BERD Builds Bridges Between PIs and Data Science Experts

The Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Program is a data science resource within Spectrum, Stanford’s Center for Clinical and Translational Research and Education. It facilitates the bridging of investigators to the appropriate data science collaborators across campus, connecting them to the optimal quantitative expertise needed for their study.

“A key goal of the BERD program is to engage clinical, translational, and basic science investigators in the translational science that will facilitate the highest quality of translational research conducted at Stanford,” explains Dr. Manisha Desai, Faculty Director of BERD. “We accomplish this by providing guidance on study design, analysis planning, and database management to investigators and by educating investigators on principles related to designing studies and engaging data scientists.”

"A key goal of the BERD program is to engage clinical, translational, and basic science investigators in the translational science that will facilitate the highest quality of translational research conducted at Stanford.” 
               – Manisha Desai

In the Fall of 2021, BERD announced a new initiative that provides additional resources to junior faculty who may need assistance navigating the available quantitative resources on campus: Data Science Navigation. This resource provides Stanford junior faculty with guidance on matters such as:

·      The scope of the data science,

·      Which types of data scientists to include on a team,

·      Which types of expertise are needed, and

·      What are the other data science resources on campus that they should engage.

Interested junior faculty investigators may fill out a ServiceNow Intake Link to launch a BERD-related collaboration.

The BERD team is able to offer their resources at no cost to junior faculty due to funding from Spectrum and the Office of the Senior Associate Dean of Research (SADR). 

A popular long-standing mechanism through which BERD also accomplishes goals is the Data Studio Workshop, which brings together a biomedical investigator with a group of data science and statistical experts for an in-depth session on statistical and study design issues for a particular project. Data Studio sessions occur every Wednesday during the nine-month academic year.

In addition, BERD has established the new BERD Clinic – drop-in sessions for statistical questions offered eight hours weekly (Wednesdays 8am-12pm and Fridays 12pm-4pm). Sign-ups for the BERD Clinic are available on EventBrite.