School of Medicine Established in 1930, Duke University School of Medicine is the youngest of the nation’s top medical schools. Ranked sixth among medical schools in the nation, the School takes pride in being an inclusive community of outstanding learners, investigators, clinicians, and staff where interdisciplinary collaboration is embraced and great ideas accelerate translation of fundamental scientific discoveries to improve human health locally and around the globe. Composed of more than 2,500 faculty physicians and researchers, more than 1,300 students, and more than 6,000 staff, the Duke University School of Medicine along with the Duke University School of Nursing, Duke University Health System and the Private Diagnostic Clinic (PDC) comprise Duke Health. a world-class academic medical center. The Health System encompasses Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Duke Primary Care, Duke Home and Hospice, Duke Health and Wellness, and multiple affiliations.

Occupational Summary

Under the leadership of the Biostatistics Core management team in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, perform intermediate-level statistical analysis and programming for a broad range of research projects. Collaborate closely with a cross-functional project team, including clinical investigators, quantitative scientists, and graduate students, with regard to statistical aspects of each project. Perform a variety of intermediate-level statistical and technical activities for the design, analysis and interpretation of statistical data in conjunction with an academic research program based in one of the departments, centers or institutes of the University. Participate in collaborative efforts to provide statistical support for the projects coming through the Biostatistics Core.

Responsibilities

COMMUNICATION, LEADERSHIP, AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT (20%)

• Communicate clearly, both verbally and in writing, to internal team, colleagues, and functional group leadership on a regular basis
• Participate in and contribute to project team and analysis discussions in a meaningful way
• Give oral presentations of results/status at investigator/project/other meetings with minimal guidance
• Engage with the scientific questions being addressed in collaborations and clearly communicates statistical concepts in the context of the research.
• Try to solve problems independently and know when to seek help
• Notify team leaders and/or managers of important or problematic issues in a timely manner
• Take necessary steps to meet agreed upon deadlines
• Identify opportunities to develop skills or efficiencies and share skills with others for professional development
• Mentor interns and more junior staff members as appropriate
• Participate in statistical aspects of a project, with an understanding of the major role of a biostatistician in a project, and carries out these roles adequately
• Take appropriate initiative on own project responsibilities
• Seek guidance for project-related tasks and analyses and regularly updates appropriate team members regarding progress and issues with the project
• Manage one or more projects and shows understanding of overall project/collaboration objectives.
• With increasing levels of independence, create accurate timelines and take necessary steps to meet project deadlines.
• Hold a clear understanding of the scope of a project/task and expected deliverables
• Identify out-of-scope requests promptly and reports to the appropriate team members for a project modification

• Complete work within the allocated effort, or proactively identify potential effort overages and brings it to the attention of the appropriate team member
• Follow expected processes and guidelines to produce high quality work
• Support statistical advisor in developing and managing new collaborations such as, submission of new grants that cover biostatistical effort, development of new internal or external collaborative agreements that cover biostatistical effort

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS PLANNING, SPECIFICATIONS, AND ANALYSIS (20%)

• Write statistical analysis plans and analysis data set specifications following the standard guideline and template, with guidance
• Write simple table, figure, and listing specifications without guidance following the standard guidelines and templates for creating specifications
• Perform and interpret common statistical analysis results in an accurate manner with decreasing amounts of guidance
• Attempt new statistical methods when analysis needs to change, with guidance
• Identify next steps for analysis according to statistical analysis plan
• Document analysis steps properly; summarize and present results (verbal and written) to requester clearly
• Write methods and analysis sections of reports/manuscripts with decreasing levels of assistance of statistical advisor or reviewing statistician

STATISTICAL AND CLINICAL KNOWLEDGE (10%)

• Understand and apply statistical methods commonly used within collaborative projects (ex: linear, categorical, and survival data analysis)
• Interpret results correctly according to the method and scientific context
• With guidance, identify gaps in statistical knowledge and consult biostatisticians with appropriate expertise
• With guidance, gain in-depth knowledge about appropriate statistical methodology as related to ongoing projects/collaborations
• With guidance, teach appropriate statistical methodology to investigators, quantitative methodologists, and less experienced biostatisticians
• Seek to understand the clinical aspects of each assigned project so that it becomes easier to communicate with the clinicians, to understand and explain the analysis results, and anticipate logical future follow-up analyses
• Understand and appropriately use common terminologies used in clinical research and therapeutic areas
• With guidance, identify gaps in clinical knowledge and consults biostatisticians and/or clinical collaborators with appropriate expertise as necessary
• Review clinical papers relevant to ongoing projects/collaborations with guidance from statistical advisor
• Carry out all aspects of projects with the clinical research question in mind

DATA MANAGEMENT AND PROGRAMMING (50%)

• Possess a basic understanding of data collection systems or other data generation mechanisms being used in assigned projects
• Understand different data structures including relational database concepts in relation to creating files for analysis

• Understand the role of data management in the project team
• Demonstrate solid SAS or R basic programming knowledge
• Document programs clearly so that other statisticians/programmers will be able to follow them.
• Check and/or verify results (QC) based on provided specifications for simple statistical analyses and output without supervision, and complex statistical analyses and output with guidance
• Learn new programming languages and tools as needed (e.g. Stata, PASS, python, github, JSON, jupyter) with guidance

Education

Position requires a minimum of a Masters degree in (bio) statistics or related field and no relevant experience (preferred) or a Bachelor's degree in (bio) statistics or related field and 2 years relevant experience.

Experience

Contribution to analysis of clinical trials and/or clinical research projects, and/or participation in preparation of academic manuscripts or other written summaries of analysis results, thorough experience with SAS or R, and solid command of the English language is required. Desirable experience includes prior role as a contributing statistician on clinical trials and/or clinical research projects that have delivered the agreed-upon end products on time.

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