The National Cancer Institute has a great program that leverages math and analytical expertise: The Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program or EBP.
Some key program characteristics:
- National studies
- International components, allowing study of unusual exposures or unique risks
- A combination of clinical or laboratory elements with epidemiologic methods
- Interdisciplinary collaborations
- Development of biostatistical methods to support population-based studies
- Training opportunities for students, post-docs and investigators
The Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program (EBP) conducts independent and collaborative epidemiologic and biostatistical investigations to identify the distribution, characteristics, and causes of cancer in human populations. These aims are accomplished through a series of integrated programs of research, including studies of:
- Demographic variation in the occurrence of cancer by age, race, gender, geography, and over time (i.e., descriptive studies);
- Cancer related to occupational and environmental exposures;
- Drug-induced cancer (pharmacoepidemiology);
- Cancer induced by ionizing and nonionizing radiation;
- Relationship of diet and nutrition to cancer risk;
- Microbial origins of cancer (e.g., viruses, bacteria);
- Metabolic and hormonal aspects of cancer risk; and
- Genetic susceptibility to cancer-causing exposures.
