treatment and outcome -assist with office administration and communication with patients and other medical professionals"
The three companies that hire the most research biostatisticians are:
- Kaiser Permanente5 research biostatisticians jobs
- Midwestern University4 research biostatisticians jobs
- Children's Hospital Colorado2 research biostatisticians jobs
Compare different research biostatisticians
Research biostatistician vs. Statistical consultant
Research Project Coordinators take on a lead role in maintaining and creating processes that support the execution of a research project. Their duties include researching governance requirements, preparing for contract bidding, manage budgeting of a project to meet a specified timeline, and present findings of a project to all stakeholders involved. The Research Project Coordinator will also support administrative tasks, including producing corporate reports, organizing committee meetings, and developing a research database to track active milestones achieved.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, research biostatistician responsibilities require skills like "sas," "stata," "mathematics," and "irb." Meanwhile a typical statistical consultant has skills in areas such as "statistical data analysis," "sas/graph," "spss," and "python." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that statistical consultants earn slightly differ from research biostatisticians. In particular, statistical consultants are 20.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a research biostatistician. Additionally, they're 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Research biostatistician vs. Research project coordinator
A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study. To become a research fellow, a candidate should have a doctorate in a relevant discipline and publish peer-reviewed papers. Also, a research fellow can be an independent investigator or be supervised by a principal investigator.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that research biostatistician responsibilities requires skills like "study design," "research projects," "mathematics," and "power analysis." But a research project coordinator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "data collection," "patients," "project management," and "data analysis."
Research project coordinators earn higher levels of education than research biostatisticians in general. They're 8.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for research biostatisticians in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Mark Fridline Ph.D.
Associate Chair, University of Akron
Research biostatistician vs. Biometrician
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from research biostatistician resumes include skills like "research projects," "stata," "data management," and "public health," whereas a biometrician is more likely to list skills in "forests," "analyze data," "biometrics," and "statistical support. "
Most biometricians achieve a higher degree level compared to research biostatisticians. For example, they're 13.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 11.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Research biostatistician vs. Research fellow
Even though a few skill sets overlap between research biostatisticians and research fellows, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a research biostatistician might have more use for skills like "study design," "data management," "mathematics," and "power analysis." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of research fellows require skills like "patients," "data analysis," "cell culture," and "immunology. "
Research fellows reach higher levels of education compared to research biostatisticians, in general. The difference is that they're 5.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 22.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of research biostatistician
Updated January 8, 2025
